Hillingdon Council's garden waste collection service is set to move to a fortnightly schedule from April 2027, with residents also facing a reduced annual charge.
The decision, made by the council's Cabinet on Thursday 22 October 2026, will see year-round fortnightly collections using wheeled bins, replacing the current system of weekly collections using sacks for nine months of the year and fortnightly over winter. The annual charge for the service will be reduced from £77 to £69 per bin. This move is expected to deliver annual savings of approximately £800,000.
Councillor Wayne Bridges, Cabinet Member for Residents Services, stated that neighbouring boroughs such as Harrow, Hounslow, and Ealing already operate fortnightly collections, and that Hillingdon residents would pay less than those in Hounslow and Ealing, where the charge is £75.
Councillor Richard Mills, Deputy Leader of the Council, welcomed the move to bins, noting that garden waste collection is a non-statutory service. He also sought assurance that Christmas tree collections would continue, which Councillor Bridges confirmed would remain a popular resident service.
The changes are also expected to improve safety for collection crews, reduce missed collections, and help contain waste more effectively. The council will be procuring approximately 40,000 wheeled bins at an estimated capital cost of £1.2 million, with a budget virement of £1.2 million from the Capital Contingency budget approved for this purpose. The move to a fortnightly, year-round service using 240-litre wheeled bins is proposed because bins have a similar capacity in volume terms to three sacks, are easier for residents to use, safer for staff to collect, and reduce missed collections. Bins also mitigate a longer service gap as they can contain more material and weight than sacks. For the Christmas shutdown period, demand is reduced to less than a quarter of the peak growing season, indicating sufficient capacity to store limited green waste for longer periods between collections.
Transition and Communication
In the interim, six hire vehicles will be brought in to operate the service until the new fleet of refuse collection vehicles with bin lifting equipment are procured, which have an estimated 18-to-24-month delivery timescale. The cost of these hire vehicles is intended to be primarily offset by the disposal of the current aged fleet used in this service. While bins have a shorter order cycle, the council has mitigation plans for potential delivery delays, including asking customers to continue using their sacks if necessary.
Subject to approval, the Council will undertake a comprehensive communications programme prior to implementation to ensure existing and prospective subscribers are informed of the changes, implementation timetable, eligibility criteria, alternative collection arrangements, and support available through the assisted collection service.
The council's current garden waste service has over 23,000 subscribers, generating approximately £1.78 million in revenue in the 2026/27 financial year so far.