Garden bins
Our garden waste service is available to residents of the borough. This waste goes in your brown bin. When you subscribe, we will collect your bin every two weeks on your usual collection day.
Subscriptions
You can hire a brown garden bin for £53.50. The cost may be charged over 12 months or prorated. A £10.50 admin fee applies for all new bin subscriptions. Collections are suspended over the two-week Christmas period to support other waste services.
Permits run from 1 July to 30 June every year.
If you subscribe after 1 July, you will be charged an amended amount. For example, your renewal is due in September, we will charge you to 1 July.
If you already use this service, you can renew your subscription.
What happens next
Once we have received your order, we aim to deliver your bin within 10 working days. The collection crews will know how many subscriptions you have and take the correct number of bins. You need to present your bins by 6am at the boundary of your property.
Permit stickers
We are in the process of sending permits to some residents. Permit stickers help the crews know who has a subscription.
Currently, renewal dates vary from house to house. Not every bin will have a sticker. They will be posted after you have renewed your subscription.
When you receive your sticker, check that it shows your correct address. If it is wrong, please contact us. If you subscribe to more than one bin, you will be sent a permit for each.
Where to put your permit
- attach the sticker to the back of your garden waste bin, below the handles
- ensure it is the correct way up and can be easily read by the collectors
- do not put the sticker on the lid, front or side of the bin. If it is in this area it is more likely to get damaged during collection
- place your bin with the sticker visible at the edge of your property by 6am on your collection day
Replace your permit
We are not currently accepting requests for replacement permits. This is because we are processing permit renewals.
If you need a replacement for your 2026 permit, you should apply for a renewal instead.
Missed bins
You can tell us if your garden bin has been missed, and we will look into it for you.
Bin replacements
You can use our form to request a new bin if yours has broken or is damaged.
Cancel your subscription
If you no longer want to subscribe to the service, you can cancel your garden waste subscription at any time.
Additional bins
If you already have a subscription, you can add another bin. You will only pay for the time left until your next renewal. After that, you will pay the full yearly cost for your bins.
For example, if you add another bin halfway through your subscription, you will only pay for the time left. When your subscription renews, you will pay the full cost for both bins.
If your renewal is less than two months away, you need to wait until you renew to add another bin.
Removals
If there is a garden bin which does not have a subscription you can request for us to remove it.
Moving home
If you are moving to a new home in Maidstone, you will need to tell us so we can continue to collect your garden waste. You should take your bin with you when you move.
If you are moving out of Maidstone, you should use the cancel subscription option above.
Terms and conditions
The garden waste collection service is provided to residential households to a maximum of three 240 litre bins per property. Programmed for collection on a two-weekly cycle, with our contractor designing the detailed scheduling (day and week).
The account must be allocated to a Maidstone Borough Council registered residential property and the bin used at that address. Neighbours may make private arrangements to share the use of a bin if they so wish.
The garden waste collected is composted locally and it’s very important that we only collect materials, as listed on our 'What goes in your bin' page.
Bins presented with incorrect materials will not be emptied, as the contamination could reduce the quality of compost produced by the facility. In that event, the resident is required to remove the contamination from the bin. The bin will then be emptied on the next scheduled collection.
Unless the resident is registered for an assisted collection, the bin must be presented in accordance with standard presentation policy, clearly visible and available for service at the front of property.
Where the bin is presented incorrectly or with incorrect materials in it, it may not be emptied, and our contractor will not return for a missed collection.
Please note that the annual fee does not guarantee a fixed number of collections. The service may also be suspended in exceptional services. It is always suspended for a minimum of two weeks over Christmas and the New Year, allowing those resources to be used in support of the general waste collection service.
On commencement, all new accounts are given an annual renewal date of 1 July. Services are scheduled to start from the first day of the following month.
New accounts set up in the period from July to March will be charged part-year pro rata to 30 June. For example, an account set up in September will be charged for nine months in the first period. They will then receive a standard 12-month renewal.
New accounts set up in April, May and June will be charged to 30 June the following year. For example, an account set up in April will be charged for 14 months in the first period. They will then receive a standard 12-month renewal.
On renewal, all accounts become payable by 1 July.
The fee is reviewed every year, and it is set by members in the fees and charges process. The fee will be stated within the email, text, or invoice.
The invoices are sent out in batches from mid-May to mid-June.
This system allows us to receive payment and issue permits to residents who have paid for the service. We aim to send out the permits within three weeks of receipt of payment.
Every account is per bin, not per property. Every bin must have a valid permit.
The payment system is principally a card payment on our website, with notification of account due made by email or text. However, the paper system and over-the-phone payment methods remain, in exceptional circumstances.
Following reminder, if the account remains unpaid, the nominated address/email account will be notified, and the bin(s) removed from the contractor’s collection schedule. Our contractor will then be instructed to remove the bin(s) from the property, as soon as practicable.