Garden waste bins - 1 year later

Just contemplating getting one for the first time, and wondered how people had found their first year or so with their garden waste bins.

Has it been worth having one? Anyone sharing one with a neighbour to make it more cost effective (not sure that is actually allowed lol)

I am sure throughout the spring / summer I will get good use of one, so guess it will pay for itself by then. So I am pretty sold on the idea, unless anyone has any horror stories about them. I know there were collection issues for a while, and see from Fix my Street that sometimes they take a while to be delivered.

We’ve had one since the beginning.

It’s not in full time use but in the summer time it is the recipient of weekly grass cuttings and a few times throughout the year is handy for the regular garden maintenance, though it may take a few weekly collections to get through the refuse from one maintenance session.

In truth about half of what goes in there could be composted. But with seating areas at front and back of garden there really is no suitable place for this. And there really isn’t room for garden waste in the fortnightly collected black bin. Without a car we really have no choice to pay the 60 quid each year.

Do I think we get value out of it? No.

I moved here from Southwark. There provision of a brown bin and weekly collection was included in your council tax.

Cheers for that, all makes sense.
I guess given the cost of private collections, and having a nice firm bin to jam brambles and small tree cuttings etc into, it will be worth it for me lol .

Very much a seasonal thing though for sure. Although will be nice to get the leaf blower back out in autumn and get some use out of the bin then too.

Have you had any issues with any of its contents at all, them not being happy taking anything?
I have a composter, but the bloody thing fills up so quickly. Why can’t mother nature be a little quicker at decomposition!

Not yet. All bits going in the bin must be soil free which is sometimes a real challenge, and other times not closely adhered to. But I’ve not had complaints.

I also found it handy at Christmas for disposing of the dismembered Tannenbaum.

Fantastic, I was going to ask about the soil bit. With pulling up stuff from the roots, I was hoping not to have shake and wash everything clean before putting it in there. Hopefully there is a sensible amount of wiggle room there.

Main things for me are bush and tree cuttings, grass, and leaves. So sounds like it is a go for me. Just over £1 a week, for a bin I can drag around the gardens with me, and contain prickly cuttings within.

Cheers for the info.

If anyone else has any tales to tell, I await with open eyes and ears.

Compared to what I used to spend on green bags, it’s definitely cheaper with the bin. It also makes a lot of jobs quicker and easier filling the bin rather than bags. With regards soil, I give things a good shake if there’s soil attached, but no more than that. Never had anything rejected. There is a handy illustration on the lid to show the maximum girth of woody material that they will accept.

Fab, thanks for that Rachael, just the sort of info I am looking for.
Sounds like the convenience thing is a big part for you as it is for me too. And not trying to wrangle brambles etc into bags is a real bonus.

I can see the scene already, summer hat and gardening gloves on, with my beloved brown bin

I had the brown bin from the start. It is convenient for us and I prefer it to bags as it it easy to chuck cuttings into it.

Also you are allowed to share a bin with your neighbours, but only one of you needs to register and pay for it.

The year runs from April to March and you would not get a discount if you started half a year in, so now is the best time to join if you are thinking about it.

Thanks Maja, the dates you mention are the exact reason it sprung to mind at the time. I like getting my monies worth haha.
As for sharing with the neighbour, that is great news that it is permitted, I don’t feel so bad for mentioning it now. I will let my neighbour know asap and get mine ordered.

Had one since outset and has worked well for us.

And for neighbour who also has an allotment.

All sounding pretty positive. I will get mine ordered at the weekend.

Thanks all.

I was totally against the brown bin. My wife was totally in favour. She won. And she was right.

Well done on saying that publicly lol.
This time last year I was against it, a year later, and a renewed interest in the garden, and I am borderline sold.

I don’t think it makes pure fiscal sense if you have a car. But it wins handsomely on convenience and time saved not going to the tip. Imagine not having to hoover up pine needles from the boot each January. I also find that I clear up things like twigs and branches as I think about them rather than leaving a load to do at once.

We compost most of our garden (& food) waste but have still renewed it for another year. The only gotcha to be aware of is you need to put the bin visibly beyond your border in order to get it collected.

Cheers for that Brett. Our bins go cleanly on to the street on collection day, so no issue there for us. Just got to remember to put it out in the first place now lol.

Had a brown bin from the start of the service, had one before with a different council. £60 fir the convenience is well worth it the size of prunings is great any bigger and you would probably need a tree surgeon.

We have had the brown bin from the start. My husband wouldn’t be without it!

We have one (though this has reminded me I’ve not paid my renewal).

No issues re soil, I try not to add much but there is always some. Very handy in spring summer.

Most important thing as mentioned above is remembering to put it on the pavement!

Excellent news on all fronts, thank you all for your further contributions towards my quandary.

I am almost excited about gardening now… Almost.

I think the soil thing is more down to weight. If you filled up a garden bin with soil it would weigh a tonne. So yeah, a little bit is fine.

We find our bin really useful, and is well used spring to autumn. Felt it was value for money and happy to have garden waste composted, rather than going to landfill.

Cheers all. Ordered

We just renewed. Renewal fee has gone up by £20 or one third.