Garden and food waste

We collect food and garden waste for free, on a weekly basis, from households in Barnet.

How the service works

We provide households with a 240 litre green wheeled bin. Residents place food and garden waste inside and place it on the boundary of their property by 6:30 am on their collection day. Your collection crews empty your bins and take the garden and food waste off to be composted in Edmonton. The resulting compost is used in local parks, in agriculture and is occasionally given away for free to Barnet residents for their personal use.

What items do we collect from the green bin?

Yes please

• meat and fish (cooked and uncooked and including bones)
• leftover meals
• eggs and egg shells
• fruit and vegetables
• pasta, bread, rice, noodles
• dairy products
• tea bags and coffee grounds
• hedge and tree prunings, branches up to 8cm (3") in diameter
• grass clippings
• flowers and weeds
• garden fruit, vegetables and windfalls
• compostable bags bearing the seedling logo.

No thank you

• plastic bags or sacks
• any brand of compostable or biodegradable bags which do not bear the seedling logo
• cardboard or packaging
• paper and newspaper
• pet waste or cat litter
• soil or rubble
• any waste not contained in your green bin. 

Using compostable bags

You can use any brand of compostable bag bearing the seedling logo in your green bin to make food waste recycling more convenient. These bags can be purchased in most large branches of supermarkets and in some local shops, for an average price of £3 for 20. However, you are welcome to place food waste in the green bin loose if you prefer.

What if I don't have a green bin?

To order your green bin, please contact Street-Based Services using the details on the right. An initial green bin is free of charge and a second green bin is available for a charge of £53.50. You can also take green garden waste such as leaves, grass cuttings and hedge clippings to the Civic Amenity and Recycling Centre. Please remove your green garden waste from any plastic bags before placing it in the containers at the Centre.

What if my green bin hasn't been emptied this week?

If you experience any problems with this collection service, please contact Street-Based Services using the contact details on the right.

Please note: If your bin contains items from the 'No thank you' list, it will not be emptied. Recurring problems may lead to a withdrawal of the service.

If your waste has become frozen and stuck inside the green bin we may not be able to empty it. Your collection crew will leave an information hanger on your bin to inform you, and we will empty your bin on your next collection day the following week. 

So what happens to my green garden and kitchen waste?

The garden and food waste is taken to a composting centre in Edmonton and the resulting compost is used in local parks, in agriculture and is occasionally made available to Barnet residents for their personal use. To see exactly what happens, take a look at the animation link on the right.

A third of waste created by households in Barnet is food waste. Disposing of this food waste in landfill via the grey refuse bins is very costly, and so recycling your food scraps will reduce pressure on the council tax.

Ash dieback disease

If you suspect that you have Ash tree leaves that have been infected with the Chalara fraxinea disease the safest option to help prevent the spread of the disease is for the leaves to be left where they are.

You can put the leaves in your home compost bin if you have one (with the resulting compost to be used only at your own property). To find out more about compost bins, and to order a compost bin visit our Compost bin page.

If you do need to remove the leaves from your property, bag up the leaves ensuring that you have tied up the bag securely, and place them in your refuse bin for disposal.
 
As a precaution, we cannot accept Ash tree leaves that you suspect have been infected with the disease in your green garden and kitchen waste bin (the green bin), or in the green waste container at the Civic Amenity & Recycling Centre.