North Somerset garden waste now costs £35, half the usual £70, for collections to 31 March 2027. Sign up by 4 January; collections go monthly in winter.

North Somerset Council has cut the price of a garden waste subscription to £35, half the usual £70. It covers collections from now until 31 March 2027.

The offer started on Monday 2 November and runs until 4 January 2027. It is open to households not signed up this year, and to existing subscribers who want a second bin or an extra three sacks (North Somerset Council, 2 November).

The details

  • £35 per bin, or per three garden waste sacks, normally £70
  • households can have up to two bins, or up to six sacks
  • households that get the council’s 75% discount pay £8.75
  • sign up on the council’s garden waste page
  • the offer is not a payment towards next year: renewals for April 2027 to March 2028 open in February 2027

The 75% discount applies automatically if you get Council Tax Reduction, live in a student-only household, have the Severe Mental Impairment discount or have an armed forces exemption on your council tax, the council says.

How many collections £35 buys

Fewer than the half-year might suggest, so it is worth knowing before you pay. The council’s service page says garden waste is collected fortnightly for most of the year, but only monthly in December, January and February. The service also stops for a period around Christmas while crews deal with festive recycling (North Somerset Council, garden waste service).

Timing matters too:

  • if you already have a green bin, your permit should arrive within 15 working days, and collections can start soon after
  • if you need a bin delivered, that can take up to 28 working days, which pushes the first collection back

The council says earlier sign-ups get more collections.

The Christmas tree question

The council pitches the offer partly at people who want their real Christmas tree taken away. Last winter, subscribers could put a tree out on their first garden waste day after 12 January, chopped into the bin or whole beside it. Our Christmas bin collections page will carry this year’s date when the council publishes it.

Councillor Annemieke Waite, cabinet member for planning and environment, said the offer proved popular last year, “especially for people who’d moved house during the year”.

What it means for you

  • Worth it if you have hedges to cut back, leaves to clear or a real tree to get rid of, and you sign up soon.
  • Not worth it if you only have a few bags. Garden waste is free to take to the council’s three recycling centres, which need a booked slot.
  • Moving house within North Somerset? An existing subscription transfers free of charge, so there is no need to buy a new one.
  • Check your garden waste day on the council’s collection calendar; it may differ from your other bins. Our bin collection days page explains the rest of the schedule.