Garden waste service terms and conditions

Garden waste service

When you sign up to the Lichfield & Tamworth Joint Waste Service garden waste service, you will be accepting the following terms and conditions:

General terms

  1. You agree to pay Tamworth and Lichfield Joint Waste Service to collect your garden waste that is placed in your garden waste bin(s). 
  2. You acknowledge that the garden waste collection service is provided on alterative weeks (maximum of 23 garden waste collections), with a short shutdown over the Christmas and New Year period.
  3. You understand there are no reductions for subscribing to the service part way through the year.
  4. You accept that you will not be entitled to a refund if you move out of Tamworth Borough or Lichfield District, or no longer require the service for any reasons part way through the subscription period.
  5. You are aware that if you move to another address within Tamworth Borough or Lichfield District you can transfer your garden waste service to your new address free of charge for the remainder of the subscription year - please call our team on 0345 002 0022 to transfer your subscription and we will send you a new sticker for the bin at your new property (please do not take your stickered garden bin with you).
  6. If you are paying by direct debit we will move your subscription details to your new address, so that when you make your next year's payment you will receive your sticker at your new address. 
  7. If you are paying by credit or debit card, we will contact towards the end of the subscription year to ask you to sign up for the next subscription period. If you do not sign-up and make payment by the end of your current subscription period, you will not receive any further collections until a payment has been made.
  8. If you are paying by direct debit we will notify you before we take each year's payment. You will be able to choose to cancel your direct debit at this point if you no longer require a subscription. 
  9. All bins remain the property of the Tamworth Borough & Lichfield District Joint Waste Partnership and should remain on the property, even if you move house.

Collections

  1. Your garden waste bin(s) will be emptied every fortnight (maximum of 23 garden waste collections), with a short shutdown over the Christmas period, on your usual collection day unless, other factors such as very bad weather or operational issues stop the service from running. In such circumstances we will endeavour to return to empty your bin as soon as possible.
  2. You should receive your bin sticker within 10 working days of subscribing to the service. Please attach the sticker to the front or back of the bin and ensure the sticker is visible to the crews on your collection day.
  3. Bins that are not displaying a valid sticker will not be emptied. If your sticker becomes detached or lost please contact 0345 002 0022. 
  4. Your garden waste bin(s) should be presented with the lid closed at the edge of your property and the public highway by 6am on the day of collection and returned back to your property as soon as possible after emptying. We recommend storing stickered garden bins securely, as the permits are valuable.

Missed collections

  1. If we are unable to empty your bin because it wasn’t presented by 6am on your collection day, it contained the wrong waste, it was too heavy or the waste was compacted or frozen, we will not carry out a return collection and your bin will be not be emptied until the next scheduled date. There will be no refunds if we are not able to collect the bins for this reason. 
  2. If your bin was out on time, was not frozen and contained only the right waste, but was not emptied by our team, please contact us by the end of the next working day on 0345 002 0022. This will then be recorded as a missed collection and a crew should return within three working days.
  3. Missed bins have to be reported by the end of the next working day because it allows the truck we use for missed collections to work in a confined zone rather than having to collect from properties across both districts. This improves our efficiency and helps keep the cost of the service down.
  4. If collections are suspended because of snow or other operational issues we will do our best to return as soon as possible. If we cannot return to empty your bin, we will not offer any refunds.
  5. If the crew are unable to empty the bin because the contents are frozen then unfortunately we won’t be able to return because it is likely that several thousand bins will also be affected and we do not have the resources to do so.  On the morning of collection we recommend you loosen the contents of your bin if it has been frosty and check that the lid will open.
  6. If the crew report that a garden waste bin has the wrong items in it, we will not return before the next scheduled collection. Please remove the wrong items so the bin can be emptied the next time it is due.
  7. If the crew report that the bin was not out when they came we will not be able to return until the next scheduled collection day. Please ensure your bin is presented at the edge of your property by 6am with the sticker facing the road.
  8. We are sorry, but we are not able to take any extra/side garden waste or empty bins that are overloaded or too heavy. If the crew report a bin as heavy/overloaded/has a raised lid we will not return until the next scheduled collection. Please ensure the extra waste is removed from the bin so it can be emptied the next time. If you regularly have extra garden waste why not sign up for a second bin?

Accepted material and contamination

  1. Garden waste bins should only be used for grass cuttings, hedge clippings, weeds, plants and prunings and leaves and these should be placed loose in the bin (please do not use any bags/sacks). 
  2. Soils, turf, rocks, stones, large branches, sawdust, pet waste, food etc should not be placed in the garden waste bins. If these items are found to be in the garden waste bins the crews will not empty them.
  3. If bin(s) are reported contaminated, the contamination will need to be removed in order for the bin(s) to be emptied on the next scheduled day.

Data protection

When you sign up to the garden waste service you will be asked to provide your name, address and telephone number. Your data will be stored securely in line with the Data Protection Act.

If you sign up for direct debits, your bank details will be stored securely in the Bottom Line PTX system, until such time as you cancel your direct debit after which your bank details will be removed. 

We will use your data to notify you about renewing your garden waste subscription at the end of each year. We may also use your contact details to let you know about service issues, such as snowy weather delays, or when we need to provide council related service updates.

If you wish to remove your contact details from our database please email enquiries@lichfielddc.gov.uk