Terms and conditions for chargeable garden waste (Green Bin) service

Responsibilities of the council

1. Offer a paid for garden waste collection service within North Devon Council’s boundaries for eligible customer
2. Accept garden waste on scheduled collection days that is presented in a registered green wheelie bin with a valid permit attached
3. Collect garden waste green wheelie bins, with valid permits, that are put out at the designated collection point for the property to where the collection is registered. This includes residents who share the cost of permits
4. Aim to make garden waste collections between 6am and 4pm
5. Stop collecting garden waste where customers have not paid the renewal fee when it is due
6. Not make special return journeys to collect garden waste for customers making late payments – customers will have to wait until the next scheduled collection date
7. Collect real Christmas trees (the stump being no larger than 50mm in diameter) from registered customers when put out with their green wheelie bin on their scheduled collection day
8. Not empty green wheelie bins that have been contaminated by unacceptable items such as food waste (please refer to northdevon.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling for more details)
9. Aim to deliver green wheelie bins within 3 weeks from the date service requests are received
10. Exchange damaged green wheelie bins free of charge if damage is the council’s fault. Any other damage will mean a replacement charge of £25 for the customer
11. Provide to customers already on a black wheelie bin assisted collection and assisted garden waste collection if they have paid for the chargeable garden waste service. If you currently put out your rubbish in black bags to be collected by one of our smaller vans, we won't be able to offer you an assisted green bin collection as our green bin collection lorries will not be able to access your property, unless you can arrange for your bin to be placed at a suitable collection point that can be accessed by our large collection lorries. We only currently collect green wheelie bins with large lorries
12. Return within five working days for any valid missed collections that the customer has reported. If we fail to return within five working days we will allow side waste
13. Reserve the right to change the collection schedule for operational reasons. 
14. Not empty containers that weigh in excess of 100 kg
15. Collect green bins fortnightly between February and November. Throughout December and January a revised service will operate which will differ from year to year (please check our website for further details)
16. Enable customers to transfer their green wheelie bins if moving house within North Devon Council’s boundaries and provide them with a new permit

Responsibilities of the customer

1. Ensure that a valid permit is displayed on your green wheelie bin lid
2. If you don’t already have a green bin you must order one at the point of purchasing a permit
3. Store the green wheelie bin within the boundary of your property between garden waste collections
4. Place the correct items in your green wheelie bin (please refer to gov.uk/bins-and-recycling for details)
5. Present your garden waste in a registered green wheelie bin, with valid permit, at the designated collection point for 
   the registered property. If you are unaware of your collection point please contact our customer services team
6. Put your garden waste out for collection no sooner than 6pm on the day before collection and no later than 6am on the day of collection
7. Cleanliness of green wheelie bins is your responsibility. Damage caused to the bin must be reported to us immediately
8. Understand that all green bins remain the property of North Devon Council
9. Waste must be placed loosely inside green bins, it must not be placed in a compostable or plastic bag

Payment terms

1. Customers who subscribe to the garden waste service will be charged a fee for each green wheelie bin which will entitle collections until the expiry date of the permit.  The Council reserve the right to review and update the cost of the subscription as necessary. Please refer to our webpage for the current cost
2. Four weeks ahead of the end of your subscription period we will send you a renewal notice. Your collections will be stopped from the renewal date of service if payments are not made
3. Customers can pay online, over the phone, by cheque, or in person at the council offices, although no cash can be taken at our Ilfracombe or South Molton offices
4. Customers can subscribe to an unlimited number of green wheelie bins. There will be a charge for each green wheelie bin permit
5. Collections not made due to severe weather, or disruptions relating to issues outside the council’s control, will not be refunded
6. Customers who cancel their garden waste collection service part way through a year will not be given a refund