Garden waste collections
If you want to use the garden waste service, you can sign up for a 12‑month subscription and pay in advance. You will receive a brown wheeled bin to use for your garden waste.
Brown garden waste bins are emptied fortnightly, with the exception of a four week period over Christmas and New Year.
By using this service, you help increase Cheltenham's recycling rate and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.
Sign up (new customers)
12-month subscription: £57, plus £4.99 delivery fee per bin.
Subscriptions ended or cancelled within the last 12 months at the same address must restart at the standard charge of £57.
From 1 April 2026, new subscriptions will be £60, plus £4.99 delivery fee per bin.
Renewals
Renewals on or after 1 April 2026 will be charged at £60 per bin.
Find your collection day
Collection dates are available for properties who have subscribed to the garden waste service.
No space for a wheelie bin?
If you live in one of the specified areas where there is little or no space for storing a brown wheelie bin, you can have your garden waste collected in compostable paper sacks.
Find out more about the garden waste bag service
What you can put into your brown garden waste bin
- Grass cuttings
- Hedge and shrub clippings
- Leaves, twigs and bark
- Plants, flowers and weeds
- Windfall fruit
- Small branches
What you should not put in the brown garden waste bin
- Soil
- Animal waste (however pet bedding from herbivores is accepted)
- Food waste (cooked or uncooked)
- Vegetable peelings
- Large branches
- Plant pots and growbags
- Ash
Ask the waste wizard where to repair, recycle, donate, or dispose of your items
How the scheme works
Terms and conditions
Please read the terms and conditions before you sign up to our garden waste scheme.
Receiving your brown bin
If you sign up to the garden waste scheme, a 240‑litre brown wheeled bin will be provided for your garden waste.
Delivery will be within 30 days from the date payment is received.
Reducing plastic use
Cheltenham Borough Council is committed to reducing plastic use across the borough. To support this aim, previously used brown bins may be redeployed to new subscribers. These bins are thoroughly jet washed and checked before delivery. Reusing bins saves valuable resources and the energy that would be needed to make new ones.
Collection frequency
The brown bins will be emptied fortnightly with the exception of the four week period over Christmas and New Year.
Starting your subscription
The 12‑month subscription can begin at any point in the year.
Putting your bin out
The bin must be placed at the kerbside by 7am on your collection day. Only the garden waste inside the bin will be collected.
Any extra garden waste can be taken to a Gloucestershire County Council household recycling centre.
Using the correct bin
Garden waste must not be placed in the green refuse bin. Green refuse bins containing garden waste may not be collected and you may be asked to remove the garden waste before a collection can be made.
Renewals
After 11 months, you will be notified that your subscription is due for renewal. Your renewal date is the first day of the month after delivery, the following year.
Cancelling your subscription
If you decide to cancel your subscription, please present the brown bin at the kerbside on your next collection day so it can be retrieved and reused. Ubico aims to collect returned bins within two weeks, but please allow up to four weeks. If the bin has not been collected after this time, please contact customer services by emailing [email protected] or call 01242 262626.
If you move house
If you move house within Cheltenham, please take your brown bin with you and let us know your new address so the service can continue. If you move outside the borough, please contact customer services to arrange for the bin to be collected.
What happens to your garden waste?
After collection, your garden waste is taken to the Wingmoor Farm site and turned into compost. The cuttings are placed in long rows and turned regularly to help them break down into nutrient‑rich compost.
The finished compost is used on site for land restoration, reducing the need for imported topsoil and lowering transport emissions. Composting also keeps garden waste out of landfill, where it would produce methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.
FAQs
Please see our list of frequently asked questions.
Contact us
If you have any queries about the service, please contact us.