Hammersmith and Fulham Council says it costs more to incinerate garden waste than recycle it, and it’s bad for the environment
A West London council is clamping down on residents throwing out garden waste with their general household rubbish partly in a bid to reduce costs.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council rolled out a garden waste collection service in 2024, charged at £90 a year, as it sought to increase the amount the borough recycles and take action to support the environment.
A report published by the local authority however says that some residents are putting their garden waste in with their general refuse, meaning it is taken away free of charge and leaving those who have subscribed to the service feeling “frustrated”.
As such the council had proposed making changes to its collections and communicating with residents to tackle the issue. Hammersmith and Fulham already has low quantities of waste thrown away when compared with other local authority areas.
The approach put together by the council was multi-pronged. First, information would be sent to all street-based homes reminding residents what can and cannot be recycled. This would include recycling as well as garden waste.
From the implementation date, which is listed as this month, those who continue to put garden waste in with their refuse will initially receive a letter informing them the two should not be mixed.
If they persist then the waste will not be collected, with either stickers or a bin hanger notice left explaining why.
“Once the garden waste is removed from the refuse by the householder, the refuse will be collected,” the report states. “If the resident subscribes to the garden waste recycling service, both the refuse and garden waste will be collected.”
The council’s proposal was approved this week by the Cabinet Member for Environment, Arts and Culture, Bora Kwon, subject to a call-in period to end tomorrow (August 20).
A key reason behind the decision is the higher costs associated with disposing of garden waste mixed with refuse as opposed to getting rid of it separately. The council estimates that waste sent for disposal as refuse costs around £100 more per tonne than garden waste sent to be recycled. The difference when compared against composting at home is even greater.
“Composting garden waste at home and recycling garden waste are both better for the environment than waste disposal,” council officers wrote.
“Preventing garden waste from being collected with refuse and sent for waste disposal will help us to become an even greener borough.”
Hammersmith and Fulham Council was approached for comment.
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