Since Torbay’s kerbside garden waste collection service was launched in October 2022, 353 tonnes of green garden waste have been collected and converted to compost, with more than 4,000 local residents signing up for collections so far.

The garden waste collected is converted to compost and used at a local farm and is part of Torbay Council’s drive to increase recycling rates across the Bay. It follows the launch of the Right Stuff, Right Box scheme last year to make it easier for residents to recycle.

The service, delivered by SWISCo on behalf of Torbay Council, is more convenient, saving you trips to the Recycling Centre, so all you have to do is put your garden waste in the brown bin. You get 24 collections across most of the year (there is a brief pause in the service for the last two weeks of December and the first two weeks of January) so you can sign up at any time in the year.

Customer feedback

And don’t just take our word for it – users were asked to rate the scheme and gave an average of 4.8 out of 5, with 97% giving 4 or 5 stars. Here’s what some of our existing garden waste customers have said about the service:

“Easy to use around the garden” - So useful being able to wheel the bin around the garden and simply drop twigs, grass and leaves directly in.

“Saves me a trip to the tip” - Before I opted in for garden waste collection, I found doing the gardening and having to take it to the recycling centre such a chore and often put it off. Think it’s the first time I’ve been in the garden in January pruning without the worry of taking it to the tip.

“No more bags sitting around” - Convenient and clean. The new service saves me from bagging up garden rubbish, storing it and then loading smelly, dirty bags into my family car for disposal at the transfer station.

Leader of Torbay Council Steve Darling said: “It’s fantastic that since we launched our garden waste collection service with SWISCo a few months ago we have already been able to collect so much green garden waste and converted it to compost at a local farm. By signing up for the service you not only get a more convenient collection from your own home, you are also helping the environment.”

Mike Morey, Cabinet Member for Infrastructure, Environment and Culture, said: “We’re committed to doing all we can to improve recycling and reduce Torbay’s carbon footprint, and you can help too by registering for our garden waste collections.”

Garden waste subscriptions are £50 per subscription (or £40 per year for those on Council Tax Support) and you get a 240L size brown bin and 12 months of collections for each subscription (with each household being entitled to sign up for up to three subscriptions or three brown bins).

The following items can be put in brown bins:

• Grass cuttings
• Flowers
• Small branches up to 10cm thick
• Loose leaves
• Shrub trimmings
• Hedge trimmings

You can sign up for garden waste collections here. 

Know of a loved one who might like a garden waste subscription as a gift? Email recycling@swisco.co.uk to arrange this.

Alternatively if you wish to discuss or find out more you can call 01803 701310.

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