Garden Waste Terms And Conditions
The following information defines the expectations and limitations of the Garden Waste Service. This does not affect your statutory rights.
Service description
Garden waste will be collected fortnightly, except during the Christmas and New Year period, when there will be four weeks between collections due to a two week suspension of service. Details of Christmas and New Year schedule changes will be advertised on Ashford Borough Council’s website.
The Garden Waste Service is available to all domestic households with a garden within the Ashford Borough Council local authority area where the council confirms (i) that it is practical operationally for the council to provide the service and (ii) that the customer has adequate space to store the number of containers included in the customers service contract/subscription.
Cost and payment terms
The annual cost of the service is published on Ashford Borough Council’s website. Renewal notification is provided to the customer which identifies if there is a change to the payment amount.
A customer’s service contract is expressly subject to annual renewal and that the renewal is subject to the payment of the annual cost.
An annual renewal for new customers commencing post 18/06/2020 will have a renewal date one calendar year from their initiating their service. Otherwise, the annual renewal date is for May every year.
The annual cost is per container.
No refunds will be made once the service has commenced.
A missed service does not constitute a refund. The Garden Waste Service provides reporting function to request the contractor attend and conduct a missed service. (See ‘Reporting Problems’ within this document).
Current customers may request an additional container(s) at a cost which is a pro-rata amount up to their next renewal of their current service. From the next renewal the full renewal amount will be applied.
Cancelling the service
You are entitled to cancel the service within 14 working days of subscribing, and receive a full refund, if you have not already received a collection.
- if the customer does not renew their subscription at the end of a subscription period the council will arrange for the customer’s containers to be collected.
- The council reserves the right to remove containers if the customer fails to pay for the service or if the council withdraws the service for any reason. Any personal stickers applied to the container are non-returnable.
- If the council is entitled to remove containers it may will recover its containers from the property using any/all reasonable means of access.
- If at the end of the service contract the council is unable to retrieve a container the council may charge the customer for the replacement cost of the container payable within 30 days of the council’s invoice.
Ashford Borough Council only reserves the right to cancel the service if garden waste containers or the service is misused.
The council reserves the right to withdraw the service without any customer default by giving a specified period of notice of 28 days.
The council reserves the right to vary these terms and conditions at any time without agreement with the customer.
Notification of change of service
Ashford Borough Council reserves the right to cancel collections in unpredictable circumstances such as extreme weather conditions or ‘force majeure’ without prior notice and without customer refund in these circumstances; the service will resume as soon as conditions allow. Updates will be communicated through social media and/or Ashford Borough Council’s website.
If the council alters the collection day, we will provide notification to customers at the earliest opportunity.
Containers
Garden waste containers are provided for the use of the customer but remain the property of Ashford Borough Council. Only a container provided by Ashford Borough Council will be emptied.
Garden waste containers may not be new, but will be supplied in serviceable condition.
Garden waste containers will be delivered within 10 working days from registration to use the service.
The first collection of garden waste will commence no earlier than seven working days or on your next scheduled collection date whichever is soonest.
Details of collection days will be published on Ashford Borough Council’s website.
Containers are used at the Customer’s own risk.
It is the customer’s responsibility to safely store the containers on their property between collections and to position the containers so as to avoid nuisance or obstruction when putting them out for collection.
Each household can apply for up to eight containers. The annual fee will be applied to each container.
The council or contractor has the authority to apply stickers to garden waste containers to identify issues or to provide education on items appropriate to recycle.
The council has authority to apply stickers to garden waste containers to promote the use of the service.
Current holders of a garden waste collection service can request further containers at additional cost.
Presentation of the garden waste container
Garden waste containers must be presented at the kerbside on the boundary of the property no later than 6am on the day of collection and in a safe manner.
All garden waste containers must be clearly visible from the road, and accessible without obstruction.
The lid of the container must be fully closed when presented.
Only loose garden waste can be disposed of in the garden waste container. Garden waste includes grass cuttings, flowers, small tree branches (less than 10 centimetres in diameter), loose leaves, shrubs and hedge trimmings.
The following items cannot be disposed of through the garden waste service: large branches (greater than 10cm in diameter), soil, stones, gravel, rocks, rubble, plastic plant pots or trays, or any other household waste.
Council reserves the right to refuse to empty a garden waste container that contain incorrect materials.
Containers filled with contamination will not be emptied. It is the customer’s responsibility to remove the incorrect item(s) prior to the next collection. If incorrect materials are regularly placed in the garden waste container the council may discontinue the service without refund.
If a customer’s container is filled with incorrect materials on two occasions, advice is offered by the council and a container is filled with incorrect materials on a further occasion the council may terminate the customer’s subscription, remove the containers and cease the provision of the service to the customer without refunding the fee to the customer.
Council reserves the right to not empty garden waste containers that are compacted too densely, over-filled or over-weight. If containers are over-filled or over weight it is the customer’s responsibility to remove the item(s) prior to the next collection. Failure to loosen the compacted waste, reduce the weight or fullness of the container or regularly presenting over-full or over-weight containers may mean the council discontinues the service without refund.
Additional garden waste placed on top or to the side of the container will not be collected.
Following completion of service on the scheduled collection day the customer must return the container to within the property boundary the same day.
Reporting problems
Missed collections must be reported within 48 hours of the designated day of collection. The council’s contractor will return by the end of the next working day.
Reports for a missed collection made after 48 hours will not be serviced until the next scheduled collection day.
Where a container has been presented correctly but has been genuinely missed by the crew, the customer reports a missed collection and leaves the container out so that the crew can easily get to it.
Customers will not be compensated for a missed collection
No refunds will be provided in the event that collections cannot be carried out for reasons beyond the council’s control, e.g. parked cars
If containers are not presented for collection at the right time and in the right place the crew will not return to empty them until the next scheduled collection date
After the containers have been emptied, the crew will return them to the place from which they were collected on the basis that it is the customer's responsibility to take their containers back within the boundary of their property
Garden waste containers not presented by 6.00am on the day of collection cannot be reported as missed and will not be considered a ‘missed’ collection.
Lost, stolen or damaged containers can be reported on Ashford Borough Council’s website.
Complaints relating to any aspect of the service or for repeated service failure should be reported to Ashford Borough Council through their complaints procedure. Details can be found on Ashford Borough Council’s website. Prior to complaining all previous missed incidents must have been reported to Ashford Borough Council.
Change of circumstances
If you move house within the Ashford borough and wish to continue with the service, please take the container with you and notify the council of your change of address so that the account can be transferred.
If you move to a different local authority area, you will need to notify Ashford Borough Council and cancel the service as the service cannot be transferred outside of the Ashford borough.
Any other changes to your circumstances including name, bank account, and email address must be reported to Ashford Borough Council. Details on how to do this is are on our website.
Data protection statement
We collect the following information about you when you subscribe to the service:
- Name
- Property address
- Email address
- Telephone number
The council has a duty to keep records up to date therefore we require customers to notify us of any changes to their personal details.
When you subscribe to the service, we collect information about you to allow us to provide the service and to allow us to contact you in relation to the renewal of your subscription.
Your personal details will not be passed to any other organisation or third party. We may contact you to participate in customer satisfaction surveys.
For our full privacy statement in relation to recycling and refuse services find the statement on our Privacy page.
Liability
- The customer must indemnify the council against claims and liabilities arising from the presentation of the containers on the customer’s property that are not due to any act or default of the Council.
- The service is only provided for domestic and private use and the customer must not to use the service for any commercial purpose and the Council has not liability for any business losses.
- The council is not liable for any failure to perform any of the council’s obligations caused by an event outside the council’s control.
- The council may transfer the council’s rights and obligations under the T&C’s to another organisation but only on the basis that it does not affect obligations due to the customer under these T&C’s.
