BE AN EARLY BIRD WITH YOUR GARDEN WASTE

You can be an early bird with Thanet District Council’s garden waste scheme and save money if you sign up by the end of the month. (March 2011)

The council’s fortnightly collection service is already being used by more than 4,600 homes around the area. There’s a one-off cost of £27.50 to hire the 240 litre green wheeled bin that your garden waste goes in and then you pay an annual collection charge of £35. However, anyone who joins the scheme by 31 March 2011 will get a £5 reduction off their annual collection charge for 2011/12.

Director of Environmental Services, Mark Seed, said: “Thousands of people already regularly use the council’s green recycling collection service to easily and environmentally dispose of their garden waste. It’s a cheap alternative to regular visits to your local recycling centre and saves both time and money. Everything we collect goes to a composting site to be shredded and composted into a soil conditioner and is then re-used through gardens and farms, so it’s also a green solution way to deal with garden waste.”

The green bins hold the equivalent of approximately five standard rubbish sacks, and you can put leaves, grass cuttings, flowers and plants, garden weeds, hedge trimmings, small twigs and branches into your bin. Collections run fortnightly, except from mid December to mid January, when they are suspended each year.

You can join by calling 01843 577115 or by visiting www.thanet.gov.uk/recycling and paying with a credit or debit card.