Garden waste services

If you choose to purchase a garden waste permit this will be available early March, and valid between March and December for four-weekly collections.

In setting this charge, we carried out comparisons with other councils who run the scheme and have tried to keep it as low as possible.

Permit sticker for your garden waste bin

Once a permit has been purchased, a permit sticker will be issued which should be stuck to your garden waste bin using the instructions provided. Please ensure the new permit is clearly displayed and, if possible, place it on top of the old permit.

Please note that your sticker may take up to 21 days to arrive. Our crews will have your permit information so even if you don't have it yet, your bin will still be collected. 

Householders can recycle garden waste at their local recycling centre free of charge.

Recycling centres are located at Western Road, Kilmarnock and Garlaff, near Cumnock. Please be aware that a recycling permit and an appointment is required to visit recycling centres.

The way you dispose of your garden waste changed at the end of March 2021 following an extensive review of Cleaner Communities that was carried out to help make our approach to waste more sustainable in response to rising costs and changing legislation.

The collection of garden waste is not a statutory service, and local authorities are allowed to charge if they do offer it.

With a real need to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and to increase rates of recycling, we hope that these changes will help with our commitment to improving the environment, one of our main renewal and recovery priorities in response to coronavirus (COVID-19).

You can register and make payment either online via Our East Ayrshire customer account or over the phone.

The registration documentation will include a sticker to be placed on your bin(s) which details the address and unique property reference number (UPRN) of the registered property as well as the duration of the registration.

Once a permit has been purchased either online or by phone, a permit sticker will be issued which should be stuck to your garden waste bin using the instructions provided. Please ensure the new permit is clearly displayed and, if possible, place it on top of the old permit.

Please note that the sticker does not need to be on your bin for it to be collected (the sticker can take up to 21 days to arrive) - our crews will have the relevant permit information.

You can call 01563 554400 (Option 6) and speak to Greener Communities staff who will be able to order and process your permit.

Once your application and payment have been verified, it will take up to 21 days for your permit to be issued via post.

You should follow the simple instructions within the pack to attach the permit to your bin. Please wait the full 21 days to receive this before making contact with us.

Permits can take up to 21 days to arrive so we would recommend you purchase this well in advance of your next collection date.

If you have received confirmation that your permit request and payment have been processed and your bin is due for collection before you receive this, you can still present it for collection.

The charge came into effect from the end of March 2021. You can register for your permit online or by calling   01563 554400 (Option 6).

The first collections in the four-weekly cycle will commence on Monday 11 March 2024.

View your recycling calendar for your individual collection date.

£30 per year, per bin.

The £30 payment entitles residents to four-weekly collections from March to November this year.

You will be asked to make an annual payment either online or by telephone.

We have no plans to introduce rolling year charging, and residents will be required to pay the annual charge for the full year regardless of when they join the service.

Registered households will be advised of the need to re-register well in advance of the new billing period and will be asked to follow the same procedures as before in order to maintain their registration of the service and receive a new bin sticker.

Please ensure that your details are up-to-date on your customer account and that you have provided an email address.

Residents are encouraged to have registered for the service before the start of collections to ensure that they receive the maximum number of collections throughout the year.

Residents who sign up for the service after collections start will have to pay the full annual charge but will only receive collections once payment has been made and based on the next four weekly collection date for that property.

All residents, regardless of age or ability, will be required to pay the charge if they wish to use the garden waste collection service.

The cost is still £30 per bin regardless of size, however we can exchange the smaller 140 litre for a 240 litre brown bin.

The service will continue to operate every four weeks throughout the year from March to November.

Collection dates will be advertised on this website and displayed on your recycling calendar.

A number of councils across the country have introduced this charge in recent years and found no evidence to suggest that fly tipping of green waste has increased as a result.

The disposal of garden waste is the householder’s responsibility and residents can continue to dispose of this free of charge at any of our recycling centres.

The Corporate Enforcement Unit tackle fly-tipping incidents which have been on the rise during the pandemic. A strong line will be taken against any offenders who choose to fly tip waste or drop litter.

We are grateful to all of the local residents who have been working with our Greener Communities team to help keep East Ayrshire beautiful and want to encourage everyone to do their bit to stop environmental crime.

Yes. The Controlled Waste Regulations 1992 (Schedule 2) specify garden waste as a type of household waste for which a charge for collection may be applied. Also, garden waste is not one of the specified materials in the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 which local authorities are required to collect for recycling.

Over 40% of councils in the UK charge for a garden waste collection and some have stopped the service altogether.

The disposal of garden waste is the householder’s responsibility. Although there is no obligation to make use of the chargeable service, residents can choose to bring garden waste to our recycling centres at Western Road, Kilmarnock or Garlaff, near Cumnock where it can be disposed of free of charge. 

Please remember to book an appointment in advance to visit the recycling centres.

Another way to dispose of garden waste is to compost at home. Find out more about getting started with home composting.

Visit Zero Waste Scotland's website for tips on home composting with garden waste.

If you pay a private contractor to undertake gardening work, you can request that they remove the garden waste. Please be aware that this may incur a charge.

Please note that fly-tipping is the illegal dumping of waste (including garden waste) and if found doing this, you could be issued with a fixed penalty notice of up to £200, or even taken to court for fines of up to £40,000 or imprisonment.

It is also an offense to dispose of domestic waste in a way likely to cause pollution of the environment or harm to human health. This would include the burning of waste that is likely to create excessive smoke or noxious fumes. Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, smoke from the burning of domestic/household waste must not cause a nuisance to neighbouring properties and affect their enjoyment of their property.

We are confident that with the advice and information provided to residents about the importance of recycling all of their waste, and the options available to those who choose not to pay the charge, the recycling levels will continue to rise.

You can recycle:

• grass cuttings
• leaves and bark
• flowers or cut flowers
• houseplants
• hedge trimmings and prunings
• weeds
• twigs and small branches – cut into lengths to fit
• potted plants and herbs (without the pot)
• windfall fruit
• sawdust
• hay

Garden waste should not be placed inside the general waste bin or presented as side waste but instead disposed of either via the garden waste bin (with the appropriate permit) or free of charge at the nearest Recycling Centre.

Residents who have paid will be issued with a bin sticker which details the address and Unique Property Reference Number (UPRN) for the property, as well as the charging period, for example, March to November.

Collection crews will then only empty bins which have this valid sticker clearly displayed, ensuring that the sticker details correspond to the address of the property and that the address is listed on their collection round.

Yes. Please see home composting.

Services such as the collection and disposal of domestic waste are available to all households and are therefore funded from the Council's General Fund. The services provided from this budget are largely funded by government grants and Council Tax.

Council Tax funds a small proportion of the overall General Fund budget and the charge paid is not directly attributable to specific services or activities.

Garden waste is not one of the specified materials in the Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 which local authorities are required to collect for recycling.

If you move house, you can take your permit with you to your new address as long as it is within East Ayrshire.

You will be asked to remove the permit sticker from the bin, inform us that you’re moving and provide us with your new address. The permit will then be re-issued to your new address with the old address being removed from the system.

Please contact us by emailing waste@east-ayrshire.gov.uk

Households that currently share a bin for their garden waste, for example flatted properties, can continue to do this if one resident applies for the permit.

If you do not wish to keep your garden waste bin/s then please complete the bin removal request form or contact us via waste@east-ayrshire.gov.uk. 

If you are currently registered to receive an assisted collection for a garden waste bin and would like to participate in the garden waste service, then you will need to buy a garden waste permit.

If you currently receive an assisted collection for your bins, but don’t have a garden waste bin and would like to participate in the garden waste collection service, then you will need to order a garden waste bin via waste@east-ayrshire.gov.uk or by calling 01563 554400 (Option 6).

Enter the postcode and search for your address. Unless your address can’t be found using the postcode search you should not manually enter this as the system is sensitive to what is manually entered. The address may not therefore appear exactly as you have typed it.

If you continue to have problems with the address recognition, please call us on 01563 554400 (Option 6).

If you require more than one garden waste bin then the charge is still £30 per bin and so you will be charged for the number of bins required. A sticker for each bin will be delivered to you to attach to each bin.

There is no limit to the amount of bins per property but each bin will only be emptied if a permit has been purchased per bin.

If you already have a garden waste bin, but the system will not allow you to buy a permit because it believes that you are not on a garden waste route, please email us at waste@east-ayrshire.gov.uk or call 01563 554400 (Option 6) with details of your address.

We will endeavour to update the system so that you are able to buy a garden waste permit.

If it has been more than 21 days since you ordered your permit and you received the email confirmation but have still not received the permit through the post, please request a replacement permit via waste@east-ayrshire.gov.uk or by calling 01563 554400 (Option 6).

No refunds or part refunds will be given for missed collections. Missed collections will be dealt with as per our Customer Charter.

Collection errors or other conditions beyond our control can result in service disruption or missed collections. In such circumstances we will aim to return to empty your bin within 48 hours from the original collection date, subject to the householder contacting the Council via waste@east-ayrshire.gov.uk or by calling 01563 554400 (Option 6).

The householder should leave their wheeled bin out at the kerbside for 48 hours after the time of normal collection and we will try to return and empty the bin. If wheeled bins are not collected within this time, householders are advised to please return the bin(s) to their regular storage area and put them back out on the next scheduled collection day for uplift, conditions permitting.

If the contents of wheeled bins are not uplifted due to waste being tightly lodged or frozen, the contents will not be collected until the next scheduled collection day. The householder must ensure that the waste is freed or dislodged before putting out again.

Once purchased, permits cannot be cancelled.

Garden waste collections stop in November this year, however if you wish to check changes to your other collections, you can view, download or print your recycling calendar online.

Details of any changes to the festive uplift schedule will also feature on our website and social media channels.

Garden waste bins which contain garden waste but do not display a garden waste permit will not be emptied. Alternatively, the householder can buy a Garden Waste Permit which, once displayed on the bin, will enable it to be emptied.

Householders are responsible for the waste and recycling that is contained in their bins and will be required to make arrangements to remove any contamination identified. Please store your bin securely between collections.

If you know that someone is disposing of their garden waste in your bin, you are encouraged to discuss the issue directly with them. However, if you do not feel comfortable advising them not to use your bin then you can contact us for further advice via waste@east-ayrshire.gov.uk

Please note that leaves can be bagged up (in black sacks with holes in) to make leaf mould for the garden for next year. Similarly, grass cuttings can be left on the grass as a mulch, which feeds the lawn and especially helps the lawn in times of drought.

Tree owners (such as the Council) are not required to clear fallen leaves from neighbouring properties. The responsibility sits with the persons onto whose property the leaves fall.

Please note that if fallen leaves are returned to the property where the tree is sited, this can technically be classified as fly-tipping. However, broken/trimmed branches and fallen fruit can legally be returned to the tree owner.

No materials, other than those specified by the Council, will be accepted in the garden waste bin. We reserve the right not to empty wheeled bins that are:

• suspected of containing incorrect materials
• of excessive weight
• in a dangerous condition
• detrimental to the health and safety of staff

It shall be solely for the Council to determine if any bin meets any of the above criteria.

Householders will be responsible for the waste and recycling that is contained within the bins and will be required to make arrangements to remove any contamination identified. If all contamination is removed, the wheeled bin will be emptied on the next scheduled collection day. Residents can request an uplift of contaminated garden waste bins by us, however this will be a chargeable service and needs to be requested via waste@east-ayrshire.gov.uk or by calling 01563 554400 (Option 6).

In the event that repeated contamination of wheeled recycling bins occurs, we reserve the right to withdraw the recycling service by giving immediate written notice and arranging removal of the garden waste bin(s).

No refunds will be available for any collections missed while the service has been withdrawn.

Biodegradable bags can be purchased at a cost of £1 per bag (purchased in multiples of five), and these can be presented alongside your garden waste bin.

If you have branches (cut into four foot lengths and tied in manageable bundles), a biodegradable bag can be tied to them.

Biodegradable bags can only be purchased if you have a valid permit for your garden waste bin or bags. If you have purchased a permit and have additional waste due to hedge cuttings etc. at certain points of the year, then rather than buying another permit you can buy bio degradable bags that can be placed beside your permitted brown bin

For further information please email waste@east-ayrshire.gov.uk

Brown bins that have previously been purchased by a householder (new build developments only) will remain their property.

Since 2018 any new planning applications received require the developer and not the householder to pay.

There is no charge for any replacement bins required.

We will not reimburse for brown bins previously purchased. These will remain the property of the purchaser.

Support is on hand for eligible residents through the Garden Maintenance Scheme which provides a grass and hedge cutting service several times a year for tenants who are unable to look after their gardens.

If you are facing a change in your circumstances or are just struggling with paying your bills, advice, information and support is available from the Financial Inclusion team. Call 0800 389 7750 or email info@eamoney.co.uk. 

Further help and advice can be found on our cost of living webpages.

If you live in a property which cannot accommodate a wheeled bin (for example terraced house) you can still arrange to be included in the collection service.

Please contact us by emailing waste@east-ayrshire.gov.uk or calling 01563 554400 (Option 6) and we can arrange payment, registration and delivery of biodegradable bags.

Please do not apply for a permit online via this website.

Although the letter states the permit is valid from 1 January 2024 until December 2024, collections will take place from March until November as per the four weekly scheduled collection cycle.