Garden Waste Winter Suspension

Kerbside collections of household garden waste will pause as usual during the winter months across Central Bedfordshire.

Garden waste collections will be suspended for 12 weeks from Monday 4 December 2023 until Friday 23 February 2024, inclusive. Residents are encouraged to check their last collection date for their area, which depending on where they live will be either the week commencing Monday 20 November or week commencing Monday 27 November. The collections will resume from Monday 26, February. During this period, all other waste collections will operate as normal.

Over the winter, very low volumes of garden waste are collected so it is not cost-effective or environmentally friendly to provide the service during these months.  The council is encouraging residents to sign up for email alerts to receive timely notifications about the resumption of garden waste collections and other waste service changes throughout the year. For more information about garden waste and collection dates you can also visit: www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/garden-waste.

During the break, garden waste can still be recycled at any of the council’s four Household Waste Recycling Centres which are open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm, including bank holidays. For further details, including the opening times over the Christmas and New Year period, please visit: https://www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/tidytips

Residents with enough space in their gardens are encouraged to home compost and can access tips and advice on the Council’s website.

Residents can also prepare for the festive season by following the council’s social media and checking the website for collection dates throughout the Christmas period.

ID required for Household Waste Recycling Centres

From 1 November 2023, visitors to Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) – also known as tidy tips – in Central Bedfordshire will be asked to show proof that they live in the area.

Central Bedfordshire Council will be implementing its existing policy of requiring visitors to provide proof of address when using any of its four HWRCs. This brings Central Bedfordshire Council in line with many of its neighbouring authorities and means that visitors to sites at Ampthill, Biggleswade, Leighton Buzzard and Thorn Turn (Houghton Regis) will need to bring along valid ID to gain entry to the tidy tip.

Acceptable forms of ID include:

  • Current UK Driving licence (photocard or paper license will be acdepted)
  • Current Council Tax Bill (from current financial year)
  • Utility bill for gas, electricity or water (must be less than a year old)
  • Letter from HMRC or the Home Officce (must be less than a year old)
  • Current Bus Pass
  • Current Disabled Parking Permit

All four sites are open seven days a week from 9am to 5pm including Bank Holidays, except Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve when sites are open 9am to 1pm.

The Council is encouraging residents to sign up for email alerts to be informed of waste service updates. For more information about Central Bedfordshire’s Household Waste Recycling Centres, visit www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/tidytips

Sign up for Waste Allerts and become a Bin Influencer!

Receive email alerts about changes to your bin collections and other waste services.  By signing up you could become the go-to binfluencer on your street; that person who knows what bin goes out on which day. You’ll be the first to receive updates on the restart of garden waste collections, Christmas bin timetables, changes to recycling centre opening times and a wealth of handy recycling tips.

To sign up for bin and waste alerts, visit:  www.centralbedfordshire.gov.uk/bin-and-waste-alerts