London Borough of Hillingdon is proposing to begin charging £70 per household per year for green waste (garden recycling) collections. They will decide “in the Spring” and have been running a public consultation to seek residents’ opinions.
The public consultation ends TODAY, 31 March 2025, so if you haven’t already answered, be sure to complete the questionnaire online now.
Complete the consultationHillingdon’s case for charging for green waste is…
Our garden waste collection service would continue to offer residents:
- better value for money than neighbouring boroughs through a cheaper rate per collection
- weekly collections in spring, summer and autumn
- greater capacity of collected garden waste than other boroughs.
Residents without a subscription would still be able to take their garden waste to our civic amenity sites for free.
Please complete the consultation questionnaire
Whether you agree with it or not, we encourage you to complete the consultation questionnaire.
Yes, the questions appear to be biased, the conclusion appears already made, objections can barely be raised, and the charge is all but inevitable given that the £2.5m is already in the council’s budget, but this is the consultation that we have and to be heard, we must complete it.
The consultation is long (29 questions) but it is also anonymous, so if you wish to tell the council that you’d flytip or burn your garden waste instead of paying for the collection service, you can do so – without them knocking on your door.
About e-Petition circulating on social media
There is an ePetition that a Northwood resident has created on the Hillingdon platform, and it has already reached the 100 threshold to be discussed at a future Cabinet meeting (possibly as soon as 10th April) – in fact, on its closing day, 31 March, it has 1100 signatures.
We stress that the only full and proper way to have your voice heard is to complete the consultation survey. It is from the consultation that Hillingdon will quote figures and formalise their decision.
You can find the ePetition against the introduction of charges for green waste collections here on the Hillingdon website – you’ll need to sign in to complete it.If you only participate in one of the two, prioritise the consultation. By all means do both, but the consultation is the most important.
The consultation questions in full
We reproduce Hillingdon’s green waste consultation questions in full below – preserving them online publicly in case they are not otherwise easily found in the future.
The horizontal dividing lines represent “pages” of the consultation: Questions 1-12 are shown on one page, 13-17 are on a second page, Question 18 is shown on its own, Questions 19-27 are on the penultimate page, and the final Questions 28-29 are together on the submission page.
No contact details are taken, and while demographic information is collected, no personal details (name, address, phone or email details etc) are requested.
Show consultation questions
About You
1. How did you hear about the consultation?
- Hillingdon Council website
- Hillingdon People magazine
- Hillingdon Council e-newsletter
- Hillingdon Council social media
- News/media outlet
- Word of mouth
- Other
2. In what capacity are you responding?
- As a resident of Hillingdon
- As a local business in Hillingdon
- Other
3. What ward do you live in?
(Please use this link if you are not sure what ward you live in – www.hillingdon.gov.uk/ward-boundaries)
4. Do you own or rent your home? (answer is not required)
- Own outright
- Own with mortgage or loan
- Rented – social landlord
- Rented – private landlord
- Shared ownership
- Living with friends or family
- Temporary accommodation
- Other
5. Which of these best describes the type of home you live in?
- Detached house
- Semi detached house
- Terraced house
- Maisonette
- Bungalow
- Flat
- House of multiple occupancy
- Caravan
6. Does the property you live in have a garden?
- Yes – private
- Yes – communal
- No – but some outside space
- No
7. Which age group are you in?
- Under 18
- 18-24
- 25-34
- 35-44
- 45-54
- 55 -64
- 65-74
- 75+
- Prefer not to say
8. What is your gender?
- Male
- Female
- Prefer not to say
9. Are your day-to-day activities limited because of a long-term physical or mental health condition / illness?
- Yes, limited a lot
- Yes, limited a little
- No
- Prefer not to say
10. What is your ethnic origin?
- White (British, Irish, European, Gypsy or Irish Traveller, Other White)
- Mixed (White and Black Caribbean, White and Black African, White and Asian, Other Mixed)
- Asian or Asian British (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, Other Asian)
- Black or Black British (Caribbean, African, Other Black)
- Other ethnic group (Arab, Other)
- Prefer not to say
11. What is your current employment status?
- Employed (30 hours of more per week)
- Employed (less than 30 hours per week)
- Self employed (full or part time)
- On a government supported training programme
- In full time education at school, college, or university
- Unemployed and available for work
- Permanently sick or disabled
- Retired
- Looking after the home and/or family members
- Doing something else
- Prefer not to say
12. Do you or a member of your household have access to a car?
- I drive, and have my own car
- I drive, and have shared use of a car
- I drive, but do not have regular use of a car
- I do not drive, but someone in my household does and has their own car
- I do not drive, but someone in my household has regular use of a car
- My household does not have easy or regular access to a car
Use of the current garden waste service
13. How often do you use the current garden waste collection service?
- Every week (and fortnightly in winter months)
- Most weeks – year round
- Most weeks – but less so in the winter months
- Occasionally (once per month or more)
- Rarely
- Never
14. On average how many sacks do you present for each collection?
- Less than one sack
- One to two sacks
- Three sacks
- Four to five sacks
- Six sacks
- I don’t use the garden waste collection service
15. How often do you take garden waste to one of the borough’s waste and recycling centres?
- Weekly
- Monthly
- Occasionally (More than three times per year)
- Rarely (Two or less times per year)
- Never
16. Do you make use of the assisted collection service due to a disability?
- Yes
- No
- I did not know that this service is available
17. Do you employ anyone to help you with your gardening?
- Yes, weekly
- Yes, fortnightly
- Yes, occasionally
- Never
Your views
18. Should households, which do not have gardens, continue to contribute to the garden waste removal service as part of their council tax?
- Yes
- No
- Don’t know
If a charge was introduced for garden waste collections:
19. In London, some boroughs charge up to £98 per annum for fortnightly garden waste collections.
What would you consider to be a fair charge for the weekly collection of garden waste?
- Less than £70 per year
- £70 per year
- More than £70 per year
20. In London, some boroughs charge up to £98 per annum for fortnightly garden waste collections.
What would you consider to be a fair charge for the fortnightly collection of garden waste?
- Less than £70 per year
- £70 per year
- More than £70 per year
21. If you do not subscribe to the garden waste collection service, how would you dispose of your garden waste?
- I would subscribe to the collection service
- Take it to the recycling centre
- Compost at home
- I don’t have any garden waste
- Fly-tip it
- Put it in the general waste
- Burn it
- Use a private collection service
- Ask a neighbour to use their paid for service
22. What type of container would you prefer to use for garden waste collection?
- Current reusable sacks
- Different coloured reusable sacks
- Biodegradable single use sacks
- Wheeled bin
23. How regularly would you like a garden waste collection service?
- Weekly – all year
- Weekly, but fortnightly in winter
- Weekly, but no collection in winter
- Fortnightly – all year
- Fortnightly, but monthly in winter
- Fortnightly, but no collection in winter
24. If the service was weekly, how much garden waste would you want to be able to recycle at each collection?
- 240 litres (standard wheeled bin size)
- 270 litres (three current sacks)
- 540 litres (six current sacks)
- More than 540 litres
25. If you regularly produce a large quantity of garden waste, are you likely to subscribe for an additional collection?
- I would take excess garden waste to the recycling centre or compost it at home
- I would subscribe for more than one bin or additional sacks at the full price
- I would subscribe for more than one bin or additional sacks if there was a concession
- I do not frequently produce excess garden waste
- Don’t know, but would like the option
26. What would you do with your current garden waste sacks if you did not subscribe to the collection service?
- I would subscribe to the service
- I would keep the sacks to use in the garden or to transport to the recycling centre
- I would put them in my black general waste sack
- I do not currently have any sacks
27. How strongly do you agree / disagree, that in order for the council to continue to provide frontline services, that an opt in chargeable garden waste service be implemented?
- Strongly agree
- Agree
- Disagree
- Strongly disagree
- No opinion
Accessing services
28. If we introduce a charge for the garden waste collection service, would you be able to sign up online?
- Yes, I could do this myself
- Yes, someone I know could help me to do this
- No, I would need help via the phone or from another council service
- No, I wouldn’t subscribe if I had to sign up online
29. Would you be able to set up an annual direct debit payment?
- Yes, I could do this myself
- Yes, someone I know could help me to do this
- No, I would need help via the phone or from another council service
- No, I don’t have a current account
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