Short answer: Every London borough now requires paid garden waste to be bagged in compostable sacks for collection, typically weighing no more than 10kg each. Loose piles, weeds and soil are almost always refused. Annual subscriptions cost £40–£80 depending on the borough.
Council garden waste rules: bags, bundles and weight limits
London boroughs have steadily tightened presentation rules since 2023 to reduce contamination rates at their in-vessel composting facilities, which now sit at around 12% annually across the capital. The near-universal rule as of autumn 2026 is that all green or garden waste must be placed inside compostable sacks—either official council-branded brown bags bought in packs of 10 from the borough website, or generic EN13432-compliant compostable bags from supermarkets, home stores or Amazon. Plastic bags, rubble sacks, bin liners or any non-compostable packaging will result in the entire load being refused, and the crew will leave a sticky note on the bags listing the reason. Max bag weight is 10kg in 27 boroughs and 12kg in the remaining 5 (mostly outer London such as Bromley, Havering and Bexley). Anything heavier risks splitting and can also be refused on health and safety grounds for the loaders. Loose bundles of branches, hedge trimmings and prunings were historically accepted alongside bags in many boroughs, but only Lewisham, Greenwich, Newham and Barking still allow them, under strict 1.2 metre length and 15cm diameter limits, tied with natural twine only. Everywhere else, including Camden, Islington, Westminster, Wandsworth and Southwark, loose bundles count as street litter and are left behind.
Subscription pricing and what you get per year by borough
Annual subscriptions to the fortnightly garden waste collection service now cost £40–£80 per household for 26 collections per year, though a handful of boroughs run a 3-weekly cycle in winter months (November to February). At the budget end, Bexley charges £35 for 4 bags per collection, Croydon £42 for 5 bags per slot, and Sutton £45 for 6 bags. Central and inner boroughs have pushed up prices sharply: Richmond upon Thames is now the most expensive at £82 per year for 5 bags per fortnight, followed by Westminster at £78 and Kensington and Chelsea at £74. The value for money calculation depends on how often you actually garden. If you only generate garden waste from April to October, you are paying roughly £1.50–£3 per bag across the year, which compares poorly to private ad-hoc removal only when needed. Over-subscription also means waiting lists exist in Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Lambeth and parts of Ealing, so residents signing up mid-season often cannot get a collection slot until the following calendar year.
What councils refuse and why soil contamination matters
The excluded items list for London council garden waste is long and getting longer. At the top, soil, turf, roots, rockery stone, gravel and builders rubble are universally excluded because they damage composting machinery and bring in demolition contaminants. Plastic plant pots, seed trays, canes, treated wood, fencing, garden furniture, toys, hose pipes and pots never belong in garden waste either—all of these either go in general household waste or to a specialist recycling point. More surprisingly, roughly half of London boroughs now refuse common weeds such as bindweed, couch grass, nettles and dandelions, fearing viable seed and rhizome fragments will survive the composting process and contaminate the end product sold to farms and landscaping firms. Schedule 9 invasive weeds like Japanese knotweed, giant hogweed and rhododendron ponticum are legally classed as controlled waste and must never be placed in any council bin or bag—they require specialist incineration or licensed deep landfill disposal. Violations are increasingly enforced via bin lorry CCTV and, in Hackney and Southwark, via roadside number plate recognition on reported waste incidents, resulting in fixed penalty notices of £200–£400.
Alternatives for one-off or large garden clearances
If you are tackling an overgrown plot, re-turfing a lawn, or pulling out mature hedges, the council scheme will rarely cope. For these jobs, a licensed garden waste carrier or a full garden clearance service is far more practical. Private operators accept soil, turf, weeds, timber, and all the items councils refuse, and most will also do the physical cutting, strimming, digging and bagging for you as part of the price. Small one-off pickups of 10–15 bag equivalent run £60–£90 in outer boroughs like Bromley and Kingston, while a full overgrown garden clearance including a skip or van load comes in at £180–£350 depending on size and access. For residents in SW19 Wimbledon and Merton, wait times are usually 1–3 days because of local depot coverage. If you are doing the work yourself and the waste is mixed with other household items, combine it with a general waste removal booking or a house clearance slot for a better per-load rate.
Book a one-off or regular garden waste clearance in London
Skip the annual council subscription, contaminated bags and missed collections by booking our garden waste or clearance service. We collect bagged or loose green waste, weeds, soil, turf, hedges and branches from any London borough, do all the lifting and carrying, and compost or recycle everything legally through registered facilities. Send a photo and postcode for a fixed all-in quote within 20 minutes.
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TW9 Richmond upon Thames service page
TW9 Richmond upon Thames service page
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