Dawlish Discussion

We are introducing an optional garden waste collection service for residents who want us to collect their garden waste.

We will continue to collect your garden waste until your property is changed over to the new recycling service.   After this if you would like us to collect your garden waste you will need to opt in and subscribe to the service.

Sign up and pay for collections

The service costs £35 per year per bin for the subscription period which runs from 1st September 2015 to 31st August 2016.

If you are in receipt of housing benefit or council tax reduction you will pay a concessionary fee of £30 per year per bin.

You can join the service at any time during the subscription period but you will still be required to pay the full amount of £35 for your permit.

How do I subscribe?

The easiest way to sign up is to pay online by clicking on the button above.  Alternatively you can call 01626 215512 and pay over the phone using your credit or debit card. 

If you currently have your refuse and compostable waste collected in sacks and would like to sign up and pay for the service please contact us.

After you've signed up you will be sent a welcome pack which will include your permit sticker to put on your bin.

Green bin collections

Your garden waste bin will be emptied fortnightly on your normal day of collection (on the week that your black bin is not being emptied).

Please ensure that your garden waste bin is at the kerbside on the boundary at the front of the registered property by 7am on your day of collection.

Unwanted green bins

As food waste and cardboard will no longer be collected from your green bin, you will only need to keep it if you choose to subscribe to the garden waste collection service.

We will be removing unwanted bins during the first week that the new recycling service is introduced to your property. Full details will be included on your collection calendar that will be delivered to your property before the service changes.

If you would like to keep your green bin to use around your property that's fine.

Garden Waste Collections

Can I have more than one garden waste bin?

Yes, you can have up to three bins collected from your property.  Each additional bin will be charged at a cost of £35 per year. Concessions will apply on additional bins

Too much garden waste for your bin?

You can take large amounts of garden waste to your nearest recycling centre for free. You can compost some of your waste at home. Please see home composting for more information on how to get a home compost bin at a reduced price.  There may also be a community composting group in your area, visit our webpage to find out more about community composting.

Full article ...

Looking forward to this starting. Thanks for the link Flo. 

I supported this but it's not an improved service at all!   When I do my garden I'll use more than one green bin's worth and then nothing until I next do my garden, so if I want it all collecting in one go I'll need a bigger bin subscription.   What a pointless exercise in bureaucracy. 

There's a bigger picture to this though Netiquette.  

The green bin will in future only be used for garden waste and nothing else. Presumably you currently also use it for cardboard recycling and food waste, so that should free up some space. 

We're going to get new food waste containers, the contents of which will be collected weekly in future. Likewise weekly collections of mixed plastic packaging (a far wider range of plastics will be accepted than at present) and cardboard. Oh and we're getting reusable sacks for recycling paper. 

Small garden waste collections can be done by this service gogreendevon.com for a reasonable fee

Ok, so food waste only will go in the blue container  http://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/foodwaste2015

Paper only will go in a reusable sack http://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/papersack2015

Plastics only will go in the black container http://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/blackbox2015

Cardboard and glass will go in a green box http://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/greenbox2015

Plus the green waste bin and the landfill bin.  That's 6 containers!   Because there are five people in the house I have two landfill bins -  7 containers!

Even with a weekly collection I'll still struggle with the garden waste.  It's all shrubs and trees so when they're pruned the cuttings more than exceed a green bin.  I'll just have to have a feeder bin to decant into it.  That'll be 8 containers!  Plus I already have a massive compost bin (9 containers!).  

It's getting like the Beverly Hillbillies, I'd better start burning more stuff in my metal barrel - 10 containers!

If you're granted permission by M and B to do so, you might have to change your username to Osama lol. :-)

It took a moment before the penny dropped ;)

Thanks for that tip Roberta, I'll try them.

One of the best throwaway lines I've seen for a while, OurSoul!

@Netiquette

I've been to the GoGreenDevon site at Forches Cross to see their operation. Hard-working fellows whose main business has come from Torbay, where I understand they do not have a green bin service. They seemed confident in being able to cope with what may be quite a big spike in demand due to the forthcoming Teignbridge £35 green bin charge. The bonus of using GGD is that the green 'waste' is recycled into compost which is available to purchase by the public.

Teignbridge on the other hand - despite the advantage of in-vessel composting - have thus far only been able to use their composted product as a soil improver because of the cardboard content. Ironic then, that just at the point where this cardboard is to be collected separately and where a local authority 'garden waste-to-compost' service would seem a genuine prospect, Teignbridge is bringing in measures that will strangle the availability of the raw material needed through the imposition of a £35 green bin charge, with an expected take up rate of around 1 household in 3. 

Despite having campaigned against the charge, I genuinely hope for the sake of our environment that this take up rate will be higher.

An alternative to all of the above is to try composting at home (good composting bins can be bought from Teignbridge - other bins are available) or to work towards bringing about a community composting project (which has been the subject of previous threads). 

I would hope that the seeds of such a project can find fertile ground at some point in the near future...

Gary Taylor

FFS why pay to give someone your green material and then buy it off them again a year or two later as compost?

It's not green waste - they're nutrients return them to your garden. No need for middle-men.

Just use your green bin as a composter, piss in it occasionally or look on You Tube for DIY composting.

In days gone by, people had 'compost heaps'. Wow - no bin needed! But you can keep your bin according to the first post from Flo/ Teignbridge Garden Waste Collection Service.

And 'for the sake of the environment', of course it'd be better to compost at home which requires only human energy.

Green waste haulage and processing requires transport, fuel, energy in processing, machinery, etc. The former option is carbon neutral/negative.

Just go back to community roots, you, your neighbours and family, keep business and councils out of it, they're the same thing anyway, profit driven.

@Netiquette

"Even with a weekly collection I'll still struggle with the garden waste.  It's all shrubs and trees so when they're pruned the cuttings more than exceed a green bin."

If you have trouble with shrubs etc, why not invest in a Shredder?

I did last year at a cost of approx £60 and is well worth its money.

Just a thought.

Thank you Carer, I had a shredder a few years ago, I could do with an industrial sized one.  I might get another compost bin though, Woodcock is right.

I phoned GoGreenDevon three days ago and they're yet to return my call, maybe they're experiencing high demand.

If anyone doesn't want their green bin, I'll have it, I store chicken feed in them

Just pm me and we can arrange collection.

Screwfix bigstuff have a shredder on special offer at £649 I have one of these and apart from the tyres being rubbish the machine itself is excellent.

How much does gogreen charge ?

Best take a look at their website for their collection and compost costs Andysport, as they have recently updated their service range and pricing.

What may suit many gardeners is that GoGreenDevon offer an ad hoc arrangement (as often as weekly - but also as infrequently as you would wish) that you could flex to suit the seasons. In the absense of a community composting facility in or around Dawlish currently, it is much better than a 20-mile round trip to the tip.

Other garden 'waste' services are available.

Gary Taylor

Just go back to the days when gardens were functional in terms of maintenance and use a small corner for composting.

Think about plant selection, growth rates and foliage and consider what you can feasibly manage and compost yourself, it's not just about what looks pretty in the garden centre or on TV, so some big changes might be needed.

Forget GoGreen and the like, talk to your neighbours, some like Andysport might have a shredder, payment could be in beer or you might have a skill or tool to exchange, barter systems and community are the way forward.

Dawlish has plenty of composting facilities, they're called gardens!

our soul

"looking forward to this starting" - are u a councillor ?  any normal person realies that this is just another tax raising exercise  by the council under the pretence of being green, which will rise each year.

More plastic bins /boxes ( where did the money for that come from.? ) more confusion , more hassel - you couldn't make it up fom this mob..........

At least it wont be a problem to the people wasting their hard earned money buying the new wooden shacks being built in the concrete jungle of Dawlish. Probably none will have gardens but a back yard just like the Northern Slums which were demolished in the 60s. Talk about backward thinking, surprised outside toilets dont make a come back.
 Maybe if the developers build thier houses with a fireplace and chimney people could really go back to the old sooty foggy days and burn the stuff green waste that is

Outside composting toilets are a good idea if you have the space, we waste so much water flushing our toilets.

Developers don't consider things like 'gardens' as residents' well-being, recreation and relaxation has nothing to do with profit margins and shareholders investments.

My neighbour resolved the issue of garden waste disposal a long time ago. He dumps it in the alley alongside his garden. He even took the mesh fence down that borders the alleyway to gain easier access to it. Over the years (decades) he has decreased the width of the ally by some 4-5 feet and built this mound of waste soil and garden material nearly six foot high and over 30 foot long.

If you have the space, get chickens. They love rooting through garden waste and say thank you with eggs.  Obviously check on the internet the plants won't hurt them.  For instance, tomato plants are poisonous. 

Before I moved to Dawlish my local council introduced the same scheme.  I could not only compost all my own garden and kitchen waste plus my neighbours' on both sides.  And my garden was tiny.

Chickens will eat virtually all your waste. Plate scrapings, peelings, gone over fruit - you name it, they'll eat it.  Chuck everything into their compound and when you clean them out, put it in your compost bin.  The mix of chicken poo makes amazing compost.

Four chickens is ample for an average garden. 

I look after my parents' large garden now and my dozen chickens cope with all the waste and are still looking for more. 

We do have to have the occasional bonfire for tree branches etc, but as long as you are considerate when you have it, wind direction etc, you shouldn't have a problem. 

This is the way my grandmother looked after her garden and chickens and it has worked well for me for the last three years. 

Come on Dawlish!  You are a lovely friendly bunch where neighbours actually speak to each other.   I'm sure there's plenty of opportunities to find mutually beneficial arrangements in your own street.

An excellent post there OLB. I'd love to have some chucks!

We live in a flat, but I  keep 2 in a window box.

Not to put a downer but check your deeds, as quite a few houses in Dawlish have covenants against keeping poulty.

Although I am against this backdoor (or backgarden) community tax increase, and some of you are talking about alternative companies to collect garden waste, I think that you will find it hard to get it cheaper than the £1:35 per fortnight (£1:16 if on benefits) that TDC are charging.

Poultry will attract rats and other vermin so keep that in mind.

We have no concerns re: covents and as for vermin, our cats happily take care of the problem.   Chickens have nothing to fear from cats.  Your average chicken can easily beat up a cat with no manners.

If anyone has no further use of their big green bin I would love to collect it from you before TDC do. Need some to store Winter firewood and keep it dry. Just PM me to arrange collection thanks in advance

Looks as if this service will be coming into effect as from 19 October 2015.

There will be an information roadshow at Dawlish Leisure Centre on Saturday 3 October 9.00 - 15.00

"You can join the service at any time during the subscription period but you will still be required to pay the full amount of £35 for your permit."

There is the alternative of GoGreenDevon.

I believe it was agreed at last week's Dawlish Town Council meeting that one of the councillors would be writing about the GoGreenDevon scheme in the next Town Crier.   

@Lynne

As I have previously mentioned, can any other company offer  a service collecting garden waste for £1:35 per fortnight, even just a wheelie bin full?

Yes, but not everyone might need a collection every fortnight.

And not all have a space for a large green bin. 

I wonder why TDC didn't keep the green bin for food waste and then only issued a new bin to anyone who wants a garden waste collection.

Seems to me that they could have saved a few bob - of OUR money!

"The composting service offered by Go Green Devon can be ordered online or by phone to arrange a collection the following week.  (A call or online request on a Saturday can arrange a collection for that week.)  The collection day for Dawlish is Monday. 

Go Green Devon will collect from the garden or door-step, which can be arranged when booking the collection. 

People wishing to have their garden waste composted can buy a pack of Tags for £10 for 10 (£1 each).  A tag needs to be attached to each bag to be collected, ie a collection of one bag of garden waste will cost £1.  Therefore a monthly collection will cost £12 a year.

 A reusable bag (size 120 litres) can be bought from the website for £4, which will be emptied and returned to use again for your next garden waste collection."

(thank you to the person who sent me the above info - Lynne).

@HuwMatthews2 - it's probably because the green bin will hold a large amount of garden waste.  the kerbside caddy will be larger than the current one we have i think but still a lot smaller than the green bin.  there shouldn't be as much food waste going out weekly.

I  wonder what would happen if only one household took up the garden waste offer in a village, would they still collect?

A good question, Flo.

Despite having campaigned hard against the introduction of a charge for green bin collections (with some 7,000 people having signed the Lib Dem petition to fight the Teignbridge 'Garden Tax') now that this change is upon us I would, for the sake of the environment, urge those who are unable to compost at home to take up the subscription service (or an alternative service such as offered by GoGreenDevon) rather than drive over ten miles each way to the tip, or send it up in smoke.

Interestingly, according to a senior Conservative Councillor, the initial take-up rate for the £35 Teignbridge service appears higher than the original 1-in-3 opt-in figure budgeted (a number that would yield nearly £1 million in profit for the District Council over the 7-year collection vehicle contract period).

This leads me to a different question for Teignbridge: if this higher level of take-up continues, does it not seem reasonable for the public to benefit from a proportionate reduction in the £35 annual cost?

Gary Taylor

I have no bins so how do i get rid of waste everything more or less can be recycled from toilet roll holders to plastic bags from potatoes, cabbage etc alloy tops from varios products. Food waste i dont have any i shop by menu i produce a daily menu for 7 days and buy all the ingrediants on a Wednesday the following Wednesday my fridge is empty and i mean empty i waste nothing. Cabbage leaves carrot peelings go to a friends rabbits all other peelings a friends chickens.  Leftovers are all used chicken carcass makes soup to be eaten or frozen any bread thats going to be wasted, bread and butter pudding, potatoes cabbage fried up with a egg, my parents never wasted anything and neither do i.  So i do have rubbish for landfill each week one carrier bag full and when the bin lorry is due i throw it in the back.  Yes it takes effort and i take everything to Sandy lane myself, the most annoying thing is that there is no alloy recycling at Sandy Lane so it has to go to the Barton Car Park. I no longer have a garden but when i had i composted everything as they say waste not want not. We are as a society very wastefull maybe instead of charging for all these services we should be educating folk in how to be a little less wastefull.  For arguments sake the heater unit in my daughters hair dryer has gone did i throw it no i have purchased a new heater unit and repaired it saves landfill and money MY FATHER USED TO SAY IF IT'S MADE BY MAN IT CAN BE REPAIRED BY MAN i repair everything U TUBE has all the answers.

The world according to teignbridge council conservatives.!!!!

Did anyone notice the rant in the gazette from the Tory councillor behind the introduction of the garden waste ta.x..????

1 - use the letters page as a party political forum to slag of the lib-dems- never mind the non-aligned voters wHo just see this a a tax no matter what party tries to implement it.

2- people voted for the tories so they must be in agreement that they want the bin tax....( with this logic we also want reduced services, less police grass verges  not cut etc)

3 - 7000 people taking time to put their names on  petition should be ignored.

4- Put out statements that the sign up is ahead of projected schedule even though he cannot know that as not everyone has made thier decision.

5-Don't mention that this tax wil increase every year

6- Fudge stastics tht say there will beno increase in fly-tipping and burning pollution.

7- Remark how they need a new "fleet" of lorries ? Why not schedule the transport changes over a few years.?

8- Spend money they say they have not got providing "more plastic bins"

Honestly you could not make it up with this shower.........!!!!!!!

Yes, I did notice, 1263.

It surprises me not a jot that this man would describe a petition that raised 7,000 signatures as having "failed to resonate among Teignbridge voters". After all, this is the same senior Conservative TDC Councillor who described the 1250 signatures raised against the closure of CCTV in Newton Abbot a couple of years ago as statistically irrelevant.

Having retained his seat (and having survived a Lib Dem vote of no confidence last year) Cllr Kevin Lake must now feel he can say and do no wrong. One day I hope he will be disabused of that notion.

Gary Taylor.

I cannot understand why they wont accept vegetable peelings (potato, carrot, onion etc) into the garden waste bin. After all, it comes from the garden and is waste.

Yes, I know it is food but where do you grow your own veg? In the garden, so it becomes garden waste. 

They take the foliage/stems from what is grown so you would think that raw peelings would be accepted as well.

@leatash - your comments at 08 sep 2015 17:23 were very inspiring. you mention youtube as a good place to find out how to do things. i would be interested if you had a youtube channel with vids, just a thought.

@Carer on that premisis does that also mean those with a waste disposal system, the type that mulches food ect and then goes into the waste water system mean they are also in breach of tdc new waste disposal regulations?

I know we were advised by South West Water not to use waste disposal units due to the state of our grey water drains.

@ Merlin.

I have no idea what you are on about.

As I was referring to putting raw peelings from the garden amongst the grass cuttings etc, I never mentioned the water system at all so just cannot understand your logic.

I wonder what the take up of the scheme was. A huge amount of green wheelie bins were taken away this morning where I live. The bin men were ripping the wheels off, going to melt them down.

nobody I know is keeping theirs

Family of 4, cook proper meals everyday, so all veg peelings and trimming for a week, egg shells, apple cores ,bananas skins, chicken and meat bones etc and my blue bin is full to bursting after 1 week !!! dread to think how a larger family will manage

@roberta i'm sure you're not keen on another receptacle but it is possible to get another blue caddy from the council by contacting teignbridge at recycling@teignbridge.gov.uk

@roberta.

You will find that your Blue bin is emptied weekly.

http://www.teignbridge.gov.uk/foodwaste2015

Thank you flo and yes carer I know that, but my point was a large family would be struggling with just 1 blue bin if my family can fill it in a week.

Is it just my imagination or have there been more bonfires than usual recently?

Gary Taylor

I'm just waiting for the implementation of a system of fines that wil be levied against A) wrong material in a bin/bag/caddy/sack, B) not putting out the relevant container, C) placing containers in the wrong location outside your property, D) Any lid not being in the closed position due to excessive contents.

I know most will scoff, but some of these fines have been implemented in other parts of the country.

The council bangs on about not having enough money to cover the services, do they think that the rate payers are sitting on mountains of money they can steal of them!

Can I fine TDC for not cllecting my recyling on the right day and doing it 2days later after complaining and giving me porky pies as to the reason