Garden waste collections
If you would like us to empty your brown bin, you will need to sign-up for our garden waste collection service below and pay a subscription charge.
If you don't want to subscribe, that's fine. At the end of this page we've suggested other ways you can dispose of garden waste and what to do with your brown bin, if you have one.
When your 2024/25 subscription ends
To keep receiving brown bin collections after 31 March 2025, you'll be required to renew your subscription. You must renew the subscription each year if you would like it to continue receiving garden waste collections from Thurrock Council.
This web page will always tell you when the subscription period will start and end each year.
Sign-up for brown bin collections – 2025/26
If you subscribe to the 2025/26 annual garden waste collection service, we'll collect your brown bin(s) every 2 weeks starting from the 2 weeks beginning Tuesday the 1 April 2025 through to the 2 weeks ending Friday 31 March 2026.
Your brown garden waste bin will be collected on the same day as your blue recycling bin.
There will be no winter 'seasonal pause' in 2025/26, which means we'll collect brown bins during the Christmas and New Year period this year.
The 2025/26 annual subscription charge starts at £80 for the collection of 1 brown bin every 2 weeks during the subscription period. This must be paid in full upfront, by credit card or debit card when you subscribe.
We can provide additional brown bins for us to collect from, to the property as part of your subscription. Each additional fortnightly bin collection from a Thurrock Council bin added to the annual subscription, is charged at £50.
You can subscribe for yourself or on behalf of someone else. Read the full terms and conditions of service for 2025/26 below.
Whether you sign-up at the start of the year or midway through the year:
- the start date and end date of the subscription period are the same for everyone
- you must pay the full amount of the subscription charge upfront
To receive garden waste collections uninterrupted while making sure you get the most value from an annual subscription, it's best to sign-up before the subscription period begins.
Sign up for Garden Waste Collections
How the service works
When you subscribe and we receive your payment, we'll send a permit sticker and instructions to the household property. These will be delivered within 10 working days. The sticker must be stuck to the brown bin as shown in the instructions.
Each permit sticker is unique and valid only at the property to which it is sent.
We will only collect brown bins that show a valid permit sticker for the property.
If we're unable to collect brown bins in your street on the expected day, we'll return for them on the next working day. If your usual day is a Friday, we'll normally return on the next Monday – 3 days later – even if it's after the final week of the subscription period or during a seasonal pause.
Managing your subscription
After you have subscribed, you can use the form below to manage your garden waste subscription. You can request and pay for additional garden waste bin collections if you are already subscribed. As well as finding out how to request a replacement permit, transfer a subscription to another property within the borough or how to cancel a subscription/request a refund.
Manage my garden waste subscription
When your 2024/25 subscription ends
To keep receiving brown bin collections after 31 March 2025, you'll be asked to renew your subscription. You must renew the subscription each year if you would like it to continue receiving garden waste collections from Thurrock Council.
This web page will always tell you when subscription periods start and end each year.
If you choose not to have brown bin collections
If you don't sign-up to our garden waste subscription service, there are other ways you can recycle or dispose of your garden waste. For example:
- home composting – use a composting bin to turn garden waste into valuable nutrient-rich food for your plants
- Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC) – dispose of garden waste at the HWRC, limiting your number of car journeys by saving it up or sharing trips with neighbours
Your brown bin can be:
- kept for your own use – for example, as storage
- taken to the HWRC where it can be recycled
- collected by us
If you no longer want your brown bin and cannot travel to the HWRC, you can use the form below to ask that we remove it from your property.