Garden Waste

Chelmsford Borough Council provides a brown wheelie bin to residents for the recycling of garden waste.

Please click on Your Refuse Collection Day link to find your brown bin collection day.

The brown bin service has now been extended to continue throughout the year.

The bin is for:

• Grass cuttings - hedge cuttings
• Leaves - small bracken - twigs
• Shrub cuttings - small branches
• Windfalls

Contamination of the green waste can result in the whole lorry load being rejected and subsequently going to landfill rather than for composting. So please only put the material described above into your brown bin.

We will not empty your bin if it is too heavy or if it contains any of the following types of waste:

• Large stones - bricks - paving slabs - soil
• Kitchen waste such as raw fruit and vegetable peelings
• Tea bags  - egg shells - cardboard - Animal waste or litter
• Large branches - household timber with nails and screws inserted
• Nappies - plastic bags - Waxed packaging - polythene
• Toxic waste e.g. pesticides

 If in doubt - leave it out. For further information please phone 01245 615800

For insurance purposes we are only able to empty wheelie bins which we have supplied.

How to use your Brown Bin

Placing a bed of twigs or dry bracken in the bottom of the bin before the grass cuttings will help the bins contents to be discharged more easily. 

Unfortunately we are unable to provide a bin cleaning service, they can be found in the yellow pages.

If you currently receive an Assisted Collection for your black bin you will automatically receive an assisted collection for your brown bin as well.

If you would like to discuss a problem relating to your brown bin collections, make an enquiry about  collections, or request a replacement or extra brown bin, please contact us in one of the following ways: 

• You can phone us on 01245 615800
• Or send us an online request form by going to the link on the right hand side of this page and completing the details requested
• Write to us at: Operational Services, Freighter House, Drovers Way, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 5PH
• Or e-mail us via refuseadmin@chelmsford.gov.uk

If you need a new collection calendar, please phone us on 01245 615800. Large print calendars are available on request.

Please note the refuse calendars show black and brown bin collection days only.