It’s that time of year again. The time of year for putting some wellies and gloves on – heading out into the garden and getting the firs few jobs of the year out of the way.
Sweep up the leaves, clear out the drains and gullies – pick out the first few weeds that have popped through (leave the dandelions for the bees though please)…
Over the winter period – The council suspend their collection of green bins. This week is the first week for putting out your green waste bin.!!
It normally goes out with your blue bin and your cardboard bag as opposed to going out with the general waste collection witch is the alternate week for where you live.
The easiest indicator for when your next collection is to go out into the street at about 6pm each evening and wait for one of your neighbours to put their bins out..
Alternatively you can check your local collection times on the councils website HERE.
For the past few years our local council have been operating a surcharge scheme for green waste collections. It’s a one time fee paid at the start of the year if you want your bin to be collected. It’s not as simple as just putting it out and hoping that it’s picked up – the people working the bin lorry’s go round with a clipboard and pen making sure they only take the bins that have paid the fee.
The cost for collections per annum is £35 (£30 for each additional bin) and collections are fortnightly running from 26th Jan to 2nd Dec (2019 dates)
It’s important to note that the subscription fee is due in April and runs until april so if you sign up now you would likely have to pay the full year rate until April and then pay once again for the year until the following april.
Bins need to be out ready for 7:30 on the day of your usual collection.
They no longer collect
- Food waste
- Fruit and vegetables, including peelings
- Soil
- Any side waste
They will however take
- Grass, tree and hedge cuttings
- Twigs, bark and leaves
- Straw and hay
- Flowers and plants
- Small branches
It’s also a great time of year to consider converting your grass to a maintenance free lawn. The old astro turf that ripped your knees off when playing 5 a side has come a long way in the past few years and many local roundabouts have been covered in the artificial stuff and you’d never notice.
It can be a great solution for the elderly and those who want to enjoy the benefits of having a soft lawn space but don’t want the hassle of cutting it fortnightly.
The sponsor for today’s article is local company Maintenance Free Lawns who will offer our readers a 20% discount (subject to joining our facebook group of course) for installation of new lawns booked in Feb.
For more details on taking the short cut to a good lawn click on the image below.