Surrey Heath
Monday 18 October 2021
Although the suspension of the garden waste service due to the national shortage of HGV drivers remains in place, we have now been able to arrange for full garden waste bins to be emptied.
For Surrey Heath subscribers this is scheduled to take place between 11 and 22 October, depending on your usual garden waste collection week.
You will have received more information on the detail of these arrangements via email or letter. Your garden waste subscription will be extended to compensate for the missed collections and you will not be sent a renewal until the service restarts.
The suspension of garden waste collections is understandably frustrating and if you wish to cancel the service, we will collect the bin and ensure there is a pro-rata refund for the period the service has been suspended. Please note that we are not currently accepting new customers to the service. This means that if you cancel your subscription, you will be unable to re-join the garden waste collection service until we are satisfied it can robustly support the current subscribers.
We apologise for the inconvenience this unprecedented national issue is causing and have done everything possible to keep the garden waste service running. Alongside the collections mentioned above, we are continuing to work on ways to resume the service or offer additional alternatives for disposing of your garden waste.
You can find out more about the driver shortage and the steps we are taking to tackle the issue here.
What to do with your garden waste
While the service is suspended you can take your garden waste to a Community Recycling Centre for free. Details about the centres are on the Surrey County Council (SCC) website. We are working with SCC to monitor queueing times and will consider extending opening hours if there is increased demand. You can also take garden waste to CRCs in a van or trailer, but you will need to purchase a permit.
You could also start composting your garden waste at home. For more information including an offer to buy a discounted compost bin visit the Surrey Environment Partnership website.
There is also more information about what you can and can’t do with your garden waste on this page.
If you would like to receive future updates about your waste collection service by email, please call the Amey Contact Centre on 03332 340978 and ask to be added to the email list.
The bulky waste collection service, which was suspended over the summer, has restarted on a limited basis. You can now book a collection for Wednesdays only. Amey is able to provide this service because the van driver is not required to hold an HGV licence.
Coronavirus
If you are self-isolating with symptoms of coronavirus, please read our guide on how to deal with your waste.