Full Terms and Conditions
Terms and Conditions for the provision of a chargeable garden waste collection service only.
General Terms
1. The customer agrees to pay South Staffordshire District Council (“The council") to collect garden waste in the customer's green garden waste bin(s) for the period of the customer's subscription. Between Monday, July 1, 2024 and Sunday, June 29, 2025 (one Scheme year). The council reserves the right to vary the cost of the service in subsequent years.
2. The council will arrange for the emptying of subscribed green garden waste bins, displaying a valid sticker (or awaiting a sticker), every two weeks, throughout the scheme year with the exception of a four-week suspension between mid-December and mid-January, dates for which will be available on the council website (www.sstaffs.gov.uk/waste). The service will be provided by contractors engaged by the council. We encourage you to number your bin if you have not already done so.
3. There will be no reductions for subscribing to the garden waste collection service part way through the scheme year and no refunds for cancelling part way through the scheme year.
4. If the customer moves house within the district, they may move their subscription to the new property at no additional cost. Prior to moving house as soon as possible the customer should contact the council on 01902 696000 to arrange for the permit to be moved to the new address. Green bins should not be taken to the new address as the address on the bin will not match the address at which the bin is being presented and it will not be emptied. If the customer moves out of the district no refunds will be available.
5. Towards the end of the subscription period, the council will contact customers to sign up to the next scheme year. If customers do not sign up and make payment by the end of the current scheme year (June 29, 2025), the customer will not receive any further garden waste collections until a payment has been made.
6. If customers share a subscription with a neighbour to the garden waste collection service the council will only correspond with the address for which the subscription is held.
7. Additional garden waste subscriptions can be purchased from the council by website or phone. There is no limit to the number of additional garden waste subscriptions that customers can purchase and where the number of green bins does not match sufficiently the number of subscriptions purchased, an additional green bin(s) will be provided at no additional charge.
8. The council reserves the right to vary these terms and conditions at any time.
Collections and Containers
9. The only container the council will empty garden waste from is a 240 litre green wheeled bin issued by the council. The bin remains the property of the council.
10. If a green bin requires replacement and this is deemed to be through no fault of the council and/or its contractors, the customer may be charged £30.00 per green bin to include delivery of a replacement and removal of the original bin where appropriate.
11. The council will not be responsible for any failure to perform or delay in performance of any of its obligations under these terms and conditions that is caused by an “event outside the council's control". If an event outside the council's control affects the council's ability to deliver the service, it will resume normal service as soon as reasonably practicable after the event outside the council's control is over. “events outside the council's control" means any act or event beyond the council's reasonable control, including without limitation riot, terrorist attack, war, fire, explosion, storm, flood, earthquake, subsidence, epidemic, pandemic, extreme weather or other natural disaster, power failure, Internet service provider failure, technological failure, breakdown in machinery/collection vehicles, access restrictions or strikes or other industrial action.
12. In the new subscription year starting July 2024, waste collection crews will put a sticker on subscribed bins. Our collection staff will know that you have subscribed because they have a record on their in-cab device. It may not always be possible to apply a sticker to bins e.g. due to inclement weather, but please continue to present your bin for collection, and a sticker will be applied in due course. You will only need to contact us if the bin is not collected (please refer to 'missed collections' below).
13. The green garden waste bin(s) should be presented with the lid(s) closed at the customer's collection point with the sticker visible to collection crews by 7am on the day of collection and returned to the customer's property as soon as possible after emptying. The council recommend storing green garden waste bins securely.
14. The customer should contact the council (01902 696000) if a replacement green garden waste bin is required. No refunds will be available for any collections not made whilst the customer is awaiting a replacement green garden waste bin to be issued.
15. If the customer already receives an assisted collection for other wheeled bins this will also apply to green garden waste bin(s) and the customer's collection point will remain the same.
16. The council reserves the right to alter the collection day and will endeavour to provide adequate notice to customers that would be affected by the alteration.
Acceptable Material
17. Green garden waste bins should only be used for grass cuttings, leaves, plants, weeds, flowers, twigs, hedge trimmings and small branches and these should be placed loose in the customer's green bin.
18. Food, packaging, soil, stones, rubble, wood, animal waste/bedding or any other household waste or materials not listed as acceptable materials in section 18 should not be placed in the green garden waste bin(s). The council will not accept bagged garden waste within the green garden waste bin. If items other than those listed in section 17 are found to be in the green garden waste bin it will not be emptied.
19. If collection crews report green garden waste bins as contaminated (i.e. containing any unacceptable material), the customer will need to remove offending material in order for the bin to be emptied on the next scheduled collection date.
Missed Collections
20. If the council is unable to empty the green garden waste bin(s) because it was not presented at the collection point by 7am, it contained unacceptable material, it was inaccessible, it was too heavy to safely manoeuvre onto the vehicle lifting equipment, the contents were too compacted to eject fully into the vehicle, or frozen, the customer's bin(s) will not be emptied until the next scheduled garden waste collection date. No refunds will be available if the council is not able to empty the green garden waste bin(s) for these reasons. This list of reasons is not exhaustive.
21. If the green garden waste bin was not emptied and neither section 11 nor section 20 apply, the customer should contact the council (01902 696000) by the end of the next working day following the scheduled collection. A collection crew should return to empty the green garden waste bin by the end of working day after the report is received and verified.
22. If the collection crew report that the green garden waste bin was not at the collection point at the time they arrived at the customer's property, the council will not return until the next scheduled garden waste collection date. The customer must ensure that the green garden waste bin is presented at the collection point by 7am on the day of collection.
23. If the green garden waste bin contains unacceptable material the customer must remove the offending item(s) in order for future garden waste collections to take place.
24. The council is not able to take any excess garden waste not contained within the green bin, nor empty green garden waste bins that are too heavy and cannot be safely manoeuvred onto the vehicle lifting equipment. If the collection crew report a green bin as too heavy to safely manoeuvre, or the lid cannot close fully, the council will not return to empty the green garden waste bin until the next scheduled collection. Please ensure that any excess garden waste is removed from the bin so that the lid closes fully, and it can be emptied in future.
Cancellation
25. The customer has the right to cancel the service by contacting customer services on 01902 696000 within 14 days of making payment. After 14 days of placing the order, the customer can cancel the service (so the bin will not be emptied) but the customer will have no right to a refund of their money.
26. If the customer contravenes the terms and conditions the service may be cancelled by the council. In such circumstances no refunds will be available and the bin may be removed.
Data Protection
27. When the customer signs up to the garden waste collection service the customer will be asked to provide their name, address, email address and telephone number. The customer's data will be stored securely in line with the Data Protection Act 2018. The council will use customer's data to notify the customer about renewing the garden waste subscription at the end of each scheme year. The council may also use the details to contact the customer about service issues, such as service delays, or cancellations due to bad weather, and scheme contraventions. In order to facilitate the service, the council will share with its collection and permitting contractors the customer's address and the number of subscriptions purchased. For further details, please refer to the privacy notice issued to you as the customer.
Privacy Notice: Garden Waste Subscription 2024/25
About the data you will provide in this form
You will be asked to enter your name, address and contact details as part of this online form. This is classed as your personal data. We will use the data that you provide to help us deliver a garden waste collection service to you.
How we will use your data
The law allows us to use your personal data to enter into a contract with you to provide a garden waste collection service, to deliver the contract/service after you have signed up and to send to you relevant service messages.
Will we share your data?
The data you provide in the form will be stored in our My Login system. Our waste and recycling team and our customer services team will have access to the data you provide to deliver the service you have asked for and respond to any queries that you may have. In order to facilitate the service we will share with our contractors, Biffa Municipal Ltd, your address and the number of subscriptions purchased. It may also be shared with our health and safety, insurance, legal and finance teams as necessary in connection with our lawful basis or as required by law.
How long will we store your data?
We will keep your personal data for as long as is necessary to deliver the service you have asked for, and for up to seven years after the end of the subscription scheme year. After this time it will be deleted from our systems. If you have set up an account in My Login, your data will be stored until you ask us to close-down your account on your behalf.
Your rights in brief
You have the following rights: a right of access to your information, a right to correct inaccurate information, a right to restrict our processing of your data, and a right to have your personal data erased. If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact our data protection officer at dpo@sstaffs.gov.uk. Please note that the council will not be able to provide the service to you if your data is erased.
Who is the data controller?
South Staffordshire Council (Council Offices, Wolverhampton Road, Codsall, South Staffordshire, WV8 1PX) is the data controller.
Any questions or concerns?
If you have any questions or concerns, please email our data protection officer at dpo@sstaffs.gov.uk in the first instance. if, after contacting the Data Protection Officer you still have concerns about the way we have processed your personal data, please contact the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO): Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, SK95 AF.
South Staffordshire Council, Council Offices, Wolverhampton Road, Codsall, South Staffordshire, WV8 1PX.
