Applications for garden waste collections now open

GARDEN waste collections will restart for the summer on the week beginning March 12.

Residents can now apply for the paid-for, seasonal service.

Existing customers who signed up last year should have received a letter and invoice in the post advising them on how to continue with collections or cancel the service.

Residents are provided with a 240 litre wheeled bin which is emptied fortnightly between March 12 and November 30.

Householders can either choose to pay in instalments by Direct Debit which costs a total of £49.24 for the season, or if they pay in full when they apply they will receive a 15% discount reducing the cost to £42.

Executive Board Member for the Environment Cllr Hazel Evans said: “This garden waste collection service was introduced last year. The aim is to steadily increase the number of customers over the next few years.

“Residents are also being reminded that there are other ways to dispose of their garden waste, one of the most environmentally-friendly and cost-effective ways of dealing with garden waste is to home compost; or residents can take their garden waste to a household waste recycling centre where it can be disposed of free of charge.”

All garden waste in Carmarthenshire, whether it is collected from the kerbside or disposed of at a recycling centre, is taken to a central composting facility at Nantycaws, Carmarthen, where it is turned into compost / soil conditioner to be reused. Merlin’s Magic Compost is available for residents to buy from the recycling centres at Trostre (Llanelli), Wernddu (Ammanford) Nantycaws (Carmarthen) and Whitland.

Compost bins can be purchased from the council for £12, which includes delivery.

To apply for garden waste collections or to find out more information, please visit www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales/gardenwaste