Cost guide
How much does green waste removal cost?
£45 to £250 covers most green waste collections, set by how many cubic metres end up in the van. Half a cubic metre is £45 to £55, while twelve, a full Luton, comes to £240 to £250. Charged by weight instead, a tonne runs £140 to £160.
Typical prices
Ranges, not quotes. A quote depends on your garden.
| Work | Typical UK price |
|---|---|
| Half a cubic metre, a few bags | £45 to £55 |
| Three cubic metres, quarter of a tipper | £90 to £100 |
| Six cubic metres, a transit load | £140 to £150 |
| Twelve cubic metres, a full Luton | £240 to £250 |
| One tonne charged by weight | £140 to £160 |
| Council garden waste bin, one year | £30 to £130 where it is charged |
The gate fee is the invisible line on every quote. Composting sites take clean green waste at around £45 a tonne and commercial transfer stations charge up to £123.60 including VAT, so on a van load priced near £60, ask which site it is going to and for the transfer note.
What moves the price
- Volume in cubic metres, which is how almost every collection gets quoted.
- Moisture, because wet grass triples the weight of a barrow and can flip pricing onto a weight basis.
- Contamination with soil, turf or plastic, which raises the gate fee and requires upper tier registration.
- Carry distance between the pile and wherever the van can legally park.
- Local gate fees, with London and South East transfer stations charging at the upper end.
Who quotes for it
120 of the 4,012 gardeners listed on this site take on green waste removal.
Where most of them are: Bournemouth (7), Nottingham (4), Exeter (4), Worthing (4), Birmingham (4).
Questions about green waste removal
What is a waste transfer note?
The record showing who produced the waste, who took it and where it ended up. Any registered carrier must issue one and you should keep it for two years. It shows you passed the waste to a registered carrier if it is ever found fly tipped.
Is green waste cheaper to remove than mixed rubbish?
Yes, because clean green waste is composted rather than landfilled. Median gate fees sit near £45 a tonne against £100 to £150 for general waste. Mixing a few fence panels into the load moves the whole thing into the dearer band.