More information on garden waste...

To deal with green garden waste in the most environmentally friendly manner subsidised home composter units are available to all Woking residents. We promote this method of waste management first and foremost, and so far, 12,950 home composters have been sold to Woking residents - that's more than a quarter of the Borough!

For those residents unable to home compost, the garden waste collection service was introduced in 2002/2003. This service is operated at a cost subsidised through the sale of the official clear plastic sacks.

The clear sacks used for the kerbside collection service are manufactured using 100% recycled material, of which 30% is post consumer waste. We also use water based inks in order to comply with the Volatile Organic Compounds Emissions Legislation.

The clear sacks were chosen in terms of their suitability at the time of introducing the scheme. Reusable sacks attract comparably high yearly subscription costs which may, initially, have prevented the scheme from achieving the successes of late. The Council therefore sought a method which encouraged the greatest levels of participation. The plastic sacks are robust enough to store and transport garden wastes and are provided to residents at a cost which is competitive. This, in turn, reduces our reliance on landfill and the number of Woking residents undertaking individual journeys to deposit this type of waste at Community Recycling Centres.

But isn't garden waste biodegradable?

This is the reason for concern. When material decomposes in the absence of oxygen, the greenhouse gas methane is released. Methane is 21 times more harmful than carbon dioxide, so sending biodegradable waste to landfill has a negative impact on the environment. In addition, the UK is limited in the amounts of biodegradable waste that can be sent to landfill. If our allowance is broken, Council's could face fines of £150 for every tonne of waste sent to landfill over the allowed limit.

Alternative sacks made from degradable and biodegradable plastics continue to be considered. However, the process of degradation reduces the sacks quality prior to the fortnightly collection and we need to ensure the quality of end product is not compromised.

The compost is produced to the PAS100 standard using the 'wind-row' system to ensure a consistently high-quality product. This is then used on farmland surrounding the composting site as soon as it is ready. This eliminates the need to 'bag' and transport the compost over long distances thus enhancing the environmental credentials of the process.

Unfortunately, the clear plastic sacks are not collected and sent for recycling as there is currently no viable recycling route. Advice taken from re-processors suggests that any residues or liquids which remain in the sack once emptied would be considered as a contaminant. Although the plastics recycling market remains at an immature development when compared to other base materials, any advancements will be investigated.

The primary aim of the service is to remove the greatest portion of biodegradable waste from landfill and during 2006/07 Woking collected and diverted 11.21% of its waste for composting - this was the highest diversion rate in Surrey.

Please be assured that despite doubling the Borough's recycling performance in three years, this Council recognises much more can be done. Collection methods are continually reviewed and the type of container used for the collection of garden waste will be included as part of a future review of this service.