From 31 March 2026 Epping Forest District Council will be providing all residents with a separate weekly food waste collection service. You will no longer be able to put food waste in your garden waste bin. You will now have to use:

  • Brown food caddy – for food waste only – free to all households
  • Green-lidded garden bin – for garden waste only – subscription service

For further details, visit Food and garden bin changes - Epping Forest District Council

 

Green-lidded Garen Subscription

The subscription charge is £60 for a garden waste bin for April 2026 to March 2027. You can have up to 3 extra garden waste bins. Additional bins are £30 each. Each bin must have its own paid subscription.

The garden waste subscription charge can be paid online or over the phone. EFDC will not be taking cash payments or setting up Direct Debits for this service.

Details of how to apply and pay for the new garden waste collection service will be posted on EFDCs website in February 2026 - Visit Garden waste collections - Epping Forest District Council for more info.

 

Cllr R Balcombe, Deputy Leader Epping Forest District Council  and Contracts, Service Delivery and Improvement Portfolio Holder provided the following statement to MBLPC:

Considerable time, effort, and planning have gone into this decision. The business case and associated report have been reviewed by five EFDC scrutiny committees. EFDC is currently the last local authority in Essex still collecting food and garden waste together. By making this change, we will align with neighbouring councils and prepare for Local Government Reorganisation (LGR). Continuing to co-mingle food and garden waste would result in significantly higher processing and disposal costs from Essex County Council. Separating food waste makes recycling easier and encourages more residents to participate.

Due to rising operational and budget pressures, most councils now charge for garden waste collections—over 80% of local authorities do so. Introducing a subscription charge will allow EFDC to continue providing this valued service for those who use it most. Residents will not be charged twice, as EFDC receives only a small portion of council tax, which does not cover the operational costs of waste services. The majority of council tax goes to Essex County Council.

What’s changing?

  • The existing green-lidded wheelie bin will be used for garden waste only and collected fortnightly for subscribers.
  • The new subscription service starts Tuesday, 31 March 2026. Residents can opt in from 1 February 2026.
  • Annual subscription: £60 per bin(just £5 per month). No setup fee.

Households that do not subscribe can still dispose of garden waste for free by:

  • Home composting(discounted bins available via Love Essex and free online composting courses).
  • Recycling centresoperated by Essex County Council.

Food waste collections

We must introduce kitchen and kerbside caddies because Essex County Council will no longer accept co-mingled food and garden waste from next year. Funding has been secured for these caddies, so there is no cost to taxpayers.

Why wheeled bins?

Replacing single-use plastic sacks with wheeled bins will save EFDC approximately £450,000 per year and reduce environmental harm. Wheeled bins make recycling easier and prevent waste from spilling onto streets, reducing street cleaning costs.