CHARGES for Dorset's garden waste bins are going up by 3.4per cent from this month – with an annual subscription for 2026-27 of £74.

The service, which Dorset Council say is well used across the county currently has over 57,500 households subscribed.

The authority says that in its most recent customer satisfaction survey (November 2025), over 10,800 customers provided feedback with 96% of respondents saying they were very satisfied or satisfied with the garden waste service.

Each year, the kerbside garden waste service across the county collects around 23,000 tonnes of garden material.

All of it is sent to a composting facility within the county where it is processed and turned into compost.

The cost of the Dorset service is broadly in line with all neighbouring councils, although one, in West Devon, is slightly cheaper at £70 although only offers four recyclable sacks every fortnight, instead of a wheelie bin.

All of the other neighbouring councils offer a wheeled bin service, collected fortnightly.

A video explaining what happens to the Dorset garden waste can be found at – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G12RehCTnQ

Residents with garden waste who are unwilling to subscribe, or cannot afford the service have several choices –

Taking their garden waste to any of the council's 10 Household Recycling Centres, free of charge, although some centres will now need to be booked in advance, following changes in recent weeks.

Choose to compost garden waste at home using a discounted home composting bin offered by the council, or making your own compost 'heap'.

Details of the home composting offers from the council can be found at : https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/w/home-composting-offers