Leeds Brown Bin Garden Waste Service Resumes

Spring brings the return of brown bin collections across Leeds

Leeds City Council has announced the restart of its brown bin garden waste collection service from Monday 23 March 2026. The service, which takes a break during the winter months, will resume for all households in Leeds that receive brown bin collections.

Service details and how to check collection days

Residents can view their bin collection dates online at Leeds City Council’s bin day checker. Additionally, reminders can be set up via the Leeds Bins app, which is available for smartphones.

Free service and additional garden waste disposal options

Unlike some other areas, Leeds City Council provides the brown bin garden waste collection service free of charge. This initiative aims to help households manage garden waste effectively and reduce the amount of garden waste disposed of in black bins.

For residents with larger quantities of garden waste or any excess beyond the brown bin capacity, the council offers free disposal at any of its eight household waste and recycling centres. These centres operate year-round, seven days a week. Details of the recycling sites can be found at Leeds recycling sites.

Encouraging environmentally friendly garden waste management

Residents are also encouraged to consider sustainable methods for managing garden waste, such as:

• Leaving grass cuttings on lawns to naturally decompose
• Composting garden waste at home
• Creating wildlife habitats by piling garden waste to support insects and birds

More information on composting and access to discounted composters is available at Get Composting.

Scale and impact of the garden waste service

Leeds City Council operates the largest garden waste collection service of any council in the UK, collecting approximately 30,000 tonnes of garden waste annually from over 220,000 households. The collected waste is composted locally and regionally, with the resulting material used in farming, horticulture, and land restoration projects around Leeds.

Council statement

Councillor Mohammed Rafique, Executive Member for Climate, Energy, Environment and Green Space, commented:

“We are very pleased to have the garden waste brown bin collection service restarting in Leeds next week. We are proud that it continues to be the largest garden waste collection service of any council in the UK offered at no charge, and would encourage all residents, households and communities to do what they can to make Leeds as environmentally friendly as possible.”