Garden Waste Permits

The service will start on 18 April 2022 and your brown bin will continue to be collected on the same day.

The only change is that from this date, we will only empty brown bins containing garden waste if they display a valid garden waste permit.  

An annual permit costs £35.  One permit is required for each brown bin containing garden waste each year.

• request a concession permit
• request a replacement concession permit 

The application form will take a few minutes to complete.

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The permit will be delivered to you and should be attached to the back of the bin, as shown in the picture below.

Please don’t attach your new permit on top of the previous year’s as it will not stick. Follow the instructions on the reverse of the permit which will show you how and where to attach it.

If bins are presented containing garden waste without a valid 2022/23 permit, they will not be emptied.  

The permit manufacturer recommends you do not remove your 2021/22 permit once you have received your new permit. Instead, stick your new permit next to or underneath the old one. Due to the tamper and weatherproof qualities of the adhesive the old permit won’t come off in one section.

The adhesive is currently still too strong. However next year, after further exposure to elements the 2021/22 sticker may be removed using some WD40.

Do not stick your new permit on last year’s permit as it will not adhere to the surface properly.

If you have recently ordered your permit and it hasn’t been delivered by 18 April 2022 when the service starts, please print your confirmation email and attach it to the back of your bin in the interim.

If it has been more than 14 days since you ordered your permit and you have still not received it, please email us or by calling our Customer Contact Centre on 01786 404040 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm).

Your brown bin will still be collected on the normal day without a permit if it contains food waste only. Residents with access to transport can bring their garden waste to any of the Council's three HWRC's free of charge. Households can also participate in home composting.  

If you don’t have a permit and continue to use your brown bin for garden waste, your brown bin will not be emptied.

You’ll need to notify us of your change in circumstances and cancel your original order within the 14 day cancellation period (which starts the day after purchase) to receive a full refund.

If your change in circumstances occurs after this point, you can still update us and but unfortunately, no refunds or part refunds will be given after the 
14 day cancellation period. 

To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform the Council of your decision.

The easiest way to cancel your permit is to complete the online form

You can also cancel your permit by calling our Customer Contact Centre on 01786 404040 or by letter (sent by post - Lower Polmaise Waste Management Centre, Waste Team, Fallin Stirling FK7 7FG ) before the cancellation period has expired. 

One permit covers one brown bin per year. 

A permit is required for each bin being used for garden waste.  

Each household may purchase as many garden waste permits as they require. 

Residents must purchase an additional garden waste permit for each additional bin used.

These will be subject to the standard £35 charge. 

You can request an additional brown bin when you apply for permits using the online form 

If you are eligible for a free permit and don’t have a brown bin, please order one here

Your bin was ordered by 3 April 2022

If it has been more than 14 days since you ordered your additional brown bin for the Garden Waste Permit and not received it, please let us know and our Waste Team will look into this.

Your bin was ordered after 3 April 2022

If it has been more than 21 days since you ordered your additional brown bin for the Garden Waste Permit and not received it, please let us know and our Waste Team will look into this.

Yes. Assisted collections will continue for all listed residents. 

Only brown bins containing garden waste will be collected if a valid permit is displayed. 

Food waste can continue to be placed in your brown bin without a permit.

You can use a compostable liner or newspaper to wrap food waste. Alternatively, you can place food waste loose in the bin and it will still be collected, for free, every two weeks without a permit – as long as there is no garden waste in the bin. 

If you live in a block of flats and have a communal garden, or if want to share a brown bin with your neighbour(s) to recycle garden waste, then you will still require a garden waste permit for that bin. 

You will have to come to a private agreement with your neighbour(s) regarding who will apply and make payment for the service.

The address used when applying for the permit will be printed onto the garden waste permit.  The permit and bin belong to the listed property address, not the householder/occupier. 

The easiest way to apply is by using the online form

Only domestic properties are eligible for the garden waste permit.

The table below details how to apply for a Permit for a brown bin that isn’t at your home: 

Please complete our online form and our Commercial Waste Officer will contact you to help make arrangements for you and your business.  

Brown bins that contain garden waste but which do not display a garden waste permit will not be emptied.

These bins will be tagged by our waste crews and will remain uncollected until a garden waste permit is applied or the garden waste is removed and re-presented with food waste only in the bin on the next scheduled collection day.  

Brown bin with a permit (garden and food waste)

Brown bin without a permit (food waste only)

Permits are connected to the address of the occupant, not the occupant themselves. 

Permits are non-transferable and will only be valid when presented at the address detailed on the permit. These bins remain the property of Stirling Council and should not be removed from a property without authorisation.  

Should you move into a property that already has a brown bin(s) with a valid garden waste permit, you can continue to use the bin for garden waste.

Should your new address not have a valid permit and you wish to recycle your garden waste in the brown bin then you will be required to purchase a permit. 

Households who do not wish to participate in the Chargeable Garden Waste Collection Service must keep one brown bin at their property to recycle food waste. The brown bin belongs to your property and should not be removed.

If you still have an old diamond brown bin, please report it here so that we can arrange for it to be uplifted. Please be aware that we are unable to collect garden or food waste from diamond bins.

If it has been more than 14 days since you ordered your permit and you received the email confirmation when you placed your order, but you have still not received the permit through the post, please request a replacement permit by completing the online form

You can also request a replacement permit by calling our Customer Contact Centre on 01786 404040.

In the interim, your email confirmation can be printed off and attached to your brown bin as a temporary permit.

There is a 14 day cancellation period that starts the day after you purchase a permit. 

Permits can be cancelled within this 14 day period to receive a full refund. Thereafter cancellations can be made but no refunds or part refunds will be given.  

To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform the Council of your decision.

The best way to cancel your permit is to complete the online form

You can also cancel your permit by calling our Customer Contact Centre on 01786 404040 or by letter (sent by post - Lower Polmaise Waste Management Centre, Waste Team, Fallin Stirling FK7 7FG ) before the cancellation period has expired. 

As soon as we receive a payment, our permit supplier will start to process your order. This means that you may still receive the permit in the post. If you do, please do not worry. We will have a record of this cancellation so simply dispose of the permit and we will do the rest. 

Householders are responsible for the waste and recycling that is contained in their bins and will be required to make arrangements to remove any contamination identified.

Please store your bin securely between collections. A lock can be added to the bin to prevent unauthorised usage between collections if this is a serious enough concern.

This must be unlocked by 7am on your collection day.  

The introduction of the garden waste permit will allow the Council to continue to deliver an important recycling service to residents at a time of severe financial pressures.

It is also part of the Council’s wider waste transformation programme which aims to:

• Reduce waste to landfill and increase recycling rates to meet national targets.
• Reduce the costs of providing our household waste service.

The changes included grey bins (general waste) moving to four-weekly from two-weekly collections. This will encourage a necessary shift in the culture of

waste disposal, increasing the amount of household waste placed in recycling bins, including food and garden waste.

A brown bin without a permit will still be collected if it contains food waste only. Residents with access to transport can bring their garden waste to any of our three HWRC's (tips) free of charge. Households can also participate in home composting.

With grey bins (general waste) moving to a four-weekly collection later this year, residents will need to recycle more household waste – not the other way about. There is no other choice: given the climate emergency, we all have to change the culture of how we dispose of our waste.

Currently, Stirling residents recycle 54% of household waste and more than half of the contents of average general waste bins collected (nationally) should have been placed in other bins for recycling. We need to improve to meet the national target of 70% by 2025 and this is why we are making these changes.

Along with maximising the space in their recycling bins, residents can also participate in home composting and deposit garden waste at our three HWRC's (tips).