What goes in your bins

Brown bin (garden waste)

If you are using the new system please view our new recycling system section for details of what goes in your bins.

Your brown bin will be collected every four weeks as per your bin collection calendar. Bins should be placed out the night before collection day, however in some town centre areas bins may require to be placed out on the day of collection.

Check your bin collection day

All bins should be out by 6am on the day of collection. Your bin will be collected between 6.30am and 9.45pm.

Please note that brown bins are not collected during the winter months of December, January and February. You can still arrange a free, individual collection during these months (1 per month) using the online brown bin winter collection form.

What goes in my brown bin?

DO put in your brown bin

  • Flowers and plants
  • Grass cutting
  • Hedge trimmings
  • Weeds and dead plants
  • Bark
  • Leaves
  • Branches and twigs
  • Shrub prunings

DO NOT put in your brown bin

  • Plastic bags
  • Blocks of wood
  • Plant pots and trays
  • Old garden tools
  • Rootballs
  • Garden furniture
  • Hosepipes
  • Animal faeces
  • Rubble
  • Bricks or stones
  • Soil
  • Turfs of grass

If any of the above materials are placed in your brown bin it may not be emptied and it may not be possible to compost the green waste at the composting plant.

Request an additional bin

An additional or replacement brown bin can be supplied for £18.50 (inc. delivery). Each household is only entitled to 1 additional bin and a maximum of 2 bins will be emptied on collection day. Your current collection day will not change and your bins will still be emptied at the kerbside. If your bin is pulled out for you, this service will continue.

Request a bin

What's different about the brown bin?

The brown bin is very different from the green and blue bins, but why?

This bin is the one in which householders should place all biodegradable waste, such as grass cuttings, hedge trimmings, leaves, and cut flowers.

When all the biodegradable waste rots down it provides compost that can be placed back onto the land to act as a feed and a mulch.

To obtain the best quality compost the conditions have to be right, and that is why South Ayrshire Council has selected this particular design of bin.

All acceptable biodegradable waste should be placed in this bin, and left in the appropriate place, on the date indicated on your chart for collection by the Council.

The design of the brown bin means that waste placed in it can start composting down even before it leaves your home. Another benefit of this bin is that the aeration holes provide an environment conducive to the development of a good compost.

If you have a very large amount of biodegradable waste, particularly in the summer months, you can take the excess to your household waste Recycling Centre.

If you are not sure whether a certain item can be placed in your brown bin please contact the recycling helpline on 0300 123 0900 or alternatively you can check what can be recycled in your local area by visiting www.sort-it.org.uk