Although more than half of Dorset households with gardens already home compost, around 9,000 tonnes of garden waste is currently being sent to landfill per year.

Collecting garden waste separately means it can be put to good use by sending it for windrow composting (a type of industrial outside composting), instead of it going to landfill.

Avoiding sending garden waste to landfill helps reduce the impact of this biodegradable material in landfill sites where it decomposes and creates methane, a greenhouse gas.

About the new garden waste scheme

An optional, chargeable, fortnightly collection of garden waste will be available as part of the new Dorset waste service.  Households that want to opt-in to the garden waste collection will be able to choose either a 240-litre wheeled bin, or a smaller reusable bag.  This service will run for 50 weeks of the year (there will be no service for two weeks over the Christmas period).

Garden waste collected through the scheme will be sent to Eco Composting, where it gets transformed in to compost.

Green waste including leaves, flowers, grass, weeds, tree bark, pruned branches and home-grown fruit and vegetables could go into your garden waste wheeled bin. It should be put in loose, as plastic bags or sacks would hinder the composting process as they don't break down.

Any residents who wanted to join this optional service will pay an annual subscription either online or by phone.

All residents will still have the option to compost their garden waste free of charge at home or by taking it to a household recycling centre, regardless of whether they use the opt-in kerbside collection for garden waste.

This scheme is for garden waste only. If it included food waste then it would have to be treated differently at the composting plant, which would be more expensive.

• Your garden waste service questions answered

  Answers to your questions about the new garden waste service