9th June 2026
Highland Council has confirmed that the cost of its garden waste permits will remain frozen at £48.95 for the 2026/27 season, maintaining last year’s price to support residents during ongoing cost-of-living pressures.
Garden waste permits are now available to purchase online at www.highland.gov.uk/gardenwaste or through the Council’s Service Point network.
Existing 2025/26 permit holders will receive renewal reminders in the coming weeks. The optional fortnightly collection service is also open to new customers within eligible areas.
The garden waste collection service provides between 19 and 20 collections per season, depending on collection schedules, equating to approximately £2.50 per collection per bin. The 2026/27 permit period runs from 1 September 2026 to 31 August 2027, with a winter suspension during December, January and February.
Demand for permits will be high in the weeks immediately prior to the 2026/27 service commencing in September; therefore, householders are encouraged to sign-up by the 1st of August to ensure they receive permits in time for the first collections.
Customers can continue to order garden waste permits after 1 August; however, the Council cannot guarantee that permits ordered following this date will arrive in time for the first collections of the 2026/27 permit year
Councillor Graham MacKenzie, Chair of Highland Council’s Communities and Place Committee, said: “The Council has chosen to freeze the permit price for the second year running to avoid placing additional financial pressure on households. We hope this encourages continued participation and attracts new users to the service.
“Garden waste recycling plays an important role in improving overall recycling rates. Materials such as grass cuttings, leaves and hedge trimmings can be effectively recycled, helping to reduce waste sent for disposal and supports environmental sustainability. With the Council being under significant financial pressure, I am really pleased that we are able to offer garden waste permits at a cost-effective price for householders along with providing a convenient, environmentally friendly, easy to use service.”
Garden waste permits can be purchased online at www.highland.gov.uk/gardenwaste or by visiting a Council Service Point.
For Caithness and Sutherland and other Highland household households, stopping council garden‑waste uplift and composting it yourself is usually the smarter, cheaper, and more resilient option. You save the annual fee and you create a steady supply of free soil improver in a region where soil quality is often thin, sandy, or wind‑scoured.
Why home composting makes sense in Highland
Saving the uplift fee
Council garden‑waste charges add up over a year. Composting at home turns that cost into zero.
Free compost for life
Bagged compost is £5–£8 a bag. A single Caithness garden can produce:
200–400 litres of compost a year
Enough to mulch beds, feed veg, and improve poor soil
That’s £50–£100 of value every year, for nothing.
3. Better soil structure
Local soils are often:
Thin
Wind‑dried
Low in organic matter
Home compost fixes all three.
Less driving, fewer bins
No need to drag a heavy brown bin to the kerb.
No need to store it.
No need to worry about missed uplifts.
More control over what goes in
Council composting is industrial.
Home composting lets you:
Keep it organic
Avoid contamination
Tailor it to veg beds or flowers
What you should compost at home
Grass clippings
Leaves
Weeds (non‑seeding)
Hedge trimmings (cut small)
Veg peelings
Coffee grounds
Shredded cardboard
Old bedding plants
What might still need council uplift
A small list — and only if you produce a lot of it.
Thick branches
Large woody shrubs
Diseased plant material
Invasive roots (ground elder, couch grass, bindweed)
Even then, you can burn woody waste in winter (where permitted) and return the ash to the soil.
Bonus: Veg you can cut and regrow again and again
This is where home composting and low‑cost gardening meet beautifully.
Cut‑and‑come‑again veg that thrive in Caithness & Sutherland:
Perpetual spinach — almost bomb‑proof
Chard — colourful, hardy, keeps going
Kale — pick leaves for months
Spring onions — cut above the root, they regrow
Lettuce mixes — pick outer leaves, never pull the plant
Rocket — fast regrowth
Parsley — cut stems, it keeps producing
Leeks — the root base will regrow if replanted
These crops love compost‑rich soil — exactly what you’ll be making for free.
The Caithness & Sutherland angle
Wind, salt, and poor soil mean organic matter is gold.
Every handful of compost you make:
Improves moisture retention
Reduces wind‑scour
Helps plants root deeper
Cuts fertiliser costs
In a region where garden centres are far away and expensive, home composting is one of the most cost‑effective habits you can adopt.
Stop paying for garden‑waste uplift unless you have a specific need for it.
Home composting saves money, improves your soil, and fits perfectly with the Highland “use everything, waste nothing” mindset.