Preparing an indoor and outdoor list
Describe where each pile is located, how much there is and what access is available. If garden waste is behind the property, include the gate width and any steps. Mention items inside a garage even if they cannot be seen in the garden photographs.
Keeping garden materials identifiable
Photograph branches, loose cuttings and bags separately. Soil, turf, rubble and fence panels should be listed as their own materials rather than grouped under green waste. Say if bags are waterlogged or particularly heavy, and avoid filling bags beyond what can be handled safely.
Old planters can hide a heavy load
For a Bromley Common garden enquiry, state whether pots and planters are empty. Several containers full of wet soil are a different load from the same number of empty plastic pots. If you are retaining the containers, say whether the request concerns their contents only. Do not tip everything into one heap for convenience; keeping the material identifiable makes the conversation about quantity and acceptance more useful.
When household items are stored beside cuttings
A garden tidy-up sometimes becomes a wider clear-out when old chairs, a barbecue or bags from the garage are added. Describe those items separately instead of calling the entire pile garden waste. Say which bags contain household rubbish and which contain cuttings. If more work in the garden is still planned, decide whether the current pile is ready for assessment or whether the final quantity will be known later.