Archive Website of the UK government

Find out when your bins and waste are collected

Your local council is responsible for bins and collecting waste. You should contact them to find out the days they collect waste and recycling.

Household waste is collected from your home regularly. Waste for recycling and any other waste is often collected separately and at different intervals. Contact your local council if your bin is missed from the normal collection.

Make sure you put your rubbish in the right bin and put your bins out on the right day. If you don't, your council could fine you.

• Find out what day your refuse is collected Opens new window

Household waste sites

Councils are required to operate household waste deposit sites (sometimes known as civic amenity sites, tips or dumps). You can deposit your household waste here free of charge, but you may need to show proof that you are resident in the area. Contact your local council to find out what its requirements are.

• Find your local council Opens new window

Council bins

Some councils don’t supply households with domestic refuse bins - contact the waste collection department within your council to see if they do.

If your bin is lost or stolen, you should contact your council straight away. The council will advise you on how you can secure your bin to avoid theft.

• Find your local council Opens new window

Recycling your waste

Nearly two-thirds of all household rubbish can be recycled and many local councils now collect waste for recycling. Some councils provide separate bins for the collection of waste to be recycled. Contact your council if you want to request a recycling container.

• Apply for a recycling bin Opens new window

• Recycling at home (environment and greener living section)

Fly-tipping

If you witness incidences of illegal use of waste bins or fly-tipping, you should report them to your local authority. For more information, see ‘Fly-tipping – what you can do’.

• Fly-tipping - what you can do

Using a skip

If you have a lot of waste to dispose of, your local council may be able to help. You should contact them to find out what they will collect.

If your local council doesn’t offer this service, you may need to contact a commercial skip hire company. You can do this via your local business directory, internet search or you can find a company on the National Skip Hire Association’s website.

If the skip is to be placed on a public road the skip hire company needs a license to do so.

You shouldn’t dispose of hazardous waste in a skip. For more information on what counts as being hazardous waste, see ‘Hazardous waste disposal’.

• Find your local council Opens new window

• Apply for a skip permit Opens new window

• Hiring a skip and using it safely

Bulky waste items

To find out about disposing of larger items, like furniture, fridges and washing machines, see ‘Disposal of bulky items’.

• Disposal of bulky items

Electrical equipment

Instead of putting electrical items in the household bin, you should recycle them. Find out how to do this in ‘Electrical equipment: reuse and disposal’.

A crossed out wheelie bin symbol on an item means you shouldn't dispose of it with normal household waste.

• Electrical equipment: reuse and disposal (environment and greener living section)

• Recycling batteries (environment and greener living section)

Hazardous waste

Some waste can be harmful to human health or the environment if not disposed of properly, including:

• oils
  
• some paints
  
• pesticides
  
• energy saving lightbulbs

To find out about to safely dispose of hazardous waste, see ‘Hazardous waste disposal’.

• Hazardous waste disposal (environment and greener living section)

Clinical waste

You can take any out-of-date or unwanted medicines to your local pharmacy, who will dispose of them safely. Alternatively, you can donate certain, in-date medicines. To find out how, see the article ‘Hazardous waste disposal’.

Used syringes, drugs, pharmaceuticals and surgical waste can be collected and disposed of by your local council. There may be a charge for this service. Contact your council to arrange this if you need to.

If you find hypodermic needles or other clinical waste in your area, contact your council to tell them.

• Request a collection of clinical waste Opens new window

• Hazardous waste disposal (environment and greener living section)

• Find your local council Opens new window

Complaining about your waste service

If you’re unhappy with the waste collection service provided by your local authority, you should contact them in the first instance.

If you make a formal complaint and don’t receive a satisfactory answer, you may be able to take the matter up with the Local Government Ombudsman.

• Make a complaint against a local council or authority

More useful links

• Waste and recycling: a quick guide (environment and greener living section)

• Composting (environment and greener living section)

• Information on stopping bins smelling in hot weather

• Environment Agency - Waste Opens new window

• Visit the recycle-more website Opens new window

• WasteConnect - UK public recycling database Opens new window

Useful contacts

• Home and community contacts