Rubbish collections

We collect general rubbish every week from more than 100,000 households in the borough.

Instead of throwing away unwanted items that still have life in them, why not donate them to a charity, such as Trinity, or sell/giveaway unwanted items through Freegle, Freecycle, LoveJunk marketplace or social media sites.

In this section:

Black bin bags

Bulky waste

Clinical waste

Rubbish collection days

Waste and recycling centres

Household rubbish

All rubbish should be stored in large, tied black bags, ready for your collection day.

What can I put in my household rubbish?

Ceramics, such as broken plates or mugs
Cigarette buds
Hard plastics, such as plant pots
Nappies
Pet waste
Polystyrene
Sanitary products
Used tissues and wet wipes

Remember: You can recycle most household items through our different recycling schemes. Plus, there are lots of local and national channels where you can recycle or donate unwanted items.

You can also take many unused or unwanted household items to our waste and recycling centres.

Instructions for rubbish collections

Carefully wrap (and label if appropriate) any broken glass or other items that could cause injury, such as unwanted knives. If you are unable to safely wrap unwanted knives, these should be taken to a knife bin.
Keep all of your waste bags within your property boundary until your collection day.
On your collection day, leave your tied black bag on the end of your property boundary before 6am.
If you do not have a front garden, leave the tied black bag on the pavement the night before collection day (no earlier than 5.30pm).
If bags must be placed on a path or public highway for collection, they should not obstruct cars, pedestrians or other vehicles.
To avoid household rubbish bags being split open by foxes, birds and other animals, we strongly recommend the use of standard-size domestic dustbins up to a maximum of 90 litres capacity (not wheeled bins) to safely contain your rubbish before collection day.
Residents must supply their own sacks for general waste - preferably black, not white, as these may be confused with recycling sacks.

Look up my collection day

Missed rubbish collection

If your rubbish hasn't been collected on your collection day and you have followed instructions for collection, please let us know and we will make another collection within 2 working days.

Please note: A missed collection cannot be reported until after 1.30pm on your collection day and must be within 72 hours of the collection being missed.