Every household is entitled to one 180-litre wheeled black bin for small items that cannot be reused, recycled, or composted. 

Please contain all waste within your bin. Any extra rubbish not inside the bin will not be collected. It is advisable to contain your waste in any type of bag before putting it in your rubbish bin.

Collections happen every two weeks. 

Use our collection day calendar to find out your next collection day 

What we collect

Food waste cannot go in your rubbish bin. It must go in your food caddy. We advise not putting your rubbish in loose to avoid spillages on windy days. Instead, you can use any bag, sack, or carrier to hold the rubbish before popping it inside your rubbish bin.

Yes please:

• polystyrene (please ensure it is small enough to fit inside the bin, and bag it, so it doesn’t blow away when the bin is emptied)
• cling film  - this cannot go in your blue bin because it clogs up the machinery used to process recycling
• disposable nappies- Smells and mess can be minimised by putting nappies into bags and tying them securely. Consider dropping the solids into the toilet before disposing of them in the bin. You may want to consider using reusable nappies, for which the council provides a discount to purchase. For further information, please see our waste reduction page. 
• hygiene waste, and sanitary waste, but not clinical waste
• food pouches and crisp wrappers
• Tissues and kitchen towels
• non-herbivorous pet waste - use dog bins when you’re out walking your dog. When you’re home, use bags for your cat litter and dog poo before putting it in your bin
• broken glass, Pyrex, crockery, knives and scissors

No thanks:

• food waste – please use your food caddy
• dry recycling 
• hazardous waste, such as chemicals and cleaning products – find a specialist licensed company
• DIY waste – small amounts of waste pipe, plasterboard and rubble and paint, for example, can be taken to the Recycling Centre for recycling 
• electrical equipment – some large shops have collection point or take this to the Recycling Centre
• batteries – many high street shops have battery collection point or visit www.takecharge.org.uk to find a location
• vapes – many high street shops, including vape shops, have vape collection points or take them to a Recycling Centre 
• textiles – place in specialist recycling bins which can be found around the district
• garden waste - please use your green lidded garden waste bin 
• soil - please take this to the Recycling Centre 
• pesticides, weedkillers, household chemicals and paint tins – please take these to the Recycling Centre 
• clinical waste, including needles
• bulky waste

The lists above are not exhaustive, so if you are not sure whether an item is suitable, please see our waste and recycling look up:

Waste and recycling look up

Find more about

Reducing smells

As food waste is collected weekly there are not many items that will go in your rubbish bin that create smells. If you are putting something smelly in your rubissh bin, we recommend double bagging it before placing it in your bin. If possible, locate your rubbish bin out of sunlight, as this will help minimise any smells.  

Pet waste

We do not take pet waste into account when assessing for a larger bin. If your household generates substantial pet waste, here are some suggestions to help minimise it:

Dog waste - regularly dispose of dog waste using dedicated dog waste bins or council owned litter bins when you are out on walks.

Cat litter - we recommend you use minimal amounts of litter and ‘spot’ clean the litter tray to remove solid waste rather than replace the whole contents of the tray at any one time. Consider using plant-based or biodegradable litter. Plant-based materials are often lighter than heavy clay and create less waste in your rubbish bin. Some biodegradable litters clump well, making scooping easier.

Herbivorous animal waste – waste from herbivorous animals, such as horses, rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters can be disposed of on a compost heap, or in your green bin. This includes their food such as alfalfa hay and pellets, but make sure this compost waste is only herbivorous.

If, after the new service begins in June 2026, and you have attempted the suggestions provided and your bins and food waste caddies are being used to their maximum capacity, we will send an officer out to assess your individual circumstances.

Under no circumstances should you:

• flush your pet waste down the toilet, including their bags. If flushed, parasites in the waste can pass through wastewater treatment plants and end up in rivers, lakes or oceans, harming marine life. Wastewater plants are not designed to process animal waste as it can cause blockages, lead to overflows and place an extra strain on the system
• leave your pet waste in a public area. This is illegal and you could receive a fine. We ask you to continue to pick up your pet waste and dispose of it in the nearest suitable bin.

Cleaning bins

The council does not operate a bin cleaning service. We are aware that there are several companies providing this service in the district if you do not wish to do this yourself.

Black sacks

We no longer provide black sacks and will only collect black wheeled bins, or purple bags for residents that aren’t able to have wheeled bins. 
If you are able to accommodate our bins, but do not want one, you will be required to dispose of your non-recyclable waste at a household waste recycling facility. 

Why rubbish bins are smaller

By making sure you use the blue and green lidded bins, as well as your food waste caddy, there isn’t much left that needs to go in the rubbish bin. This means we can slightly reduce the amount of space needed to store a bin. 

Based on our research we are confident the new rubbish bin provides more than enough space for the average household.   

We appreciate some households are larger or have additional needs and despite recycling all they can, produce more rubbish. We can provide a larger bin if there is a clear need and certain criteria are met.  

Additional rubbish

To encourage households to recycle more, we will only collect rubbish that is contained within the new rubbish bin or 3 purple bags depending on which service you receive.  

To support this, we will collect extra recycling if it is presented next to the blue lidded bin or provide additional blue and green lidded bins free of charge if you find you are frequently producing more recycling than will fit in the blue lidded bin.

See how much you can reduce your rubbish bin or purple bag rubbish by using our ‘Yes please’ lists for: 

• blue bins
• green bins
• how to reduce your waste

If you are still struggling, and meet certain criteria, you could qualify for a larger bin. 

Request a larger bin

Your new rubbish bin will hold around 3 bags of rubbish which should be enough for most households. We appreciate some households are larger or have additional needs and despite recycling all they can, produce more rubbish.

We can provide a larger bin if you believe the standard size is too small, and you meet at least one of the following criteria:  

• 5 or more residents live permanently at the property  
• 2 or more children are in nappies  
• non-clinical medical or hygiene waste is produced in the household 
• residents can demonstrate the household is recycling all materials correctly through the recycling service  

A 240-litre rubbish wheeled bin will be provided, or, if on the alternative service, up to 4 purple bags of waste will be collected. Your existing blue lidded bin will also be swapped automatically for a larger 360 litre recycling bin.  

Request extra capacity 

Please contact us if you are worried about containing your waste, we can help.  

No room for a wheeled bin

We know some people, despite recycling all they can, will struggle to contain their waste, or simply do not have space to accommodate a bin. If you think this applies to you and do not receive a purple bag collection, please see our alternative bag collections page. 

We are unable to provide bag collections for properties with front or accessible rear gardens. If you are able to accommodate our bins, but do not want one, you will be required to dispose of your non-recyclable waste at a household waste recycling facility. 

Bulky items

Please avoid putting bulky items in your rubbish bin. You can either take them to your local household recycling centre or request a bulky waste collection. 

Remember the following:

• your rubbish bins must be ready for collection by 6:30am on your collection day and not before 6pm on the evening before
• rubbish not contained in the bin will not be collected
• your rubbish bins must be on the property boundary closest to the road and visible to the collection crew
• if your property is accessed by a private track or road, your collection point will be where this meets the public highway

We encourage you to make use of your food caddies and your recycling and green waste bins as much as possible, to reduce the waste going into your rubbish bin. There are also lots of community reuse and recycling options to reduce your rubbish  bin waste even more.