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Black bins
From June 2026 you’ll benefit from a new black wheeled bin for any rubbish that cannot be recycled.
This replaces black bin bags and will be collected every 2 weeks. For further information on delivery, please see our new bin service page.
Tips for using black wheeled bins
Providing residents with wheeled bins, combined with a new weekly food waste collection service, should mean you will see a big reduction in smells and mess created by sacks getting ripped apart.
Using your bin
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 black wheeled bin.
Food waste
All food waste must go into the new food waste caddy and will be collected every week. It must not be put in your black bin.
Reducing smells
As food waste is now being collected weekly there are not many items that will go in your black bin that create smells. If you are putting something smelly in your black bin we recommend double bagging it before placing it in your bin. If possible, locate your black bin out of sunlight, as this will help minimise any smells.
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.
Batteries, vapes and electrical items
Please avoid putting these in your black bin as they are a fire risk. You can recycle these items at your local household recycling centre.
Bulky items
Please avoid putting these in your black bin and take them to your local household recycling centre.
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 black 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, when 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 is 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.
No room for an extra bin
We do appreciate that this additional bin requires space, but there are significant benefits to you and the environment of having the bin.
Your new black bin shouldn’t take up much more space on the floor than one or two black bags did. If you stored them in your own bin, then you can replace this with your new wheeled bin. This will also make it easier to move your rubbish to your collection point on bin day.
Your outside food waste caddy is relatively small and can easily sit on top of one of your existing bins if space is a premium.
If you receive our alternative sack collection service because you cannot accommodate a bin or bins, you will continue to receive a sack collection but will be provided with purple sacks with a maximum of 3 bags being collected fortnightly. This is to ensure we only collect what cannot be recycled.
If you think this applies to you and do not receive a sack collection, please see further information on our alternative collection. We are unable to provide sack collections for properties with front or accessible rear gardens.
We know some people, despite recycling all that they can, will struggle to contain their waste in the new black bin, so those with a genuine need can request a bigger bin (or additional sacks if you receive this service).
Black sacks
Our last delivery of black sacks was made to residents in September 2025. After this date we will no longer be providing black sacks.
After 1 June 2026, we will no longer collect black sacks from the boundary of your property and will only take black wheeled bins, or purple sacks 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 black 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 can go in the black 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 black 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 black bin or 3 purple sacks depending on which service you receive.
To support this, from June 2026, we will collect extra recycling if it is presented next to the blue lidded bin and provide additional blue and green lidded bins free of charge.
Request a larger bin
Your new black 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 black wheeled bin will be provided, or, if on the alternative service, up to 4 purple sacks of waste will be collected. Your existing blue lidded bin will also be swapped automatically for a larger 360 litre recycling bin.
It may be worth between now and June, challenging your household to contain your waste in a maximum of 3 black bags a fortnight. Using our yes please list for blue bins and our yes please list for green bins (including all food waste), see how much you can reduce your black bags by.
Please contact us if you are worried about containing your waste, we can help.