We are looking for website testers!
Please help us make our website even better. Find out more about the website scenario testing study and how you can take part.
New bin service
The following information relates to the collection service from 1 June 2026. For current service information, please visit waste and recycling.
From June 2026 we’re bringing in a new service designed to help you reduce waste and recycle more. It includes introducing a weekly food waste collection and replacing black sack collections with wheeled bins.
It is better for you, it is better for East Cambridgeshire and it is better for the environment.
Image
The new service will start on 1 June 2026, you will benefit from:
- weekly food waste collections, we will send you a 5 litre kitchen caddy to collect your food waste, and a larger 23 litre outdoor caddy to transfer it into for collection
- a years supply of caddy liners, for free
- a new 180 litre black wheeled bin for any rubbish that cannot be recycled, this replaces black bin bags and will be collected every 2 weeks
- soft plastics like carrier bags, film lids, salad and vegetable packaging can be added to your existing blue bins
- continued collection of green lidded garden waste bins for free, but from 1 June, please put all food waste into your new food waste caddy
Inside your new bin you will get a pack giving you more information about the new service and details about your collection days.
Why it is happening
The changes are being brought in as part of a national government initiative across England to help everyone reduce the amount of waste going to landfill and recycle more.
When and what happens next
We have over 40,000 properties to get through so it is going to take us a while to get everything ready and ensure people have the right bins and the right service.
That is why we are writing to customers in September 2025 to let them know about the changes. If you have any concerns or questions, now is the time to contact us, so we can answer your queries.
We begin delivering your new bins from March 2026 and will start the new service from 1 June 2026. Please do not put your new bins out before that date as we will not be able to collect them.
Not enough space for bins
Most households can easily accommodate these bins. If you do not have room, please see our page on alternative sack collections. Alternatively, please complete our no room for bins form.
Help with moving the bins
If no one in your household can move the bins, there is still time to apply for our assisted waste collection. If you already receive our assisted collection service you do not need to register again, we will ensure your new bins are covered.
Request larger bins or more bins
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 there is a clear need and certain criteria are met. That’s why it is important you get in touch if you feel you meet the additional capacity criteria before we start delivering your new bins from March 2026.
You can apply if:
- you are a larger household with 5 or more people
- you have 2 or more children in nappies
- you generate extra waste due to medical needs
- exceptional circumstances - please note, we do not take pet waste into account when assessing for a larger bin, please see further information on pet waste
To support this, from June, we will collect extra recycling if it is presented next to the blue lidded bin. To help our collection crews, please make sure any extra recycling is within a cardboard box or a clear plastic bag, so we can make sure we only collect the right items. If you regularly produce more recycling than you can fit in your bin, you can request an extra one: we will be removing the charge for this and the extra bin will be free.
We will also be removing the yearly subscription for an additional garden waste bin from April 2026. Those with an extra bin for garden waste will no longer be required to pay.
Please note that for safety and hygiene reasons, garden waste must always be contained within an East Cambridgeshire green (or brown) lidded bin to be emptied.
Please contact us if you would like to request an additional free bin to arrive in time for the changes to be bought in next year. We ask residents to only order one if they need it. Our service is very busy preparing for the changes as well as delivering the existing services, and we must prioritise resources to deliver these only where there is a need.
Please note, if you would like your bin to arrive before next April you will be charged for this service.
Related pages
You can find out more information about our new bin service on the following pages:
Black bins – tips of using your black wheeled bin and how to request a larger bin.
Blue bins - Information on blue bins and additional household recycling.
Green bins - What goes into your green bin and information on additional garden waste.
Bin collection days - Information on when we will collect your new bins.
Food waste - New food waste caddies, what goes inside them and ways to reduce food waste.
Alternative sack collections - Information on alternative sack collections, how to request clear sacks and report brown bags not left.
How this benefits the environment
We’re proud to be one of the top 25 local authorities when it comes to collecting recycling with over 58% of waste already being recycled. We are grateful to our residents for being great recyclers.
We know we can all do more, and our target is to recycle at least 65% of waste by 2035.
By introducing a weekly collection of food waste at the same time as a fortnightly collection of rubbish, we are supporting residents to recycle more of the 14,000 tonnes that are thrown away in the district every year.
Collecting and recycling food waste also reduces the amount of carbon and methane gas produced, which is a cause of climate change.
The new service will not only help us to achieve our environmental goals, but it will also help meet the tough recycling targets set by the Government.
Why rubbish collections are changing from weekly to fortnightly
Our residents are brilliant, and some of the best recyclers in the country.
However, we know from analysis of the rubbish in the black bags we collect, that a third is food waste and many of the other items can also be recycled. We need to reduce the amount of rubbish going into landfill.
By providing separate weekly food waste collections and enabling residents to recycle soft plastics in their blue lidded bins, we want to encourage people to recycle more.
The more people recycle, the less rubbish is produced and it becomes more efficient to collect this every two weeks. We can focus our resources on prioritising the collection of food waste, recycling and keeping the collection of garden waste free.
These changes were decided by a working group made up of councillors from both political parties. It also brings East Cambridgeshire into alignment with most other councils in the country that already have fortnightly, or even for some councils, three-weekly collections for rubbish.