Every household is entitled to one 240-litre black wheeled bin with a green lid for food and garden waste. This service is free, and collections happen every two weeks. 

Additional garden waste bins

If you'd like an extra garden waste bin, there's currently a yearly fee of £56.75 per bin.

From June 2026, we're upgrading our bin collection service to help everyone reduce waste and recycle more. We'll be:

• introducing a weekly food waste collection
• maintaining a free collection of garden waste but asking that all food waste is placed in a separate food caddy (which we will provide)
• replacing black sack collections with wheeled black bins, collected every two weeks

Even better news: from 1 April 2026, households will be able to request an extra garden waste bin for free. Until then, the current £56.75 fee per extra bin still applies and we are unable to offer part-year payments.

Please only order an extra free bin from April 2026 if you genuinely need one, as our teams will be very busy rolling out the new services.  The delivery of your additional bin during this time may be delayed until later in 2026 while we prioritise the main service rollout.

For more information, visit our new bin service or request an additional garden waste bin.

Yes please:

• grass and hedge cuttings
• leaves, dead plants, and weeds
• small branches
• fruit and vegetables - cooked and uncooked
• meal leftovers
• teabags, tea leaves and coffee grounds
• eggshells
• meat and fish - cooked and uncooked
• kitchen towel and tissues
• natural bedding from herbivorous pets including straw, hay, sawdust, and shredded paper

No thanks:

• flowerpots
• stones or rubble
• soil and turf
• poisonous weeds, diseased plants and invasive species like Japanese Knotweed
• general waste
• cat litter and dog waste
• plastic bags
• any food packaging
• biodegradable / compostable 'plastic' bags

Remember the following:

• your bin must be ready for collection by 7:00am on your collection day and not before 6:00pm on the evening before
• your bin must be on the property boundary closest to the road and must be clearly visible
• if your property is accessed by a private track or road, your collection point will be where this meets the public highway
• materials will only be collected if they are presented in the correct container, we do not collect side waste
• wheeled bins remain the property of East Cambridgeshire District Council and must be left at your property if you move out