Bin Collection Service

This page gives an overview to the new bin collection service, which began on 4 August 2025.

Service overview

  • Your food waste is collected every week in the brown kerbside caddy. 
  • Your mixed recycling (black-lidded bin), cardboard and paper (blud-lidded bin) and non-recyclable waste (purple-lidded bin) are on an alternating three-week collection cycle. 
  • If you choose to subscribe, the chargeable garden waste collection is collected fortnightly.

 

Collection days and times

You can check when your bin collections days are here, or download the Your East Herts app to get personalised notifications for which bin to put out on which day. 

On your collection day please make sure:

  • Your containers are placed at the front boundary of your property (or the usual storage place for assisted collections) by 6.30am
  • Your purple-lidded non-recycling bin does not have anything in it which could be recycled
  • Your recycling in your black-lidded bin is not bagged up
  • The bin lids are closed
Find my collection day

You can get a more detailed list of ‘what goes in my bins' using our A-Z, or by downloading the Your East Herts App and using the ‘Recycling Information’ section.

In summary:

  • Your black-lidded mixed recycling bin is for plastic, glass, tins, cans, cartons, and plastic bags wrappings.
  • Your blue-lidded cardboard and paper bin is for magazines, corrugated card, cardboard packaging, newspapers, envelopes (windows are ok), white and coloured paper etc.
  • Your food waste caddy is for all unavoidable food waste, including cooked meat, bones, plate scrapings, vegetable peelings, bread, tea bags etc. 
  • Your purple-lidded non-recyclable waste bin is for polystyrene, cigarette ends, cat or dog waste, tissues, disposable nappies and wipes etc.

And if you subscribe to our Garden Waste Collection Service, your brown-lidded bin can be used for grass cuttings, leaves, moss, weeds, flowers, fallen fruit etc.

Key changes to the service that took effect in August 2025 include:

  • a new blue-lidded bin for the separate collection of cardboard and paper, replacing the lidless recycling boxes
  • a new 180-litre purple-lidded bin for non-recyclable waste
  • a new 23-litre brown outside food waste caddy and 5-litre kitchen food waste caddy, for the new food waste collection service
  • plastic bags and wrappings now collected as part of your mixed recycling (black-lidded bin)
  • an alternating three-weekly collection cycle for your non-recyclable waste, mixed recycling, and cardboard and paper bins
  • new collection days for some residents to improve route efficiency.

A leaflet explaining how the new service works was sent to every household. You can also download them below.

Guide to household waste and recycling services

Guide to communal waste and recycling services

 

Three-weekly collection cycle

A three-weekly collection rota was introduced for mixed recycling, cardboard and paper, and non-recyclable waste. 

Flats and households with communal bin areas remain on a two-week cycle. 

 

Type of bin

When  

Food waste

(23 litre brown caddy)

Every week

Mixed recycling

(240 litre black-lidded bin)

Every three weeks

Cardboard and paper

(240 litre blue-lidded bin)

Every three weeks

Non-recyclable waste

(180 litre purple-lidded bin)

Every three weeks

Garden waste 

(paid-for subscription service 240 litre brown-lidded bin)

Every two weeks

(except for the first two weeks after Christmas)

 

  • make it easier for residents to recycle
  • help us achieve government targets for us to recycle 60% of our household waste
  • help us meet new government requirements to collect and recycle food waste and cardboard and paper separately
  • deliver a more efficient and sustainable service 

The changes were agreed in response to the public consultation held in the Summer of 2022 at North Herts Council's Cabinet and East Herts Council's Executive meeting in October 2022. Further updates were made in December 2023, with a confirmation of the waste service decisions in July 2024.

Read more about the service change here.

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