Check Your Portsmouth Collection Day, Correct Container and Holiday Schedule
Start with your exact property rather than a neighbourhood guess. Portsmouth household rubbish is normally weekly, green recycling fortnightly and food waste weekly, while subscribed garden waste uses its own fortnightly schedule.
This guide explains collection times, current 2026 information, historical 2025 route changes, Christmas schedules, missed bins, recycling contamination, food caddies, rubbish allowances, flats, assisted collections, bulky items and Port Solent HWRC visits.
Portsmouth Bin Collection Days: Start Here
There is no single Portsmouth bin collection date for every household. Check your exact address first, then identify which service is due.
Normally weekly
Black wheelie bins, authorised rubbish sacks or communal rubbish containers.
Normally every 2 weeks
Green household recycling containers follow a fortnightly schedule.
Weekly
Collected on the same normal day as rubbish, but by a different crew.
Every 2 weeks
Paid Leaf It Out service; its day can differ from your other collections.
Search engines can mix Portsmouth, England with Portsmouth in the United States. For UK collection information, check that the official source ends in portsmouth.gov.uk.
Find Portsmouth Bin Collection Dates for the Exact Property
Searches for Portsmouth bin collection dates or Portsmouth bin collection days normally mean the resident needs the next collection for one address.
Open Portsmouth City Council’s rubbish and recycling hub
Choose the official collection-date task rather than relying on an old printed calendar.
Select the exact property
Flats, communal stores, HMOs, flat-fronted terraces and neighbouring properties can have different presentation arrangements.
Record each service separately
Save rubbish, recycling, food waste and subscribed garden-waste dates independently.
Check recycling carefully
Your rubbish may be weekly while green recycling is only due every other week.
Use the portal if something goes wrong
Collection reports and service management are handled through Portsmouth’s waste portal.
Portsmouth Bin Collection Times: 6am to 4pm
Portsmouth City Council says household collections can take place between 6am and 4pm. Containers should be ready before 6am or can be placed out after 7pm on the previous evening.
Night before
Do not place bins or bags on the pavement earlier in the day before collection.
Collection morning
Crews can begin early, so do not wait until you hear the lorry.
Normal working window
A container still present at midday is not automatically a missed collection.
Bring containers back
Bins and sacks should not remain stored permanently on the pavement.
Make the container easy to access, not hidden behind a gate or wall, with the handle facing towards the pavement.
Portsmouth can remove rubbish bins left on the pavement outside the permitted period and can replace recycling bins with smaller containers.
Portsmouth Bin Collection Dates 2026: How to Use the Current Calendar
For Portsmouth bin collection dates 2026, the safest answer is the live property result. Portsmouth’s older printed material can help explain Week 1 and Week 2 recycling, but should not override the current address schedule.
Check the weekly day
Household rubbish normally follows a weekly cycle.
Confirm the fortnight
Green recycling usually runs every two weeks, so the correct weekday alone is not enough.
Check again
Christmas and other temporary arrangements can override the usual pattern.
Some Portsmouth recycling rounds changed during 2025, and seasonal schedules are temporary. Use the live council calendar before deciding a collection is late.
Official Portsmouth PDF Audit: What Residents Need to Know
Two recent Portsmouth council PDFs add useful context that is easy to miss on shorter service pages.
Spring 2026 Flagship PDF: current recycling position
- Portsmouth is working towards wider household recycling.
- The wider collection system has not changed immediately.
- Current household recycling still includes paper.
- Current household recycling includes cardboard.
- Current household recycling includes plastic bottles.
- Current household recycling includes tins and cans.
- Current household recycling includes aerosols.
- Glass, textiles, books, cartons and mixed plastics can use recycling banks around the city.
- Food scraps should use the food-waste caddy.
Winter 2025 PDF: Christmas 2025 to January 2026
- Normal rubbish and recycling ran on 24 December 2025.
- Christmas Day and Boxing Day started a revised collection timetable.
- Food waste continued with general rubbish.
- Garden waste had a two-week seasonal suspension.
- Bulky waste had a three-week seasonal suspension.
- Residents had two free opportunities for real Christmas-tree collection in January.
- Tree collection dates could differ from normal rubbish and recycling dates.
Portsmouth Bin Collection Dates 2025: Why Old Reminders Can Be Wrong
Portsmouth bin collection dates 2025 are now historical, but one change still matters if you have an old phone reminder or printed calendar.
Some recycling rounds changed
Selected roads in Cosham, Drayton and Farlington moved onto a revised fortnightly recycling sequence.
Delete old reminders
If your address was affected, the current council property result should replace any reminder created before the route change.
Which roads were listed in the 2025 change?
Portsmouth Bin Collection Christmas Dates
Portsmouth bin collection Christmas dates depend on the year. The official timetable below is specifically for Christmas 2025 and January 2026.
| Normal date | Revised date |
|---|---|
| Thursday 25 December 2025 | Saturday 27 December 2025 |
| Friday 26 December 2025 | Monday 29 December 2025 |
| Monday 29 December 2025 | Tuesday 30 December 2025 |
| Tuesday 30 December 2025 | Wednesday 31 December 2025 |
| Wednesday 31 December 2025 | Friday 2 January 2026 |
| Thursday 1 January 2026 | Saturday 3 January 2026 |
| Friday 2 January 2026 | Monday 5 January 2026 |
| Monday 5 January 2026 | Tuesday 6 January 2026 |
| Tuesday 6 January 2026 | Wednesday 7 January 2026 |
| Wednesday 7 January 2026 | Thursday 8 January 2026 |
| Thursday 8 January 2026 | Friday 9 January 2026 |
| Friday 9 January 2026 | Saturday 10 January 2026 |
Two-week suspension
Last 2025 collection was Friday 19 December; the first listed 2026 collection was Monday 5 January.
Three-week suspension
Last 2025 collection was Tuesday 23 December; the first listed 2026 collection was Tuesday 13 January.
Free January collection
Residents were given two designated opportunities for free real-tree collection.
Do not reuse this table for December 2026. As of this refresh, an official Christmas 2026/New Year 2027 timetable was not found. Use the live collection calendar when Portsmouth publishes the new arrangement.
Portsmouth Bin Collection Easter: How to Check the Correct Date
Portsmouth bin collection Easter searches should be answered from the live household calendar rather than a generic assumption that every collection moves by one day.
Check your normal date
Confirm that your rubbish, recycling or food service was actually due during Easter week.
Check current council notices
A holiday-specific announcement can override the normal routine.
Ignore old-year posts
A previous Easter arrangement is not proof of the current-year schedule.
The official Portsmouth sources reviewed for this refresh did not provide a separate city-wide Easter 2026 waste timetable, so the property calendar remains the safest answer.
Portsmouth Missed Bin Collection: Use This Decision Path
Do not treat a bin as missed while crews can still be working. Normal Portsmouth collections can continue until 4pm.
Confirm that today’s collection was due
Check the current property calendar and the correct waste type.
Check presentation time
The bin, sack or caddy should have been ready before 6am or after 7pm the previous evening.
Check for a rejection reason
Look for contamination, an inaccessible bin, overfilled rubbish or the wrong container.
Report a genuine miss
Use Portsmouth’s online waste portal when the collection has actually been missed.
Leave the bin at the boundary
The council says it will try to return within one to two working days after a valid report, although busy periods can take longer.
The council hub still displays a specific notice for recycling missed during disruption on 25–26 June, telling affected households not to report it and to wait for the next scheduled recycling date. Treat that as a dated disruption message, not the normal missed-bin rule for every collection.
Portsmouth Rubbish Collection: Limits, Bags and Bigger Bins
Portsmouth household rubbish is normally collected weekly, but how much you can present depends on your property and container.
Keep rubbish inside
Rubbish should be bagged inside the authorised black bin and the lid should be able to close.
Three standard bags
The standard allowance is three rubbish bags per week for qualifying flat-fronted properties.
Paid sticker
The current council price is £24 for a sheet of 12 extra-rubbish stickers, with one sticker required on each additional bag.
Ask for an assessment. A waste management officer checks whether the extra rubbish is normal weekly household waste and whether dry recycling, food waste, glass and other recyclable material are already being separated correctly.
Clinical sharps, DIY rubble, batteries, electricals, recyclable packaging, food waste and garden waste all have separate routes.
What If Portsmouth Council Removed or Replaced Your Bin?
This is a common edge case missing from many bin-day guides. Portsmouth can act when bins remain permanently on the pavement.
You may not receive another wheelie bin
The council says residents can instead present up to three standard rubbish bags or put those bags in their own regular round dustbin.
Use the smaller container
If the smaller recycling container fills up, extra correct recycling can be placed in a cardboard box beside it on collection day.
The council says a reminder or warning letter is sent before repeated pavement-storage enforcement.
What Goes in Portsmouth Green Recycling Bins in 2026?
Current household green-bin recycling is narrower than many residents expect. A national recycling symbol does not automatically mean the item can go in Portsmouth’s household green bin.
Put these in the green bin
- Clean paper
- Clean cardboard
- Empty plastic bottles
- Food tins
- Drink cans
- Biscuit and sweet tins
- Empty aerosols
Keep these out
- Glass bottles and jars
- Plastic pots, tubs and trays
- Carrier bags
- Tetra Pak cartons
- Aluminium foil
- Food
- Nappies
- Black rubbish bags
- Batteries
Portsmouth asks residents not to bag recycling inside the green container and not to place items inside one another.
Empty and squash bottles, then put the lid back on. Loose lids are too small for the sorting process.
Portsmouth says wider national recycling changes are being developed with neighbouring authorities but residents should keep using the current local list until new arrangements are announced.
Where to Recycle Glass, Cartons, Mixed Plastics, Textiles and Books
An item that cannot go in Portsmouth’s green household bin may still be recyclable elsewhere in the city.
| Material | Best local route | Do not do this |
|---|---|---|
| Glass bottles and jars | Local glass recycling bank | Do not put them in the household green bin. |
| Plastic pots, tubs and trays | Mixed-plastics recycling point where accepted | Do not assume all plastics belong in the green bin. |
| Cartons | Carton recycling bank | Do not put Tetra Pak cartons in current household recycling. |
| Textiles | Textile bank, charity reuse or another approved route | Do not leave bags next to a full bank. |
| Books / CDs / DVDs | Appropriate local recycling or reuse point | Do not fly-tip unwanted items beside recycling banks. |
Portsmouth City Council provides a searchable map covering materials including batteries, books, cans, cardboard, cartons, glass, plastics and textiles.
Red Hanger on Your Portsmouth Recycling Bin?
A recycling bin left full with a red hanger is normally contamination, not an ordinary missed collection.
The council does not offer the same free goodwill emptying for shared communal containers. Current call-out charges are £66 for a 660-litre container and £110 for an 1100-litre container.
Portsmouth Food Waste Collection: Caddy Setup and Missed-Caddy Checks
Food waste is collected weekly on the same day as household rubbish but by a separate crew, so the black bin and food caddy may be emptied at different times.
Kitchen caddy
Use the smaller caddy indoors for food scraps.
Outdoor caddy
Transfer food waste into the larger outdoor container for collection.
Do not hide it
Put the outdoor caddy at the front boundary by 6am and keep it visible rather than between large bins.
Plastic bags cause rejection
The council says caddies containing plastic bags will not be emptied.
- Plate scrapings
- Meat and bones
- Fish and shells
- Dairy
- Eggs and shells
- Rice, pasta and beans
- Bread and cakes
- Fruit and vegetables
- Tea bags and coffee grounds
- Pet food waste
- Plastic bags
- Glass
- Milk and other liquids
- Cat litter
- Animal faeces
- Compostable cutlery
- Compostable packaging
- Garden waste
Use no liner, newspaper or a fully compostable liner showing the seedling logo or EN13432 reference.
Portsmouth Garden Waste Collection 2026: Leaf It Out
Leaf It Out is an optional paid service collected every two weeks. The garden-waste collection day can differ from rubbish, recycling and food waste.
£70 annually
Current published annual subscription for the brown wheelie-bin service.
£78 annually
The current sack subscription provides a pack of 25 sacks.
£12 per pack
Up to four garden-waste sacks can be presented for a collection.
2 working days
Report a missed subscribed garden collection within two working days.
- Leaves
- Grass cuttings
- Hedge cuttings
- Tree cuttings
- Woody material under 10cm diameter
- Large logs
- Food waste
- Animal waste or bedding
- Soil
- Hardcore
- Bricks
- Paving slabs
Do not put plastic bags inside the brown garden bin.
Batteries and Small Electricals: Exact Portsmouth Kerbside Rules
Clear bag on top of rubbish
Put accepted household batteries in a clear bag on top of the black rubbish bin. Flat-fronted homes using rubbish sacks can place the clear battery bag on top of a rubbish bag.
- Tape contacts on laptop/mobile and button batteries where required.
- Keep batteries cool and dry.
- Do not present leaking or damaged batteries.
- Communal-bin residents should use shops, supermarkets or HWRC routes.
Carrier bag on top of recycling
Small items such as kettles, toasters, vapes, hairdryers and cables can use the kerbside electrical service if they fit inside a normal carrier bag.
- Put the carrier bag on top of the recycling bin.
- Do not put the bag inside the bin.
- Remove glass items such as light bulbs.
- Large electricals need the HWRC or another collection route.
Portsmouth Bin Collections for Flats, HMOs and Flat-Fronted Terraces
Portsmouth’s dense streets mean standard wheelie-bin advice does not fit every household.
Sacks or round dustbin
Where there is no front garden, use strong rubbish sacks or a suitable regular round dustbin to reduce problems with gulls, cats and foxes.
Use communal containers
Black household sacks should go inside the communal rubbish container rather than being left beside it.
Managing-agent issue
Communal containers should provide enough capacity. Waste left outside because bins are full is not collected by the normal crew.
Do not put electricals on communal recycling bins or batteries on communal rubbish bins. Use an alternative recycling route.
Need Help Moving Your Portsmouth Bins?
If physical or mobility limitations prevent you from safely presenting containers, request an assisted collection instead of repeatedly missing the set-out time.
Request assisted collection
The council can arrange help for residents who cannot move normal household containers.
Garden assistance
Residents with a medical condition preventing them from presenting the brown bin or sacks can also request garden-waste assistance.
Contact the recycling and rubbish team on 023 9284 1105.
Portsmouth Bulky Waste Collection: Before You Book
Portsmouth can collect eligible large household items from Council Tax-paying households. Residents receiving Council Tax Support can get one free collection in a rolling 12-month period.
Reuse first
Consider donation, resale or the HWRC before paying for collection.
Typical bulky items
Sofas, beds, mattresses, washing machines, furniture, fridges and freezers can be eligible.
Special pricing
The current item guidance lists fridges/freezers at £40 each and American-style fridges at £60.
Safe lifting limit
Items over 2 metres or too heavy for two people to lift safely can be refused.
Asbestos, soil, rubble, bricks, plasterboard, paint tins containing paint, gas cylinders, batteries, tyres, garden waste and trade waste need another route.
Check the operator has a waste carrier licence. Householders can remain responsible if their waste is later fly-tipped.
Portsmouth Household Waste Recycling Centre: Port Solent Micro-Guide
The Portsmouth HWRC is at Paulsgrove Portway, Port Solent, PO6 4UD. You must book before visiting.
Up to 7 days ahead
Appointments can be booked up to seven days in advance.
Use the booked registration
If you arrive in a different vehicle from the one on the booking, you can be turned away.
Do not arrive too early
Staff can ask early arrivals to rejoin the queue or return at the booked time.
No pedestrian waste visits
Waste cannot be brought onto the site on foot. A bicycle appointment can be booked.
| Period | Opening hours |
|---|---|
| 1 October – 28 February | 9am – 4pm |
| 1 March – 31 March | 9am – 5pm |
| 1 April – 30 September | 9am – 6pm |
| Daily closure | 1pm – 1:30pm |
The site is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
Current guidance says a Hampshire household can deposit up to eight 50-litre rubble bags or four bulky DIY items free every four weeks; excess material can be chargeable.
Moving House or Leaving Student Accommodation in Portsmouth?
End-of-tenancy rubbish is one of the easiest ways to create a fly-tipping problem. Plan the last collection before moving day rather than putting unwanted possessions on the pavement.
Reusable furniture
Use charities and reuse services for good-quality furniture, household goods and clothing.
Use local reuse routes
Online marketplaces and local reuse groups can prevent usable items becoming waste.
Use it properly
Present normal containers on the final collection day before leaving the property.
Pavement waste can trigger enforcement
Leaving unwanted furniture, bags or donations outside after moving can be treated as fly-tipping.
Check their waste carrier registration and keep details of how your waste will be disposed of.
Portsmouth Bin Collection Phone Number and Contact Routes
Use the specific online service first where possible. Call when the online route does not fit the problem or you need help using it.
Option 4
For Leaf It Out telephone enquiries, use the main waste number and choose option 4.
Residents who cannot use the digital booking or permit system can call 023 9284 1105 and select option 5.
Official Portsmouth Waste Resources
These are the primary sources to use when an address-specific date, payment, booking or live report matters.
Portsmouth Bin Collection FAQs
How do I find my Portsmouth bin collection day?
What time should Portsmouth bins be put out?
How often is rubbish collected in Portsmouth?
How often is Portsmouth recycling collected?
Where can I check Portsmouth bin collection dates 2026?
Should I still use Portsmouth bin collection dates 2025?
What are the Portsmouth bin collection Christmas dates?
Does Portsmouth bin collection change over Christmas?
What happens to Portsmouth bin collections at Easter?
How do I report a missed Portsmouth bin?
How quickly will Portsmouth return for a missed bin?
Why did my recycling bin get a red hanger?
Can I put extra recycling beside my bin?
What can go in the Portsmouth green recycling bin?
Can glass go in Portsmouth green recycling bins?
Are plastic pots, tubs and trays accepted in Portsmouth green bins in 2026?
How often is Portsmouth food waste collected?
Can I use a plastic bag in my food caddy?
How much is Portsmouth garden waste collection?
Can Portsmouth collect batteries from home?
How do I recycle small electricals in Portsmouth?
Do I need to book Portsmouth HWRC?
Your Portsmouth Bin-Day Checklist
- Check the exact property rather than a city-wide date.
- Confirm whether green recycling is actually due this week.
- Put containers out after 7pm the night before or before 6am.
- Keep the collection point accessible.
- Bring bins back by the end of collection day.
- Keep recycling clean, dry and loose.
- Use local recycling points for glass, cartons and mixed plastics.
- Make the food caddy easy for crews to see.
- Wait until the normal collection window has passed before reporting a miss.
- Check holiday dates again at Christmas and Easter.
- Book Port Solent HWRC before travelling.
- Check waste-carrier registration before paying a private collector.
Independent resident guide. BinCollectionGuide.org is not Portsmouth City Council or Hampshire County Council. Address-specific dates, festive arrangements, prices, accepted materials and temporary service notices can change, so verify time-sensitive information through the official council links above.