Fareham Bin Collection: Day, Schedule, Missed Bins & Bank Holidays
Fareham Borough Council collects general waste and household recycling on alternate weeks, while food waste is now collected every week. Your exact collection day depends on your address, so use the council’s Domestic Refuse and Recycling Bin Search rather than copying a neighbour’s timetable.
Put the correct containers at the edge of the public highway by 6am, or present them the evening before. General household waste goes in the green-top bin, accepted dry recycling goes loose into the blue-top bin, and food waste uses the separate outdoor food-waste container introduced in 2026.
Fareham Bin Collection: Quick Answer
Use Fareham Borough Council’s Bin Search for your exact collection date. Enter your road or postcode with a space, for example PO16 7AZ. The result gives the refuse and recycling schedule for your property and a printable calendar; subscribed garden-waste information is shown separately under the Garden Waste heading.
Green-top refuse and blue-top recycling alternate every two weeks. Food waste is collected weekly. Normal Bank Holidays, including Easter and the May and August Bank Holidays, do not usually change the collection day, but Christmas arrangements can differ.
Jump to the Fareham waste task you need
How to Check Your Fareham Bin Collection Day
Fareham does not have one collection weekday that applies across the Borough. Council guidance specifically notes that collection dates differ between east and west Fareham, so the address search is more reliable than trying to calculate a date from a borough-wide pattern.
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Open Fareham Borough Council’s Bin Search.
Use the live council lookup rather than an old household calendar. -
Enter your road or postcode.
The council asks for postcodes to include the space, such as PO16 7AZ. -
Use the correct property result.
Read the collection details attached to your address rather than a nearby street. -
Check refuse, recycling and food waste.
Refuse and recycling alternate, while the outdoor food-waste container is collected every week. -
Check garden waste separately if subscribed.
Clip & Collect garden-waste information is shown under the Garden Waste heading rather than in the ordinary printable calendar. -
Recheck Christmas dates later in the year.
Ordinary Bank Holidays generally stay on the normal day, but the Christmas period can operate differently.
Fareham Bin Collection Schedule in 2026
Fareham now combines the long-running alternating big-bin service with a weekly food-waste collection. The introduction of food waste did not change ordinary refuse to a weekly service.
| Service | Container | Normal frequency | Main rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| General waste | Green-top bin | Every 2 weeks | Alternates with household recycling. |
| Dry recycling | Blue-top bin | Every 2 weeks | Accepted items must be loose, not bagged. |
| Food waste | Outdoor food-waste bin | Weekly | Put it out every week, including weeks when a big bin is due. |
| Garden waste | Brown-lidded council bin | Every 2 weeks | Paid Clip & Collect subscription required. |
Green-Top Bin: Fareham General Household Waste
The green-top bin is for ordinary household rubbish that cannot be recycled through Fareham’s blue-top bin, separate food-waste service, glass banks, textile banks, garden-waste collection or Hampshire Household Waste Recycling Centres.
Use it for residual rubbish
Put general non-recyclable household waste in the green-top bin after separating materials that have a dedicated collection or recycling route.
Keep these out
- Soil, rubble and plasterboard
- Hazardous household waste such as oil and paint
- Liquids
- Garden waste
- Commercial waste
- Paper, card, cans, aerosols and plastic bottles
Blue-Top Recycling Bin: What Fareham Currently Accepts
Fareham’s recycling rules remain more limited than those in some other council areas. The council says the current blue-top bin should contain accepted materials loose rather than inside carrier bags or bin liners.
Current core recycling
- Paper
- Clean card
- Plastic bottles
- Food tins
- Drink cans
- Empty aerosol cans
Do not put these in the blue bin
- Plastic pots, tubs and trays
- Plastic bags and film
- Glass
- Drink cartons
- Polystyrene
- Shredded paper
Fareham Food Waste Is Collected Every Week
Weekly household food-waste collections started across Fareham from 30 March 2026. Households were supplied with a kitchen caddy and a small outdoor food-waste container; communal properties use an appropriate shared food-waste container.
1. Collect food indoors
Use the kitchen caddy for peelings, plate scrapings and other accepted food waste.
2. Transfer it outside
Tie the liner or wrap the food appropriately and move it into the outdoor food-waste bin or communal container.
3. Put it out every week
Food waste is weekly even though the green-top refuse and blue-top recycling bins alternate fortnightly.
Where Does Glass Go in Fareham?
Glass bottles and jars should not go into the blue-top recycling bin under the current system. Fareham directs residents to glass recycling banks around the Borough.
Fareham Collection-Day Rules
Be ready by 6am
Put the scheduled bin at the edge of the public highway by 6am, or present it the evening before.
Use the correct council bin
Fareham says only refuse and recycling bins supplied by the council are emptied by its collection teams.
Do not copy yesterday’s vehicle time
Collection crews can arrive at different times, so use the official set-out time rather than waiting until you normally hear the vehicle.
Fareham Missed Bin: Report It Within Three Working Days
Fareham treats a collection as missed when the correct container was presented at the edge of the highway by 6am on the scheduled day and no valid collection problem explains why it was left.
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Check that the correct collection was due.
Use the property Bin Search to confirm the scheduled service. -
Confirm the bin was out by 6am.
Fareham says it will not normally return where a bin was presented too late. -
Look for a hanger or tag.
Collection crews can leave a hanger explaining contamination or another reason the bin was rejected. -
Check the road for access problems.
Roadworks, closures or parked vehicles can interrupt the round. Check the council’s live waste-service updates. -
Report the genuine miss promptly.
Fareham requires the missed collection to be reported within three working days of the collection date. -
Leave the bin available.
Where it was genuinely missed, the council says it tries to return within two working days of the report.
Fareham Bank Holiday Bin Collections
Fareham Borough Council normally empties bins on the usual day during Bank Holiday weeks. This includes Easter and the May and August Bank Holidays, so residents should not automatically shift a Monday collection to Tuesday.
Ordinary Bank Holidays
Follow your normal scheduled collection day unless Fareham publishes a specific service change.
Christmas and New Year
Fareham treats the festive period separately. Christmas 2026 collection arrangements had not yet been published when this guide was prepared, so check the live council page nearer the time.
Fareham Clip & Collect Garden Waste Service
Garden waste is not included in the ordinary green-top refuse bin. Fareham operates an optional subscription service called Clip & Collect, using council-issued brown-lidded garden-waste bins.
Collections operate every two weeks with up to 25 collections per year. Accepted material includes ordinary garden waste such as grass cuttings, hedge trimmings, prunings, plants, leaves and small branches below the council’s size limit.
Accepted examples
- Grass cuttings
- Hedge trimmings
- Small plants
- Twigs and small branches
- Bark
- Small amounts of fallen fruit
Keep these out
- Soil, earth and compost
- Stones and gravel
- Plastic plant pots
- Food waste
- Ash
- Animal waste
- Japanese knotweed
New or Replacement Fareham Bin
Householders are responsible for providing and maintaining Fareham Borough Council refuse and recycling bins. If you move into a new-build or existing property without the required bins, you need to order council-issued containers because other bin types are not accepted for the normal collection.
Standard new / replacement bin
Fareham’s current published household charge is £44, including delivery, for a new or replacement refuse or recycling bin.
Extra recycling bin
An additional recycling bin can currently be ordered for £44 without the extra refuse-capacity application process.
Upsize to 240 litres
The council currently publishes a £17 charge for upsizing to a 240-litre bin where applicable.
Fareham Bulky Waste: Sofas, Mattresses and Appliances
Fareham Borough Council’s bulky-waste collection service resumed on 24 August 2026 after a temporary vehicle-related suspension. The service handles accepted large household items such as sofas, armchairs, beds, mattresses, tables, wardrobes and large appliances.
Collections are normally available on Mondays, excluding Bank Holidays, and must be booked in advance. The council can require a property visit before confirming the final quote for a larger load.
Fareham Household Waste Recycling Centre Visits
Hampshire County Council operates the Household Waste Recycling Centre system used by Fareham residents. Every household visit requires an appointment, and bookings can normally be made up to one week in advance. Same-day appointments can be available when slots remain.
Book before travelling
Arriving without an appointment can mean you are refused entry. Use the Hampshire online booking system or OurHants app.
Use the correct registration
The vehicle registration entered when booking should match the vehicle used for the visit.
Van or trailer?
Vans, pick-ups and qualifying trailers require a digital permit. The current administration fee is £20 and a permit covers up to 12 visits or 12 months, whichever comes first.
Important Fareham Waste Changes in 2026
The biggest household change in 2026 was the start of free weekly food-waste collections on 30 March. Fareham delivered indoor kitchen caddies and outdoor food-waste containers to households, with communal food-waste containers provided for relevant flats.
Food waste changed
Food scraps now have their own weekly collection rather than relying solely on the fortnightly general-waste service.
Blue-bin materials did not fully change
Fareham says the broader range of kerbside recyclables will depend on Hampshire’s new Materials Recycling Facility. Until then, residents should continue using the current blue-bin acceptance list.
Official Fareham Waste Services
Open Fareham Bin Search
Open Fareham waste services
Open missed-bin guidance
Open Bank Holiday guidance
Open food-waste guidance
Open garden-waste service
Open Hampshire HWRC booking
Fareham Bin Collection FAQs
How do I find my Fareham bin collection day?
Use Fareham Borough Council’s Domestic Refuse and Recycling Bin Search. Enter your road or postcode, select the relevant result and use the collection schedule shown for your property.
What time should Fareham bins be put out?
Put the scheduled bin at the edge of the public highway by 6am on collection day, or place it there the evening before.
How often is general waste collected in Fareham?
Green-top general-waste bins are normally collected every other week, alternating with blue-top household recycling.
How often is Fareham recycling collected?
The blue-top recycling bin is normally collected every other week, alternating with the green-top general-waste bin.
How often is food waste collected in Fareham?
Fareham’s separate food-waste service is weekly. It began borough-wide from 30 March 2026.
Does Fareham collect bins on Bank Holidays?
Yes, ordinary Bank Holidays normally use the usual collection day, including Easter and the May and August Bank Holidays. Christmas and New Year can have separate arrangements.
How long do I have to report a missed Fareham bin?
Fareham Borough Council says a genuinely missed collection should be reported within three working days of the scheduled collection date. The council aims to return within two working days of a valid report.
Can glass go in Fareham’s blue recycling bin?
No. Under the current system, glass bottles and jars should be taken to a glass recycling bank rather than placed in the blue-top recycling bin.
Can plastic pots, tubs and trays go in the Fareham blue bin?
Not under Fareham’s current published kerbside rules. The blue-top bin accepts plastic bottles, but other household plastics such as pots, tubs and trays are not currently included in the standard blue-bin mix.
Check the Fareham Bin Search Before Collection Morning
Start with the exact council result for your road or postcode. Confirm whether the green-top refuse bin or blue-top recycling bin is due, remember the separate weekly food-waste container, and have everything required for that collection ready by 6am.
If a bin is left behind, check the date, presentation time, hanger or tag and current road-access notices before reporting it. A genuine missed collection should be reported within Fareham’s three-working-day window.
Independent guide: BinCollectionGuide.org is not Fareham Borough Council or Hampshire County Council. Exact collection records, temporary disruptions, subscriptions, payments, reports and HWRC bookings remain controlled by the relevant official authority.