Medway Bin Collection: Day, Weekly Schedule, Missed Bins & Bank Holidays
Medway Council collects normal rubbish, recycling, food waste and the standard garden-waste service on the same collection day each week. Your exact weekday depends on your address, so start with the council’s postcode checker rather than copying another street’s timetable.
Put the correct waste at the boundary of your property by 7am on collection day and no earlier than the night before. If an eligible collection is missed, the council requires the report by 4pm on the following day.
Medway Bin Collection: 30-Second Answer
Medway provides a weekly household collection service. Normal rubbish, recycling, food waste and the standard garden-waste collection are scheduled for the same day of the week, although different vehicles may collect each stream.
Use the official postcode service to confirm your weekday and next collection date. Have everything at the property boundary by 7am. Ordinary bank holidays usually do not change waste collections, but Christmas and New Year are exceptions, so festive dates should always be checked separately.
Jump to the Medway bin task you need
How to Check Your Medway Bin Collection Day
Medway’s official checker asks for your postcode and then your exact address. Use the property result because your normal weekday is linked to your address rather than to a single timetable covering every part of Chatham, Rochester, Gillingham, Strood and the wider Medway area.
-
Open Medway Council’s collection-day checker.
Use the live council service instead of an old screenshot or neighbour’s reminder. -
Enter your postcode.
The council service uses it to find matching properties. -
Select your exact address.
Check that the house or flat number is correct before confirming. -
Read your weekday and next collection date.
Save the live result if you regularly forget the day. -
Recheck around Christmas and New Year.
Festive arrangements can differ from the normal weekly pattern.
Medway Bin Collection Schedule 2026
Medway differs from many councils that alternate rubbish and recycling over a two-week cycle. The normal domestic service is weekly. Your collection time can vary during the day, so the important rule is to have the waste ready by 7am rather than waiting for the vehicle’s usual arrival time.
| Waste stream | Normal arrangement |
|---|---|
| General rubbish | Weekly on your normal collection day, normally presented in black rubbish sacks. |
| Paper and card | Weekly recycling collection using the blue reusable bag or an accepted alternative. |
| Mixed recycling | Weekly using the white reusable bag or clear recycling sacks. |
| Food waste | Weekly using the food-waste arrangement supplied for your property. |
| Standard garden waste | Weekly within the council’s standard free allowance where the service applies. |
| Additional subscribed garden bin | Weekly on the normal collection day once the subscription has started. |
Which Recycling Bag Should You Use in Medway?
Medway separates paper and card from other common recyclable packaging at the kerbside. Using the right bag helps the crew identify the material and reduces contamination.
Paper and card
- Newspapers and magazines
- Paper and envelopes
- Junk mail
- Telephone directories
- Cardboard
Mixed recycling
- Glass bottles and jars
- Metal food and drink cans
- Clean metal foil
- Plastic bottles
- Plastic pots, tubs and trays
Medway continues to deliver rolls of clear recycling sacks every 13 weeks. If you have reusable blue and white bags, the council encourages residents to keep using them.
Medway Food and Standard Garden-Waste Collection
Kerbside households with the standard brown wheelie-bin service can use it for accepted food and garden waste. The service runs weekly. Households that cannot safely store or present a large wheeled bin may use a smaller food bin and council-issued reusable garden sacks instead.
Food accepted
- Meat and fish
- Plate scrapings
- Fruit and vegetables
- Bread, rice and pasta
- Egg shells
- Tea bags and coffee grounds
Garden material
- Grass cuttings
- Hedge clippings
- Garden prunings
- Weeds
- Dead plants
- Small branches up to 5cm across
Keep out
- General rubbish
- Plastic packaging
- Soil and stones
- Liquid fat or oil
- Non-food material in food waste
Medway Bin Collections for Flats
Flats may use shared bins rather than the bag-and-bin arrangement used by a typical house. Recycling is normally placed in a shared blue recycling bin or clear recycling sacks, depending on the building.
Medway introduced a dedicated weekly food-waste collection for flats in April 2026. Residents use the food-waste equipment provided for their block and empty their kitchen caddy into the appropriate communal or outdoor food bin.
Shared recycling
Paper, cardboard, glass bottles and jars, cans, foil and accepted plastic packaging can go in the building’s designated recycling system.
Garden waste at flats
A flat with a private garden that the resident maintains can apply for the garden-waste subscription service where the property is eligible.
Medway Missed Bin: Report It by 4pm the Next Day
Medway accepts reports for missed rubbish, recycling, food and garden recycling, assisted collections and clinical waste. A missed bulky-item booking uses a different reporting process.
-
Confirm that the collection was actually due.
Recheck your postcode and address in the council’s collection-day service. -
Check the 7am rule.
Waste should have been at the required collection point by 7am and no earlier than the night before. -
Check the container.
Waste in the wrong bin or recycling container may legitimately be left behind. -
Check your brown bin.
Medway will not make a return visit to empty a brown bin containing black rubbish sacks. -
Submit the report before the deadline.
Report the missed collection no later than 4pm on the day after the scheduled collection. -
Keep eligible waste available for the return collection.
Follow the instructions shown after you submit the council report.
Medway Bank Holiday Bin Collections
Medway Council’s current missed-collection guidance says waste collections usually operate as normal on bank holidays. That means you should not automatically move a Monday collection to Tuesday simply because the Monday is a bank holiday.
Ordinary bank holidays
Check your address calendar and prepare the collection normally unless the council publishes a service change.
Christmas & New Year
These are the important exceptions. Festive collection arrangements can differ from the ordinary weekly pattern and should be checked using current council information.
Medway Additional Garden-Waste Subscription 2026/27
Medway still allows the standard free weekly garden-waste allowance, but households that regularly need additional brown-bin capacity can subscribe for extra bins.
The £40 charge applies to each additional subscribed brown bin and is payable in full. The 2026/27 price does not reduce if you join later in the subscription year.
The service is available only where the property is suitable for wheeled-bin collections. Every subscribed additional bin needs its own permit, and the permit must be displayed for collection.
Order New Medway Recycling Bags, Brown Bins or Food Bins
Medway’s online waste request service can be used for reusable recycling bags, brown garden sacks, repairs and replacement brown bins. The council says it aims to deliver new bins and bags within 10 working days.
Order online
- Blue or white reusable recycling bags
- Brown recycling/garden sacks
- Brown-bin repair
- Replacement missing or badly damaged brown bin
- Communal recycling request for flats
Order by phone
Medway directs residents to call 01634 333 333 for a first brown wheelie bin or a 23-litre food bin.
Assisted Bin Collection for Residents Who Cannot Move Their Waste
Medway offers a free assisted collection for eligible residents who cannot put rubbish out because of illness, infirmity or disability. An authorised officer visits the household to agree a suitable collection point.
Who may qualify?
The service is for eligible residents living in houses who cannot manage the normal presentation requirement.
Important restriction
If someone aged 16 or over lives with you and is capable of putting the rubbish out, Medway says you will not qualify.
The service does not allow collection crews to enter your home, and Medway carries out an annual review to confirm that assistance is still required.
Medway Bulky Waste: Furniture and Large Household Items
Medway operates a booked bulky-item collection for suitable large household items. The service normally runs on the same day as your usual bin collection where a standard booking is available.
Annual free booking
Subject to eligibility and availability, each household can receive one free standard collection of up to three items.
Additional standard booking
Medway currently lists a £30 charge for an additional collection scheduled on the same day as your normal bin collection.
Different-day collection
The council currently lists a £54 charge where an additional collection is arranged for a different day.
Slots are limited. Medway’s booking system shows current availability in real time, so an unavailable date cannot usually be obtained by phoning the council.
Medway Household Waste Recycling Centres
Medway Council operates three Household Waste and Recycling Centres. You must book a visit before taking household waste to a site, and the booking is available to residents who pay Council Tax to Medway Council.
Capstone HWRC
Shawstead Road
Gillingham
ME7 3JL
Cuxton HWRC
Sundridge Hill
Rochester
ME2 1LF
Hoath Way HWRC
Ambley Way
Gillingham
ME8 0QH
| Before visiting | Current Medway requirement |
|---|---|
| Booking | A slot is required for every household-waste visit. |
| Proof | Bring the booking reference and acceptable proof of your Medway address. |
| Normal site hours | Booking slots currently run from 8am to 4pm each day. |
| Recycling | Separate materials before arrival; mixed bags of recycling are not accepted as mixed recycling. |
| Business waste | Not permitted at Medway household waste recycling centres. |
Cars and vans have different rules
Cars can use all three centres subject to the site rules. Small privately owned vans are accepted only at Capstone and Cuxton on Wednesdays and Saturdays and must meet Medway’s vehicle conditions. Van bookings are not accepted at Hoath Way.
Official Medway Waste Services
BinCollectionGuide.org is an independent information website. Medway Council controls the live collection calendar, missed-bin reports, waste requests, garden subscriptions and HWRC bookings.
Open Medway collection checker
Open missed-bin service
Open garden-waste service
Book a recycling-centre slot
Open Medway waste and recycling
Medway Bin Collection FAQs
How do I find my Medway bin collection day?
Use Medway Council’s official waste collection checker. Enter your postcode, select the correct property and confirm the weekday and next collection date shown for your address.
Are Medway bin collections weekly?
Yes. Medway’s normal household rubbish, recycling, food waste and standard garden-waste services operate on a weekly collection schedule.
What time should I put my waste out in Medway?
Waste should be at the boundary of your property by 7am on the scheduled collection day and should not normally be presented earlier than the night before.
How long do I have to report a missed bin in Medway?
Medway requires a missed collection to be reported no later than 4pm on the day after it should have been collected. A later report will normally mean waiting until the next collection day.
Do Medway bin collections change on bank holidays?
Medway says waste collections usually operate normally on bank holidays. Christmas and New Year are exceptions, so festive collection information should be checked separately.
What goes in the blue recycling bag in Medway?
The blue reusable bag is for paper and card such as newspapers, magazines, envelopes, junk mail and cardboard.
What goes in the white or clear recycling bag?
Accepted items include glass bottles and jars, metal cans, clean foil, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays.
How much is an extra Medway garden-waste bin subscription in 2026?
The 2026/27 subscription fee is £40 for each additional permitted brown bin. The agreement runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.
Do I need to book a Medway recycling centre?
Yes. Medway requires residents to book a slot before visiting Capstone, Cuxton or Hoath Way Household Waste and Recycling Centre.
Your Medway Bin Collection Checklist
First: check your postcode and exact property in Medway Council’s collection-day service.
On collection day: have rubbish, recycling and the relevant food or garden waste ready at the boundary by 7am.
If something is missed: check that the waste was correctly presented and report an eligible missed collection before 4pm on the following day.
On a bank holiday: do not automatically change the weekday. Medway normally collects as usual except around Christmas and New Year, when the current festive timetable should be checked.
Independent guide: BinCollectionGuide.org is not Medway Council and cannot view or amend council collection records, bookings, payments or service requests.