Havering Bin Collection: Dates, Calendar, Bin Colours

Havering • London • reviewed 19 September 2026

Havering Bin Collection: Dates, Calendar & Bin Colours

Start with Havering Council’s address-based collection finder. Standard kerbside households generally use black sacks for rubbish and orange sacks for recycling, with both collected weekly and presented just inside the property boundary by 7am.

Garden waste is a separate subscription service, flats can use a different communal system, and the planned separate food-waste service does not yet have a confirmed borough-wide start date.

Havering Bin Collection: Quick Answer

Use Havering Council’s live collection-day finder for your exact property. For standard kerbside sack collections, black rubbish sacks and orange recycling sacks are collected once a week and should be placed on the ground just inside your property boundary nearest the pavement by 7am.

Bank holidays, disruption, garden-waste subscriptions and communal flats can change what appears for a property, so the live finder should take priority over a saved timetable or a neighbour’s collection pattern.

Black sacks Weekly
Orange sacks Weekly
Set-out By 7am
Garden waste Every other week
Missed report By 5pm next working day
Jump to the Havering waste task you need

How to Check Your Havering Bin Collection Date

There is no need to calculate your next collection from a borough-wide calendar. Havering Council provides an online address finder that returns the next collection information for the selected property.

  1. Open the official Havering collection-day finder.
    Use the council service rather than relying on an old screenshot or unofficial timetable.
  2. Search for your address.
    Select the exact house, converted flat or other property record that receives the collection.
  3. Check the actual next collection date.
    Do not rely only on the normal weekday because bank-holiday periods can temporarily change the date.
  4. Check any subscribed collection separately.
    Garden waste appears for subscribed customers. The finder will not show garden or clinical collections where the property is not subscribed to those services.
  5. Recheck whenever service arrangements change.
    This is especially important for flats, new subscriptions and future food-waste rollout changes.

Havering Bin Collection Schedule at a Glance

Current Havering household waste collection overview
Service Normal pattern Presentation Important detail
Black rubbish sacks Weekly By 7am Just inside the property boundary; not inside a wheelie bin.
Orange recycling sacks Weekly By 7am Use council orange sacks for the standard kerbside service.
Garden waste Every other week Use subscribed service rules Annual paid service; check Week 1 or Week 2 against the address finder.
Communal flats Property-specific Use labelled communal bins Communal rubbish and recycling can be collected separately.
Food waste Separate weekly service planned Not yet borough-wide No confirmed borough-wide start date in the latest September 2026 update.
Important: the collection finder is more reliable than a generic calendar because it reflects the service attached to your property.

Havering Bin Colours: Black, Orange and Green Explained

“Bin colours” can be confusing in Havering because many standard kerbside properties use sacks rather than wheelie bins for ordinary rubbish and recycling.

BLACK

General rubbish

Black sacks are used for ordinary non-recyclable household waste at standard kerbside properties.

ORANGE

Household recycling

Orange sacks are used for the council’s weekly kerbside recycling collection.

GREEN

Garden waste

The paid garden-waste bin service uses a 240-litre green wheeled bin for subscribed properties.

Do not assume every Havering home uses this exact setup. Large blocks of flats may use communal rubbish and recycling bins instead of individual kerbside sacks.

Black Sack Collection Rules

Havering’s standard black-sack collection is once a week for properties receiving boundary sack collections, including houses and some houses converted into flats.

Where to leave sacks

Put them on the ground just inside your property boundary nearest the pavement by 7am.

Do not use a wheelie bin

Havering states that waste sacks cannot be collected from inside wheeled bins.

Avoid unsafe locations

Do not group sacks on the public highway, footpath, grass verge or beside a post.

Keep unsuitable items out

Oversized items and materials requiring another disposal route should not be forced into household sacks.

Sticker on the sack? A sticker normally indicates that something unsuitable was found. Remove the incorrect item and use the correct disposal route before the next collection.

Orange Recycling Sack Collection

Orange recycling sacks are also collected once a week and should be placed on the ground just inside the property boundary nearest the pavement by 7am.

Accepted examples

Council guidance includes recyclable items such as food tins, drinks cans, glass bottles and jars, and plastic bottles.

Check unusual items

Use Havering’s “what item goes where” tool instead of guessing when an item is not clearly part of ordinary household recycling.

Extra orange sacks

Havering publishes a delivery schedule and says extra orange sacks are also available from its libraries.

A roll of 16 orange sacks is normally delivered to each household every 13 weeks, although published delivery dates can change.

Havering Missed Bin or Sack Collection

Havering uses a useful two-stage system: first check whether the council already knows that an entire road was missed, then submit an individual report only if needed.

  1. Check the missed-roads page.
    The council normally publishes confirmed whole-road misses after information is received from collection partner FCC.
  2. If your road is listed, do not submit another report.
    Follow the instruction shown on the live page and leave the waste available for the return collection.
  3. If the road is not listed, confirm it was actually your collection day.
    Use the official collection-day finder.
  4. Check presentation.
    The correct sacks should have been at the property boundary by 7am and not placed inside a wheelie bin.
  5. Check for a sticker.
    Stickered sacks can be refused because they contain an unsuitable item.
  6. Report within the live reporting window.
    Havering currently allows reporting after FCC has marked the round complete and up to 5pm on the following working day.

What happens after a valid report?

Havering says it aims to collect confirmed missed waste on the next working day. Crews operate Monday to Saturday, so Friday misses can be revisited on or before Saturday.

Road listed? Follow the live road instruction; no separate report needed.
Road not listed? Check eligibility, then use the individual missed-collection form.
After reporting Keep the waste available at the normal boundary location.

Havering Garden Waste Calendar 2026–27

Garden waste is a separate subscription service. The current service year runs from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.

£87

Current annual price per 240-litre green garden-waste bin.

Every other week

Normal garden-waste collection frequency.

Week 1 / Week 2

The downloadable calendar is split into two collection-week patterns.

Christmas break

The service includes a two-week collection exception around Christmas.

How to use the garden-waste calendar correctly

  1. Check your next garden-waste collection in the address finder.
  2. Identify whether that date places you in Week 1 or Week 2.
  3. Use the 2026–27 PDF calendar to follow that pattern.
Do not simply copy a neighbour’s Week 1 or Week 2 pattern. Establish your own subscribed property’s next date first.

Havering Food Waste Collection: Latest September 2026 Position

Not yet borough-wide
No fixed launch date is confirmed in the latest council update. Havering has been preparing a separate weekly food-waste collection, but vehicle supply delays have affected the planned rollout.

Earlier council information referred to a service around October 2026. However, a newer council update published on 15 September 2026 says the authority will start the weekly service as soon as it can obtain the required vehicles and will provide residents with further information when more is confirmed.

Do not put out a new food-waste container merely because an older page mentioned October 2026. Wait for Havering to confirm that your property has joined the service and provide the relevant collection instructions.

Bin Collections for Flats and Communal Properties

Havering flats can have either kerbside sack collections or communal-bin collections depending on the building.

Converted flats and maisonettes

Some smaller converted properties use kerbside black and orange sacks in much the same way as houses.

Large blocks

Larger blocks are more likely to use communal rubbish and recycling bins that are emptied separately.

Where communal bins are provided, place black rubbish sacks and orange recycling sacks into the correctly labelled communal container.

Residents using communal bins cannot use Havering’s kerbside battery, small-electrical and textile collection in the same way as sack-service households.

Assisted Collections if You Cannot Move Your Waste

Havering provides assisted collections for residents who are disabled or frail, cannot move their waste to the front boundary and do not have another person able to do it for them.

An agreed collection point can be somewhere more convenient, such as near the front door or a small bin in the front garden.

This assisted service is not available where the resident already disposes of household waste in a communal bin.

Batteries and Small Electrical Items

Batteries should not simply be hidden inside a black rubbish sack. Havering offers separate recycling options for eligible household batteries and small electrical items.

Eligible household batteries

Certain household batteries can be placed in a small clear carrier or sandwich bag beside the normal sacks on collection day.

Small electricals

Suitable small electrical items can be placed in a clear or open carrier bag beside the orange recycling sack.

Lithium, damaged, corroded, industrial and car batteries need a different disposal route. Check Havering’s current battery guidance before presenting them.

Havering Bulky Waste Collection

Havering operates a paid bulky collection for residents who need the council to remove larger household items such as furniture, white goods, carpets, toys and selected household fittings.

Current Havering bulky-waste charges and rules
Item Current position
1–3 items £71.50
Each additional item £18.50
Maximum item height/length 6 feet
Presentation At the front boundary or suitable communal-bin area by 7am on the arranged collection date.
Refunds The council states the service is non-refundable.
Only the items included in the paid booking should be presented. Do not add extra items after payment and expect the crew to remove them.

Gerpins Lane Reuse and Recycling Centre

Gerpins Lane is Havering’s main household Reuse and Recycling Centre and is operated within the East London Waste Authority network.

Address

Civic Amenity Site
Gerpins Lane
Upminster
RM14 2XR

Normal opening

Monday to Sunday
7:30am–5:45pm
Last entry: 5:30pm

Booking rules

A booking is required for vans or trailers and for anyone bringing DIY waste, including DIY waste brought in a car.

Before travelling

  • Bring suitable proof of residency or address.
  • Check that the site accepts the material you want to bring.
  • Check whether your vehicle or waste type requires a booking.
  • Arrive with enough time to unload before the last-entry time.
  • Check the live ELWA page for temporary restrictions or seasonal opening changes.

Havering Bank Holiday Bin Collections

Collection dates can change around public and bank holidays, but a bank holiday does not automatically mean every collection moves by one day.

Check the address first

Look at the actual next collection date returned for your property.

Check the holiday notice

Havering publishes specific arrangements when collections are affected.

Do not reuse old Christmas dates

Always check the live festive timetable once the council publishes it.

Official Havering Waste Services

Check your collection day Use the address-based council finder for your next date.
Open Havering collection-day finder
Black sack collections Weekly rubbish presentation and rejected-sack guidance.
Open black-sack information
Orange sack collections Weekly recycling and orange-sack supply information.
Open orange-sack information
Missed roads See whether Havering already knows about a whole-road collection failure.
Check missed roads
Report an individual missed collection Use after confirming the waste was due and your road is not already listed.
Report missed waste
Garden waste Subscription, price, calendar and service rules.
Open garden-waste service
Bulky waste Check current prices and book eligible large items.
Open bulky-waste service

Havering Bin Collection FAQs

How do I check my Havering bin collection date?

Use Havering Council’s collection-day finder and select your exact property. The result is more reliable than copying a neighbouring street or using an old calendar.

What time should rubbish and recycling be put out in Havering?

Standard kerbside black and orange sacks should be on the ground just inside the property boundary nearest the pavement by 7am on collection day.

How often are black sacks collected in Havering?

Standard kerbside black-sack household rubbish is collected once a week.

How often are orange recycling sacks collected?

Standard Havering orange-sack recycling collections take place once a week.

Can I leave Havering rubbish sacks inside a wheelie bin?

No. Havering states that sacks for the standard boundary collection cannot be collected from inside wheeled bins.

When can I report a missed Havering collection?

First check whether your road is on the council’s missed-roads list. If it is not, a valid individual report can currently be made after FCC marks the round complete and up to 5pm on the next working day.

How much is Havering garden waste in 2026–27?

The current green-bin service is £87 per bin for the service year running from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.

Has Havering started separate weekly food-waste collection?

Not borough-wide. The latest September 2026 council update says rollout has been affected by delays obtaining suitable collection vehicles and does not confirm a final borough-wide start date.

Where is Havering’s main recycling centre?

Gerpins Lane Reuse and Recycling Centre is at Civic Amenity Site, Gerpins Lane, Upminster, RM14 2XR. Check the live ELWA page before travelling for booking, vehicle and waste restrictions.

Best Next Step: Check Your Exact Havering Address

If you only need to know what goes out next, use Havering Council’s collection finder and select your property. For most standard kerbside households, black rubbish sacks and orange recycling sacks are weekly services with a 7am presentation deadline.

If the collection does not happen, check Havering’s missed-roads page before submitting an individual missed-waste report.

Independent guide: BinCollectionGuide.org is not the London Borough of Havering, FCC or the East London Waste Authority. Live collection records, payments, subscriptions, reports and bookings must be confirmed or completed through the relevant official service.