Lichfield Bin Collection Calendar: Dates, Days & Bin Colours

Lichfield District • 2026 resident guide

Lichfield Bin Collection Calendar: Dates, Days & Bin Colours

The safest way to check a Lichfield bin collection is to use Lichfield District Council’s online calendar, enter your postcode and select your exact address. The calendar shows the collection dates that apply to your property rather than relying on a general Lichfield-wide timetable.

Most households use a black bin for non-recyclable waste, a blue bin for glass, cans and accepted plastics, a blue bag for paper and card, plus a weekly food-waste caddy. Some rural properties use a purple bin instead of the blue bag.

Lichfield Bin Collection: Quick Answer

Enter your postcode in the official Lichfield District Council bin calendar and choose your exact address. Put the scheduled bin, recycling bag and food caddy at the kerbside or normal collection point by 6am.

Black bins are normally emptied every two weeks. Blue bins and blue bags are also normally collected every two weeks, alternating with black-bin waste. Food-waste caddies are collected every week on your normal collection day. Rural households with a purple paper-and-card bin can have a different recycling sequence, so the property calendar remains the final check.

Set-out time By 6am
Black bin Every 2 weeks
Food waste Every week
2026 garden service £42.50 per bin
Jump to the Lichfield bin information you need

How to Check Your Lichfield Bin Collection Calendar

Lichfield District Council provides a postcode-based calendar for refuse and recycling dates. Because rounds vary by property and some rural households have different recycling containers, use the exact address result rather than copying another street’s schedule.

  1. Open the council bin calendar.
    Use the live Lichfield District Council calendar rather than an old PDF or screenshot.
  2. Enter your full postcode.
    Submit the postcode and wait for the matching address list.
  3. Select your exact property.
    This matters for flats, rural roads, new developments and properties with purple-bin arrangements.
  4. Check the date and container together.
    Note whether the collection is black bin, blue recycling, paper and card, food waste or subscribed garden waste.
  5. Have everything ready by 6am.
    Place the correct container at the kerbside or usual collection point before the round begins.
Do not rely on postcode district alone. WS13, WS14, WS7 and surrounding rural postcodes cover many different collection rounds. The complete property selection is what matters.

Lichfield Bin Collection Schedule at a Glance

The normal household pattern separates non-recyclable waste from recycling, while the food-waste caddy is collected weekly. Garden waste is an optional subscription service.

Container Main use Normal collection pattern Important point
Black bin Non-recyclable household waste Every two weeks Normally alternates with household recycling.
Blue bin Glass, cans and accepted plastic containers Every two weeks for standard households Usually collected with the blue bag.
Blue bag Paper and card Every two weeks Collected with the blue bin.
Purple bin Paper and card in applicable rural areas Property-specific rural pattern Council guidance says blue and purple bins alternate; use your calendar.
Food-waste caddy Food scraps and leftovers Every week Put the outdoor caddy out with the bin due that week.
Brown garden bin Subscribed garden waste Fortnightly Requires a valid 2026 subscription and sticker.
Calendar rule: the table explains the normal service structure. Your address result controls the actual collection date.

Lichfield Bin Colours: What Goes in Each Container?

Black bin

Non-recyclable waste

Use the black bin for ordinary household rubbish that cannot be recycled through the council’s other containers. Food waste should now go in the separate food-waste caddy.

Keep the lid shut. The council does not collect ordinary side waste with the black-bin service.

Blue bin

Glass, cans & plastics

The blue bin accepts clean items such as glass bottles and jars, cans, aerosols, aluminium foil that scrunches, and accepted plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays.

Put recycling in loose rather than hiding it inside plastic bin bags.

Blue bag / purple bin

Paper & card

Use the blue bag for clean paper and cardboard. In some rural areas, households have a purple bin instead of a blue bag.

Flatten cardboard where practical and keep unsuitable materials out.

Food caddy

Weekly food waste

Use the food-waste caddy for food scraps and leftovers. Transfer filled liners from the kitchen caddy into the larger outdoor caddy.

Put the outdoor caddy out every week on your normal collection day.

Batteries and vapes: do not put them in normal household bins. Damaged batteries can cause fires in collection vehicles and waste facilities. Use a suitable battery, electrical or retailer recycling route.

Weekly Food-Waste Collections in Lichfield

Lichfield’s weekly food-waste service is now operating. Homes receive a small kitchen caddy and a larger outdoor caddy. The outdoor caddy is collected each week on the property’s normal collection day alongside whichever main bin or recycling container is scheduled.

Kitchen caddy

Use it indoors for food scraps and leftovers before transferring the liner to the outdoor caddy.

Outdoor caddy

Put the larger caddy at the normal collection point every week.

Need more liners?

When the supplied liner roll runs out, the council says to loop the yellow tag from the end of the roll onto the outdoor caddy handle and present it on collection day. The crew can provide another roll.

Collection-day change? The council says the food-waste service itself does not change your normal bin collection day; the caddy is added to the existing weekly visit.

Rural Lichfield: Blue Bag or Purple Bin?

Most households use a blue bag for paper and card alongside the blue recycling bin. Some rural properties use a purple bin instead of the blue bag.

For those rural arrangements, the council says the blue bin and purple bin are emptied on alternating fortnights. Because this is not the same presentation pattern as a standard blue-bin-and-blue-bag household, always check the address calendar before setting containers out.

Do not copy an urban street’s recycling week. If your property has a purple bin, use the calendar generated for your own address.

Lichfield Garden Waste Collection 2026

Garden waste is an optional paid service. For 2026, Lichfield District Council charges £42.50 per garden bin. The subscription covers up to 23 fortnightly collections, with a break over Christmas and New Year.

Once subscribed, the brown garden bin is normally collected every two weeks on the same day as the blue-bin recycling service. The council started the 2026 service from the week beginning 26 January 2026.

2026 price

£42.50 per bin.

Collection frequency

Fortnightly, up to 23 collections across the service year.

Sticker required

A valid subscription sticker must be displayed for the garden bin to be emptied.

Do not put food waste in the garden bin. Food waste now belongs in the dedicated weekly food-waste caddy. The brown garden bin is for accepted garden material under the subscribed service.

Lichfield Missed Bin Collection: What to Do

Do not report a bin simply because the usual lorry has not arrived at its normal time. Lichfield crews can still be completing rounds, returning after emptying a vehicle or dealing with access problems.

  1. Wait until 5.30pm on collection day.
    The council asks residents to check after crews have had time to complete their rounds.
  2. Check the council’s missed-streets information.
    If your street is already listed, leave the affected bin, bag or caddy at the kerbside. The council aims to return the next working day but says it can sometimes take up to three working days.
  3. Check your own presentation.
    Make sure the container was out by 6am, was not too heavy and did not contain the wrong waste.
  4. Report within the allowed window.
    If the street is not already listed and the collection qualifies, report after 5.30pm on collection day and before midnight on the following working day, unless an assisted-collection exception applies.
The crew may not return when a container was put out late, was too heavy, was frozen or contained the wrong material. Correct the problem before the next scheduled collection.

Bank Holidays and Christmas Bin Collection Changes

Do not reuse a previous Christmas calendar to predict a future festive collection. Lichfield published specific date changes for Christmas 2025 and New Year 2026, but those dates are now historical.

For garden waste, the council states that ordinary bank holidays outside the Christmas and New Year period do not affect the usual collection day. Festive arrangements should still be checked again when the council publishes the applicable Christmas 2026 and New Year 2027 schedule.

Safest approach: check the live postcode calendar shortly before Christmas rather than assuming last year’s revised dates repeat.

Need Help Getting Bins to the Kerb?

Lichfield District Council provides an assisted-collection route for residents who cannot safely move their bins or other containers to the normal collection point. Eligibility depends on the household circumstances, so use the official application information rather than simply leaving a bin in a different position.

Bulky Waste, Furniture and Large Appliances

Sofas, beds, fridges, freezers and other bulky items should not be left beside normal household bins. Lichfield offers separate bulky-waste and scrap-metal collection options, and the council says bookings can be made online up to a month in advance.

Reuse first

If the item is still usable, check whether donation, reuse or retailer take-back is suitable.

Bulky collection

Furniture such as sofas and beds requires a separate booking rather than ordinary bin collection.

Scrap collection

Large metal or electrical items may use the council’s separate scrap collection route.

Lichfield and Burntwood Recycling Centres

Staffordshire County Council operates the household recycling centres serving Lichfield District. Opening times are seasonal, so the hours below apply to the current published period from 29 March to 24 October 2026. Recheck before travelling after that date.

Seasonal hours: the published hours above end on 24 October 2026. Always check Staffordshire County Council’s live page before a later visit.

Moved Home, Missing a Bin or Need a Replacement?

If you move into a property without the expected containers, check the council’s bin-order process. Lichfield’s moving-home guidance says new-build homes without bins can receive a blue recycling bin and black non-recyclable waste bin after the council confirms the property is registered for council tax.

Missing, stolen or damaged bins, recycling bags and food caddies should be handled through the council’s official replacement routes rather than by purchasing an arbitrary container that may not work with the collection system.

Official Lichfield Bin Collection Services

BinCollectionGuide.org is an independent information website. Lichfield District Council controls collection calendars, missed-bin records, garden-waste subscriptions and container requests.

Official bin calendar Check dates by postcode and property
Bin and bag instructions Check what goes in each container
Food-waste service Check food-caddy guidance

Lichfield Bin Collection FAQs

How do I check my Lichfield bin collection date?

Use Lichfield District Council’s online bin calendar. Enter your postcode, select your exact address and check which container is due.

What time should bins be out in Lichfield?

Bins, recycling bags and the food-waste caddy should normally be at the kerbside or usual collection point by 6am on collection day.

How often is the Lichfield black bin collected?

The standard black-bin service is every two weeks, normally alternating with household recycling.

How often is the food-waste caddy collected?

The outdoor food-waste caddy is collected every week on the property’s normal collection day.

What is the blue bin for in Lichfield?

The blue bin is used for accepted container recycling including clean glass bottles and jars, cans, aerosols, aluminium foil and accepted plastic containers.

What is the blue bag for?

The blue bag is for clean paper and card. Some rural properties use a purple bin instead of the blue bag.

How much is Lichfield garden waste collection in 2026?

The 2026 subscription is £42.50 per garden bin and covers up to 23 fortnightly collections, with a Christmas and New Year break.

When can I report a missed bin in Lichfield?

Check after 5.30pm on collection day. If your street is not already listed and the bin qualifies as missed, the council says to report it after 5.30pm and before midnight on the following working day, unless an assisted-collection exception applies.

Best Next Step: Check Your Exact Lichfield Address

Your quickest route is the official Lichfield bin calendar. Enter the postcode, choose the exact property, check the container due and have it ready by 6am.

Keep the weekly food caddy separate from the alternating black-bin and recycling cycle, and remember that rural purple-bin households can follow a different recycling arrangement.

Independent guide: BinCollectionGuide.org is not Lichfield District Council, Tamworth Borough Council or Staffordshire County Council. Always complete bookings, reports, subscriptions and live date checks through the relevant official authority.