Find Your Nottingham Bin Day, Follow the Current Summer Time and Use the New Recycling Rules
Nottingham’s standard household service alternates green residual-waste collections with the brown recycling bin that has a grey lid. Exact dates depend on your property.
The biggest 2026 change is recycling: cartons, foil and many plastic bags and wrappers are now accepted. There is also a temporary summer collection-time change you should check before bin night.
Nottingham Waste Updates — Checked 20 August 2026
Crews currently start at 6am
Nottingham’s live waste pages say all collection crews will begin emptying bins at 6am for the rest of summer.
Recycling list expanded
Cartons, foil and many types of flexible plastic packaging can now be recycled at home.
Scam email warning
The council is warning about a fake email telling residents to reactivate their Garden Waste account. Use the council website directly rather than an unexpected payment/reactivation link.
Fridge/freezer restriction
Residents are currently restricted to one fridge or freezer per visit and one such disposal visit per week because national processing capacity is tight.
The 6am summer start, garden-waste scam alert and fridge/freezer restriction are time-sensitive. Recheck them whenever this guide is refreshed.
Nottingham Bin Collection 2026: Quick Answer
Start with Nottingham City’s postcode checker. Do not rely on a Nottingham-wide weekday, an old calendar screenshot or a neighbour’s bin.
Under the normal Alternate Weekly Collection system, the green residual bin is collected one week and the brown recycling bin with grey lid the next.
| Container | Purpose | Normal pattern | Key point |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green wheelie bin | Residual household rubbish | Fortnightly | Alternates with recycling |
| Brown bin with grey lid | Mixed household recycling | Fortnightly | Clean, loose and dry recycling |
| Brown bin with brown lid | Subscribed garden waste | Fortnightly April–October; one collection November and one December | Paid 2026 subscription required |
| Berridge food container | Food waste | Weekly | Only eligible current food-waste properties, not citywide |
How to Check Your Nottingham Bin Collection Day
-
Use Nottingham City’s collection checker.
Make sure you are on the City Council service rather than a surrounding Nottinghamshire district. -
Enter the postcode.
Use the address where the bins are actually collected. -
Select the exact property.
Do not copy a nearby road or another flat’s result. -
Read both date and container.
The green and grey-lidded bins normally alternate. -
Check garden separately.
Garden waste is seasonal and subscription-specific. -
Use reminders if helpful.
Nottingham offers an app, downloadable calendar and weekly email reminder service.
The council’s collection-calendar page currently says the calendar will be updated shortly for the rest of 2026. If an old downloaded calendar conflicts with newer live information, use the current postcode result and council alert.
What Time Should Nottingham Bins Be Put Out?
Current temporary summer instruction: have normal household bins ready before 6am.
What is the permanent rule?
Nottingham’s current Household Waste Collection Guidance Principle says wheelie bins must normally be at the agreed collection point by 7am, unless the council notifies residents of another arrangement.
The same official policy says bins should not normally be placed there before 7pm on the evening before collection.
The current 6am message is an operational summer override. Do not rewrite Nottingham’s permanent policy as “6am all year”.
Where is the collection point?
Normally it is the edge of your property where the premises meet the adopted highway.
Private driveway or private road
The council can require bins to be presented where the private driveway or access road meets the adopted highway if collection vehicles cannot safely access the property.
Bring bins back after collection
Remove emptied wheelie bins from the collection point as soon as reasonably possible and before 7pm on collection day.
Why prompt removal matters
- It reduces pavement obstruction.
- It makes the street easier to use for wheelchair and pushchair users.
- Nottingham warns bins left outside can be used to assist burglary or fire.
- Repeated failure to remove them can lead to enforcement action.
Nottingham Recycling 2026: What Changed in June?
The recycling container is the brown wheelie bin with a grey lid.
From June 2026, Nottingham added cartons, aluminium foil and many flexible plastic bags and wrappers to household recycling.
Paper and card
- Paper
- Newspapers
- Magazines
- Clean cardboard
- Non-glittery paper wrapping
Plastic containers
- Plastic bottles
- Fruit punnets
- Margarine tubs
- Yoghurt and sauce pots
- Meat trays
- Other accepted plastic pots, tubs and trays
- Accepted plastic tubes
Glass and metal
- Glass bottles
- Glass jars
- Tins
- Drink cans
- Empty aerosols
- Metal packaging
New in 2026: cartons
- Milk cartons
- Juice cartons
- Plant-based drink cartons
- Soup and broth cartons
- Passata / chopped-tomato cartons
- Laundry-detergent cartons
New in 2026: aluminium foil
- Clean aluminium foil
- Foil oven trays
- Ready-meal trays
- Pie, tart and quiche foil containers
- Foil takeaway containers
- Empty foil tubes such as tomato-purée tubes
Small pieces of foil should be scrunched together to roughly tennis-ball size so they can be identified more easily during sorting.
New in 2026: plastic bags and wrapping
- Supermarket carrier bags
- Fruit and vegetable bags
- Salad bags
- Fruit and vegetable net bags
- Bread and bagel bags
- Cereal bags
- Pasta and rice bags
- Frozen-food bags
- Toilet-roll and kitchen-roll multipack wrapping
- Drink-can multipack wrapping
- Film lids removed from trays, tubs and pots
- Sweet and chocolate wrappers
- Cake and biscuit wrappers
- Crisp packets
- Sandwich bags
- Freezer bags
- Cling film
- Bubble wrap
- Magazine wrapping
- Clothing wrapping
- Plastic mailing bags
Still not accepted
- Microwaveable food pouches
- Baby-food pouches
- Pet-food pouches
- Cleaning-product pouches
- Sachets
- Compostable plastic packaging
- Biodegradable plastic packaging
- Medicine blister packs
Clean, loose and dry
Empty food and liquid, rinse where needed, let items drain and put them loose into the grey-lidded recycling bin.
Do not bag your household recycling. You can carry recycling to the outside bin in a bag, but empty the contents into the wheelie bin.
Film attached to a tray?
Remove the film lid before recycling the tray. Both pieces can only be recycled if each is on Nottingham’s accepted list.
Batteries and Electricals: Nottingham Has Separate Routes
Household batteries
Put removable household batteries in a sealed clear plastic or sandwich bag and place that bag on top of either your green residual bin or grey-lidded recycling bin on collection day.
Do not put loose batteries inside either wheelie bin. Batteries can ignite when crushed during collection or waste processing.
Small electricals
Electrical equipment does not belong inside the recycling bin.
Use Nottingham’s small-electrical drop-off points for suitable carrier-bag-sized items such as:
- Mobile phones
- Chargers
- Electric toothbrushes
- Hairdryers
- Electric razors
- Electronic toys
- Vapes
- Toasters
- Speakers
- Headphones
- Computer accessories
- Cables and plugs
Protect your data
Factory-reset phones and other data devices where possible and remove SIM cards and memory cards before handing them over for recycling.
Nottingham Green Bin: General Household Rubbish
Use the green bin for normal household material that cannot use the recycling or another dedicated disposal route.
No ordinary side waste
Extra bags or items beside a household wheelie bin are not collected during the scheduled round.
The lid must close
Nottingham can refuse damaged, overweight or overfilled bins where the lid cannot close properly.
Regularly running out of space?
-
Use all recycling capacity first.
June 2026 added significantly more packaging to the recycling stream. -
Flatten cardboard.
This saves considerable space. -
Remove air from suitable containers.
Empty and compress cans or bottles where appropriate. -
Use Redfield Road for suitable excess household material.
Do not create side waste around the wheelie bin. -
Apply for additional capacity if the household genuinely needs it.
The council can carry out a waste audit or site visit before approving another residual container.
Nottingham’s policy says it will provide an additional recycling bin where possible before approving an extra residual bin.
Nottingham Missed Bin: Deadline and Sticker Diagnosis
Report a genuine missed collection by 5pm, two days after the scheduled collection day.
For example, a Monday collection must normally be reported by 5pm Wednesday.
When will the council return?
Nottingham says it will only return where:
- the bin was presented correctly and on time; and
- the collection crew missed it by mistake.
Check these before reporting
Wrong-waste sticker
Remove the contaminating material and place it in the correct waste stream. Nottingham’s current sticker guidance says the recycling bin will then be emptied on its next scheduled collection.
“Sorry we damaged your bin” sticker
The crew has already logged the damage. Nottingham says it will replace the bin within about 10 days.
“Your bin is too damaged to empty” sticker
Order a replacement container and arrange removal of the unsafe damaged bin before it can be collected normally again.
“Your bin is too heavy” sticker
Remove some heavy material before the next collection. Check whether it belongs at Redfield Road or requires bulky/specialist disposal.
Nottingham Food Waste 2026: Berridge Now, Citywide by 2030
Weekly food-waste collection is not yet a Nottingham-wide household service. Do not tell every Nottingham resident to put out a separate food bin.
What is live now?
The household food-waste scheme continues in eligible streets in the Berridge area.
Nottingham says Berridge households have diverted more than 120 tonnes of food waste since collections began in 2023.
When will the whole city receive it?
Nottingham City Council says Defra has given it until 2030 to begin weekly food-waste collection across the city.
The council says starting sooner would create significant cost pressure under its current waste-disposal contract.
What still needs to happen?
- Secure sufficient external funding.
- Acquire specialist food-waste vehicles.
- Provide enough household caddies.
- Prepare depot capacity.
- Design collection routes.
- Test workable systems for flats and communal bin stores.
Berridge equipment
- 7-litre indoor kitchen caddy
- 23-litre outdoor food-waste bin
Berridge collection frequency
Food waste is collected weekly on the same weekday as the normal residual/recycling service, but by a separate vehicle and potentially at a different time.
The permanent Berridge page says the outdoor container should be at the kerbside before 7am. While Nottingham’s current all-crews summer instruction remains active, use the earlier 6am time to avoid a missed collection.
Food accepted
- Meal leftovers
- Fruit and vegetables
- Meat and fish
- Bones
- Rice
- Pasta
- Beans
- Bread
- Cakes and biscuits
- Solid dairy foods
- Eggs and eggshells
- Pet food
- Tea bags
- Coffee grounds
Keep these out
- Liquids
- Liquid fats
- Garden waste
- Straw
- Animal bedding
- Cut flowers
- Food packaging
- Other non-food packaging
Missed Berridge food collection
Use the dedicated food-waste contact route instead of the normal missed-bin form.
If a missed food collection is reported by 5pm two days after the scheduled day, Nottingham says it will return within two working days.
Lost Berridge food bin or caddy
Eligible Berridge households can request replacement food containers free of charge.
Nottingham Garden Waste 2026: £36.50 Subscription
| Garden-waste option | Current 2026 price |
|---|---|
| Main 2026 subscription | £36.50 |
| Each additional subscribed garden bin | £26.50 |
| New garden bin if needed | £26 |
| Council Tax Support customer | £18.25 per bin, subject to eligibility |
Current scam warning: Nottingham says a fake email is circulating claiming residents need to reactivate a Garden Waste account. Do not use an unexpected payment or reactivation link. Navigate directly to Nottingham City Council’s official Garden Waste page.
2026 season
- Subscription covers April to December 2026.
- Collections are fortnightly from April through October.
- There is one collection in November.
- There is one collection in December.
- No garden collections run January to March.
Joining late?
There is no pro-rata discount. The full subscription price applies even when joining part-way through the season.
Permit sticker
The subscription sticker must be fixed to a clean area on the back of the garden bin below the handle.
Nottingham says the bin will not be collected where the required sticker is missing, detached or incorrectly positioned.
Garden waste accepted
- Grass cuttings
- Hedge clippings
- Twigs
- Small branches up to 10cm diameter
- Leaves
- Weeds
- Dead flowers
- Small amounts of loose potting compost
Keep these out
- Bagged garden waste
- Plastic bags
- Plant pots
- Large quantities of soil
- Grass sods
- Animal waste
- Treated timber
- Bricks
- Rubble
- Food waste
- Windfall fruit
Do not compact the bin
Garden material needs to fall out freely when the bin is mechanically tipped.
No garden side waste
Only material fitting inside the subscribed garden bin with the lid closed will be collected.
Missed subscribed garden bin
The terms require a genuine miss to be reported within 48 hours. The council does not return for a rejected contaminated, overfull or overweight garden bin.
Bin damaged by the collection vehicle
Nottingham says it will repair or replace a garden bin damaged during emptying without charge and automatically order a replacement permit.
Moving house
Subscriptions are non-transferable and unused subscription time is not refunded when the household moves.
Sharing a garden bin
Neighbours may privately agree to share one subscribed bin, but Nottingham accepts no responsibility for that arrangement. The subscription remains tied to the registered address.
Flat or HMO
A shared garden bin can be subscribed to, but it must be registered to one occupier because the payment cannot be divided between residents.
No subscription?
Nottingham City residents can take household garden waste to Redfield Road free of charge.
New, Missing, Damaged and Extra Nottingham Bins
New, additional and replacement council wheelie bins can carry a charge. Nottingham’s current public information does not expose one dependable universal price table on the main request page, so this guide does not invent a figure.
Delivery target
After payment, Nottingham says delivery of a new or replacement bin can take up to 10 working days.
Who is responsible for property bins?
The council says responsibility can rest with:
- occupiers;
- landlords;
- managing agents; and
- housing associations.
Extra rubbish capacity
An additional residual-bin request can involve:
- a recycling/waste audit;
- checking that existing recycling capacity is being used;
- checking household circumstances; and
- a site visit.
Where possible, Nottingham’s policy favours extra recycling capacity before an additional residual bin.
Assisted Pull-Out Collection
The Assisted Pull-Out service is for people unable to present their bins because they are elderly or frail, disabled, or have relevant medical/mobility reasons.
How it works
- The crew collects the wheelie bin from an agreed storage point.
- The bin is emptied.
- The crew returns it to the agreed storage point.
Application information
- Reason assistance is required
- Bin types used at the property
- Whether anybody else lives in the household
- Name and address
- Contact details
The council can verify eligibility and can also recheck whether the service is still required.
Flats, Shared Bins and Locked Bin Stores
Communal collections can follow different arrangements from ordinary house wheelie bins.
Managing agent / landlord responsibilities
- Provide Nottingham with keys or access codes for locked bin stores where required.
- Keep the route from bin store to highway clear on collection day.
- Keep communal bins maintained to an acceptable safety standard.
- Order replacements for broken or lost communal containers.
- Keep waste from accumulating on the floor around shared bins.
A communal container that is damaged or poorly maintained and creates a risk to crews can be left uncollected until the responsible manager replaces or repairs it.
Shared-bin contamination
Wrong material can cause the entire shared recycling container to be rejected. Keep notices clear and ask the building manager to deal with repeated contamination.
Nottingham Bulky Waste 2026: Current Charges vs Planned Free Collections
Limited free bulky collections are planned, but they are not yet the standard live service.
Nottingham says it anticipates introducing a limited number of free bulky collections per household in autumn, subject to final arrangements. No confirmed launch date is currently published.
| Current collection | Current price |
|---|---|
| Up to 6 non-upholstered items | £26 |
| Up to 6 upholstered items | £26 |
| First electrical item | £12.50 |
| Each additional electrical item | £7.50 |
Non-upholstered examples
- Bed frame
- Mattress
- Dressing table
- Wardrobe
- Wooden chair
- Table
Upholstered examples
- Sofa
- Armchair
- Footstool
- Upholstered chair
Why upholstered furniture is separate
Some upholstered seating can contain Persistent Organic Pollutants from historic flame-retardant treatments, so it must be transported separately.
Why electrical items are separate
Electrical waste carries different risks, including batteries and compressed gases in appliances such as fridge-freezers.
Keep upholstered furniture dry
Waterlogged furniture can become too heavy for crews to lift. If a collection fails because an item has become excessively heavy with water, Nottingham says no refund will be issued.
Council Tax Support concession
A resident receiving Council Tax Support can currently receive one free non-upholstered OR upholstered collection within 12 months. The concession does not include electrical collections.
Not accepted by bulky collection
- Asbestos
- Business or commercial waste
- Batteries
- Bricks and rubble
- Tiles and plasterboard
- Concrete and soil
- Car parts or tyres
- Clinical waste
- Chemicals
- Commercial-style fridges/freezers
- Dead animals
- Fluorescent tubes
- Fitted kitchen or bedroom units
- Gas bottles/canisters
- Paint
- Pesticides
- Oil
- Large panes of glass
- House-clearance waste
Reuse before paying
Furniture and appliances in good usable condition may be suitable for donation or a legitimate reuse organisation instead of disposal.
Using a private collector?
Check that the business is a registered waste carrier. Household residents can remain responsible when their waste is handed to an illegal collector and later fly-tipped.
Redfield Road Recycling Centre: Hours, DIY Limits and Vehicle Rules
Redfield Road is for Nottingham City residents. General vehicle registration is not currently required, although you may be asked for proof that you live in the city.
Address: Redfield Road, Lenton Industrial Estate, Nottingham NG7 2UJ.
| Period | Opening hours |
|---|---|
| January–February | 8am–4pm |
| March | 8am–6pm |
| April–September | 8am–8pm |
| October | 8am–6pm |
| November–December | 8am–4pm |
Last admission is normally half an hour before closing, and you must leave the site by closing time.
Annual closures
- Christmas Day
- Boxing Day
- New Year’s Day
Current fridge/freezer restriction
Because of a national shortage in fridge/freezer disposal capacity, the centre currently limits residents to one fridge or freezer per visit and one such visit per week.
Nottingham warns that acceptance could stop at short notice if on-site storage becomes full.
Common accepted materials
- Household batteries
- Car batteries
- Flat glass
- Fluorescent tubes
- Tins and cans
- Fridges and freezers subject to current restriction
- Garden waste
- Gas bottles
- Household bulky waste
- Hardcore and rubble within limits
- Large appliances
- Glass bottles and jars
- Paper and cardboard
- Textiles and clothing
- Mobile phones
- Plastics
- Printer cartridges
- Scrap metal
- Small electrical appliances
- Soil within limits
- TVs and monitors
- Used engine oil
- Wood and timber
DIY waste limits per visit
| DIY material | Current maximum per visit |
|---|---|
| Soil, bricks and rubble | 2 × 50-litre rubble bags |
| Bathroom-suite / bulky DIY item | 1 item |
| Window | 1 complete unit |
A qualifying bulky/fitted DIY item must be no larger than approximately 2,000mm × 750mm × 700mm.
Household DIY only
The waste must come from your own Nottingham City home and be created by you. Waste produced by a builder or other paid contractor is that business’s responsibility.
Landlord waste
Waste from properties you rent out is treated as trade waste and cannot use the resident HWRC service.
Vehicle rules
The current site information accepts normal household visits using cars, qualifying trailers, vans/minibuses, pick-ups, campervans and motorcycles subject to the site’s restrictions.
A normal car can use a single- or double-axle trailer up to approximately 3m long × 2m wide where the vehicle meets the stated weight requirements.
Van access is more restrictive. The current page says vans over 1.5 tonnes GVW are not accepted on Sundays and gives weekday/Saturday restrictions for vans. Check the exact vehicle before travelling.
Vehicles not accepted through the normal household route
- Van towing any trailer
- Pick-up towing any trailer
- Horsebox
- Other vehicles used to transport horses or animals
Clinical Waste, Sharps and Other Special Waste
Domestic Nottingham clinical-waste collection is free.
Clinical waste can include
- Human or animal tissue
- Blood or other bodily fluids
- Relevant incontinence waste
- Stoma bags
- Urine containers
- Drugs and pharmaceutical waste requiring clinical disposal
- Swabs and dressings
- Syringes
- Needles and other sharps
How do you start the service?
Nottingham says the quickest route is for the healthcare provider to complete the clinical-waste application.
The request needs information including:
- patient contact details;
- NHS number;
- waste type;
- required frequency; and
- healthcare-professional details.
Containers and replacements
Once approved, Nottingham supplies the required yellow clinical-waste bags and sharps boxes. Replacement supplies are delivered as filled containers are collected.
Do not put loose needles or other sharps into green residual waste or household recycling.
Bank Holiday and Christmas Bin Collections
Do not assume Nottingham always moves every collection exactly one day later after a Bank Holiday.
Safest holiday workflow
-
Check your postcode calendar again.
Holiday arrangements can override the normal alternating pattern. -
Check the main bins page.
Operational warnings are normally shown prominently. -
Use reminders.
App or email alerts reduce reliance on old calendars. -
Check garden separately.
The subscription has its own seasonal schedule.
Christmas 2026
The collection-calendar page is still being updated for the remainder of 2026. Do not copy a Christmas 2025 timetable into December 2026. Check the property result and current council festive notice closer to Christmas.
Redfield Road festive closures
- Christmas Day
- Boxing Day
- New Year’s Day
Nottingham Bin Collection Contact
| Route | Current detail | Best use |
|---|---|---|
| Nottingham Service Centre | 0115 915 5555 | General council routing where no dedicated waste form solves the problem |
| Waste Collection | Eastcroft Depot, London Road, Nottingham, NG2 3AH | Waste-service location / correspondence |
| Online forms | Use the task-specific council form | Missed bin, bin request, bulky booking, assisted collection and other actions |
Before contacting the council
- Have the full address and postcode.
- Confirm the scheduled collection date.
- Know which container was involved.
- Know what time it was presented.
- Check for a sticker or hanger.
- Check whether the lid fully closed.
- Check whether side waste was present.
- Check whether neighbours were collected.
- Keep any existing report reference.
Nottingham Bin Night: 60-Second Checklist
-
Check the exact Nottingham City address.
Confirm whether green residual or grey-lidded recycling is due. -
Check the current time instruction.
Use 6am during the current summer early-start notice; the standing policy is normally by 7am. -
Use the June 2026 recycling list.
Cartons, foil and many flexible plastics are now accepted. -
Keep all normal waste inside the bin.
No side waste and no overflowing lid. -
Read any sticker.
A rejected, damaged or overweight bin needs the action on its sticker rather than a false missed-bin report. -
Report a genuine miss in time.
The normal deadline is 5pm two days after the scheduled collection day.
Nottingham Bin Collection FAQs
How do I check my Nottingham bin collection day?
Use Nottingham City Council’s postcode collection checker and select the exact property. Standard homes normally alternate a green residual collection with the brown recycling bin that has a grey lid.
What time should Nottingham bins be put out?
Nottingham’s standing policy normally requires wheelie bins at the collection point by 7am and not before 7pm the previous evening. As of 20 August 2026, however, the council has a temporary summer instruction saying crews are starting at 6am, so use the earlier time while that notice remains active.
What colour is the recycling bin in Nottingham?
The standard Nottingham household recycling container is a brown wheelie bin with a grey lid. The green wheelie bin is for residual general rubbish.
What new items can Nottingham residents recycle in 2026?
From June 2026, Nottingham added cartons, aluminium foil and trays, and many plastic bags and wrappers such as carrier bags, frozen-food bags, cereal bags, multipack wrapping, crisp wrappers, cling film and bubble wrap. Pouches, sachets, compostable plastics and blister packs remain excluded.
When must I report a missed Nottingham bin?
Report a genuine missed household collection by 5pm two days after the scheduled collection day. The council only returns when the bin was presented correctly and the crew missed it by mistake. If a sticker or hanger was left, follow that instruction instead.
Does every Nottingham household have food-waste collection?
No. The current dedicated household food-waste service operates in eligible parts of Berridge. Nottingham says it has until 2030 to start weekly food-waste collections across the whole city and is still working through funding, flats, vehicles, caddies, depot capacity and routes.
How much is Nottingham garden waste in 2026?
The main 2026 garden-waste subscription is £36.50. Each additional subscribed bin costs £26.50, a new garden bin costs £26, and eligible Council Tax Support residents can pay £18.25 per bin. The service is not pro-rated.
How much does Nottingham bulky waste collection cost?
The current charged service costs £26 for up to six non-upholstered items, £26 for up to six upholstered items, £12.50 for the first electrical item and £7.50 for each additional electrical item. Nottingham plans limited free bulky collections but has not yet confirmed the launch date.
Do I need to book Redfield Road recycling centre?
General registration is not currently required for an ordinary household visit, although you may need to prove that you live in Nottingham City. Material and vehicle restrictions apply, and last admission is normally half an hour before closing.
Can I take a fridge or freezer to Redfield Road?
Yes, but a current temporary restriction limits residents to one fridge or freezer per visit and one such visit per week because national disposal capacity is limited. The council warns that acceptance may stop at short notice if storage fills.