It's very hard for us to miss a bin when it's in the right place at the right time.

If we've not collected your bin, check the following reasons:

Have you got the collection date right?

Check your bin collection day to make sure you've put your bin out on the right day.

Did you put your bin out at the right time?

Your bin must be out by 7.30am on collection day. You can put it out the night before if it is easier, but not until 6pm at the earliest.

Is there a sticker on your bin?

If there is, you've put things in your bin that shouldn't be there. We call this contamination. You need to remove the items that shouldn't be there, and put your bin out again for collection on the next bin collection day.

• Check what goes in your brown bin
• Check what goes in your blue bin
• Check what goes in your green bin

All other rubbish goes in your grey bin.

If you leave your bin out, but don't remove the contamination, we will take your bin away. You might have to pay to get a new bin.

Was your bin in the right place?

Did you put your bin in the right place? For most properties, the collection point for your bins is at the kerbside. Some properties will have communal collection points, for example, flats, cul-de-sacs, back to back terraces or town houses. If you don't know where your collection point is, check with your neighbours first.

Access issues

If your road or backstreet was obstructed, our bin wagons might not have been able to get to your bin. If this happens, we'll put information on our service disruptions page.

Severe weather

If the weather has been bad, we might not be able to collect your waste and recycling. If this happens, please leave your bin out. We know which streets we have missed, and we will come back to collect it.

Bin too heavy or overfilled

We won't empty your bin if it is too full or heavy. Heavy bins injure our crew and damage our vehicles. You need to remove any heavy items from your bin so that we can empty it on your next scheduled collection day.

Bin not full enough

If you're on an assisted collection, we will only take your bin if it is at least half full.

Items were stuck inside the bin

For health and safety reasons, crews are not allowed to manually remove any items that are stuck in your bin. You need to loosen or remove any items that are wedged or frozen in your bin so that we can empty it on your next collection day.

What if none of these reasons apply?

Your bin may have been missed in error. You need to:

• Fill in the missed bin form after 6pm on your usual collection day and before the end of the next working day. We don't accept missed collection reports made after that
• Leave your bin out so we can access it when we come back
   
• Back to the Refuse and Recycling homepage