Household waste collection policy 2026

All containers provided remain the property of the council. As such, all containers must be left at the property when residents sell or move out of the property.

Containers must only be used for the storage and collection of waste and recycling.

Each householder is responsible for keeping the container/s safe and in good order. The council will charge for the replacement of any wheeled bin that has been misused or lost through neglect.

The cost of the service is reviewed annually, and the latest charges can be found on our website.

If developers choose not to purchase containers from the council, the responsibility passes to the resident to organise the delivery of bins. The council will not empty bins not supplied by the council or not meeting council requirements (including branding).

If residents or developers purchase their own bins, the bins must meet the council’s specifications including markings and logos, full details of the date and place of manufacture and purchase, including batch numbers must be provided to the council and any loss, damage or wear and tear is at the risk of the purchaser and the council will not take responsibility for these costs.

All general waste must be contained within the council’s supplied containers. No excess or side waste will be collected during normal collections. Bin lids must be completely closed, and purple sacks must be securely tied and externally clean.

No more than four purple sacks or six blue sacks will be collected from a property with the ‘Narrow Access’ solution each fortnight.

A reasonable amount of recycling side waste will be collected by crews if it is contained and placed at the side of the relevant container.

Additional recycling that does not fit inside the bin/box will be collected if presented as follows:

• Aylesbury Vale area - put your extra recycling in a cardboard box, or clear plastic bag
• Chiltern, Wycombe or South Bucks areas - put extra recycling in a reusable container and keep paper and cardboard separate from other recycling

Cardboard boxes need to be flattened and broken down to less than 1 metre height and width and presently neatly next to the bin.

Larger 360L mixed recycling bins are available on request for both North and South areas. For South area, this is additional capacity for cans, plastics and tins. Paper and cardboard must be separated and placed in paper boxes with additional cardboard at the side of the bin.

The council accepts no responsibility or liability for any containers not supplied by the council that are used for storing or presenting additional recycling and are damaged or not returned by collection crews.

Any waste jammed or stuck in a wheeled bin that does not fall out following the normal mechanical emptying process on the waste collection vehicle will not be taken.

In these cases, residents will have to loosen the material(s) themselves ready for the next scheduled collection.

The collection crew will report such instances to the council.

Wheeled bins are designed to be emptied with the lids closed, therefore lids on wheeled bins must be closed when the waste is collected. This is to ensure that all health and safety concerns are complied with including:

• Mechanical operation of the bin lift
• Waste falling out during the tipping process
• Prevents litter during collection

In the interest of waste minimisation, we have provided enough capacity for general waste if food and recycling is placed into separate containers for collection.

The council reserves the right not to empty any wheeled bin which has been overfilled with its bin lid open. If bins are over filled, then the collection crew will not return until the next scheduled collection day and will only collect if enough material has been removed and disposed of responsibly.

An up-to-date list of materials that can be placed in each container can be found on our website.

If incorrect materials are put in containers, the whole container will be rejected, and the waste will not be collected. See Policy 16.

Where containers are found to contain unaccepted items, they will be classed as contaminated. Residents will be notified by means of a sticker or bin hanger placed on the relevant container requiring the unaccepted material/s to be removed and disposed of in a responsible manner. Collection crews will report the contamination.

Once the unaccepted material has been removed from the container it will be emptied on the next scheduled collection date. Collection crews will not empty the container before the next scheduled collection date, without a charge.

If a resident requests to have their contaminated container emptied, there is a charge for this service, and it is dependent on availability of resources. The container must be left out for collection and will be emptied within 10 working days, upon receipt of payment.

If a resident has recently moved into a property, it is their responsibility to ensure the containers are free from contamination before any collections are made.

The cost of the service is reviewed annually, and the latest charges can be found on our website.

Where communal containers are found to contain incorrect items, they will be classed as contaminated. Residents will be notified by means of a sticker or a bin hanger placed on the relevant container requiring the unaccepted material/s to be removed and disposed of in a responsible manner.

Collection crews will report the contamination. The council reserves the right to charge for contaminated recycling bins.

This charge will be passed onto managing agents responsible for maintaining these properties.

The council encourage residents to mark the container/s with their property name or number for identification purposes.

The council reserve the right to insist that only communication stickers provided by the council, or stickers and other markings which residents use to identify their bin for example house number, will be allowed on waste containers. Other advertising/promotional stickers put on the bins without the permission of the council, may be removed.

Bins that have had the colour painted or disguised may be removed and a charge made for a new bin to be delivered.