Household waste - information and advice

The council currently provides fortnightly domestic rubbish and recycling collections, we give the majority of households a wheelie bin. Properties not suitable for a wheelie bin, have a black sack collection and are able to use black boxes for recycling.

The standard size grey wheelie bin for rubbish is 190 litres and for recycling a green 240 litre bin. A larger grey 240 litre waste bin is available for exceptionally large families, along with a larger 360 litre green recycling bin.

Please put your rubbish and recycling out on the correct day by 7am (6am Christmas & New Year). If your bin has not been collected on the due date please let us know within 2 working days and we will return to empty it.

Please leave it at the edge of your property where it is clearly visible from the road. Separate arrangements have been made for flats and communal bins.

* please see details of our food waste collections

Policy and Procedures

For information regarding waste and recycling policies and procedures please view the council’s Policy and Procedure Statement.

With regard to the process for managing resident’s waste, the following flowchart shows how solutions are identified.

Frequently asked questions

Get answers to your questions in our food waste collections frequently asked questions

Collection schedule

Find out what day your refuse collection is scheduled by entering your postcode below:

Items we cannot accept

Please do not put the following items into your grey rubbish wheelie bin/black sacks:

Bulky and heavy items
Electrical items
Hypodermic needles
Garden waste
Builders waste
Inflammable liquids
Hazardous waste
Tyres
Car batteries and parts
Gas bottles
Fire extinguishers
Oil
Paint tins

You can take many of these items to your Household Waste Recycling Centre at Burial Ground Lane, Tovil, Maidstone.

What happens to my rubbish?

Your household rubbish is taken to the Energy from Waste Facility (EFW) in Allington, Maidstone. The waste is burnt to recover energy which produces electricity. Enough electricity is produced each year to power Maidstone one and a half times. Although this is better than burying the waste in landfill, it would be better for the environment if we reused and recycled as much of our waste as possible first.

Glass bottles and jars

If you are not able to recycle your bottles and jars at your local bottle banks, they can be placed in your grey rubbish bin or black sacks (please wrap broken glass before placing in sacks). The glass will then be used in road aggregate after incineration.

refuse lorry