Waste Collection Service

The council provides a weekly domestic rubbish collection service. 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 weekly rubbish is 190 litres and for recycling (fornightly collection)a green 240 litre bin.  Smaller 140 litre wheelie bins are available for both refuse & recycling for residents who live alone or simply produce less waste. A larger grey 240 litre waste bin is available for exceptionally large families, along with a larger 360 litre green recycling bin.

Items we cannot accept

Please do not put the following items into your 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. 

Trade/Business/Commercial Waste

Maidstone Borough Council does not itself provide a commercial waste collection service. If you run a business you must arrange to dispose of your waste legally, if you wish to find a licensed waste carrier or a local site to take your waste to, please follow this link. If you wish, MBC can supply a quotation from its own waste collection contractor for the removal and disposal of your commercial waste, the cost of which will include an administration fee to cover the Council's own costs.

Maidstone Town Centre

In order to help maintain a clean environment within the town centre area, there are restrictions on the times at which rubbish may be left out for collection on the public highway. Commercial premises in the town centre can only present their waste for collection between 08:30 and 10:00hrs (morning), or between 17:00 and 19:00hrs (evening). Waste cannot be left out overnight, or in between these time slots. Any premises presenting waste outside of these hours may face enforcement action. These restrictions apply from Monday to Sunday inclusive.

All commercial waste collection contractors operating within the town centre area have been made aware of these restrictions and should arrange to collect your waste at the appropriate times. If you put your waste out for collection during these time slots, but your contractor fails to collect, you must make every effort to remove your waste back onto your premises.

(These restrictions do not apply to those premises whose waste is collected from dedicated waste storage areas off the public highway.)