When to put your bin out
You must make sure your bin is out by 7am on your collection day. When possible, put it out the night before.
What you can put in your bins
Recycling bin (blue bin)
In Brent, the blue bin is for waste and household items that can be recycled. This bin is collected every week.
If you live in a house on the North Circular (A406) you will have clear bags for recycling instead of a bin.
Use our bin collection day finder to find the day of your recycling collection.
What goes in your blue bin
You can recycle most plastic, paper, cardboard, glass foil and cans in your blue bin or recycling bags. Please see the list below for details of what you can and can’t place in this bin.
Use the Brent Recycleopedia to look up day to day household items and find out what bin they go in or if you need to take them to a recycling site or request a special collection.
Anything you can’t recycle needs to go in the general waste (grey bin).
Plastics
'Wash and squash' any recyclable plastics before you put them in your bin.
Anything you can’t recycle needs to go in the general rubbish (grey bin).
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Paper and cardboard
Paper and cardboard you can and can’t put in your blue recycling bin or recycling bags.
Anything you can’t recycle needs to go in in the general rubbish bin (grey bin).
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Glass
Glass you can and can’t put in your blue recycling bin or recycling bags.
Anything you can’t recycle needs to go in the general rubbish bin (grey).
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Metal
Metal items you can and can’t put in your blue recycling bin or recycling bags.
Anything you can’t recycle needs to go in general rubbish bin (grey).
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Special items you can put out with your blue bin
There are some items that can’t go in your blue bin but we can still collect them for recycling:
- Mixed textiles and clothes
- Batteries
- Car batteries
- Used engine oil
You should put these items in clear plastic bags or sacks, or in labelled plastic bags and place them next to the blue recycling bin on your collection day.
We will collect them the day after your normal recycling collection takes place. Please leave your bags out until they are collected by us.
Recycling bins in flats
If you live in a block of flats you should have access to communal recycling bins. These will have labels that clearly show what you can recycle.
Report an issue
You can report a problem with your bins, such as a missed bin collection or a missing bin, online.
General rubbish bin (grey bin)
When to put your bin out
You must make sure your bin is out by 7am on your collection day. When possible, put it out the night before.
In Brent, the grey bin is for rubbish that cannot be recycled or composted. Depending on where you live, this bin is collected every week or every two weeks.
If you live in a house on the North Circular (A406) you will have blue bags for general rubbish instead of bins. Blue bags are collected five days a week.
Use our bin collection day finder to find the day of your general rubbish collection.
What goes in your grey bin
To help our environment you should recycle or upcycle as much waste as possible. Please see the list below for details of what you can and can't put in your grey bin.
Use the Brent Recycleopedia to look up day to day household items and find out what bin they go in or if you need to take them to a recycling site or request a special collection.
Materials that can be placed into your general rubbish bin include:
- soiled paper
- clean or soiled tissue, kitchen roll paper or toilet paper
- wallpaper
- waxed paper
- metallic or foil backed gift wrap and cards
- card with padding or bubble wrap
- foil-lined packets (sweet wrappers and crisp packets)
- greasy takeaway pizza boxes
- foil balloons
- toothpaste tubes
- black sacks
- polystyrene/Styrofoam (packaging trays, beads and disposable coffee cups)
- CD and DVD cases
- tupperware containers
- plastic storage boxes
- blister packs
- laminated paper
- plastic coat hangers
- plastic film and wrapping
- plastic flower pots
- cling film or cellophane
- bubble wrap
- all broken glass (of any kind)
- window glass
- drinking glasses
- ceramic plant pots
- hoover bags and dust
- wooden picture frames, wooden coat hangers
- pet waste (bag before you put them in your grey bin and keep the lid shut)
- babies nappies (bag before you put them in your grey bin and keep the lid shut)
- tea lights
- toothbrushes
Japanese knotweed
You must not put Japanese knotweed in with your grey or garden waste bin. The government has guidance on treating and disposing of invasive plants
If you have Japanese knotweed or other invasive plants on your land you should contact a specialist contractor to remove and dispose of it properly.
General waste bins in flats
If you live in a block of flats you should have access to communal general rubbish bins. These will usually have labels that clearly show what you can put in each bin.
Report an issue
You can report a problem with your bins, such as a missed bin collection or a missing bin, online.
Food waste
When to put your bin out
You must make sure your bin is out by 7am on your collection day. When possible, put it out the night before.
In Brent, food waste is collected every week. We provide you with a free food waste caddy (smaller bin), which you can use for your food waste.
Use our bin collection day finder to find out the day of your bin collection.
Use the Brent Recycleopedia to look up day to day household items and find out what bin they go in or if you need to take them to a recycling site or request a special collection.
What can I put in the food waste caddy?
Recycling your food waste is easy. You can put all food waste without any packaging in your caddy.
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You can wrap your food waste in kitchen caddy liners made of corn starch, which comply with environmental regulation EN13432, or newspaper, paper (including junk mail) or paper bags. Please don’t use plastic bags or the entire vehicle load of food waste may be rejected by the facility and sent to landfill.
If you have a lot of food waste every week, why not visit Love Food Hate Waste for tips on how to reduce your food waste and save money.
Home composting
The best environmental way to deal with organics materials is home composting.
Food waste bins in flats
If you live in a block of flats, you should have access to communal food waste bins. These may have labels on them that show what you can put in each bin.
Report an issue
You can report an issue, such as a missed bin collection or a missing caddy, online.
Garden waste (green bin)
When to put your bin out
You must make sure your bin is out by 7am on your collection day. When possible, put it out the night before.
In Brent, green bins are for garden waste. You must subscribe and pay for this service.
It costs £60 a year if you want a regular garden waste collection. The price includes the rental of one garden waste bin and a minimum of 25 collections each year. You can also sign up to the service in October for the price of £30 for collections up until the end of March.
What goes in your green bin
What you can and can’t put in your green garden waste bin.
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*You must not put Japanese knotweed in with your garden waste or general waste.
If you have Japanese knotweed or other invasive plants on your land you should contact a specialist contractor to remove and dispose of it properly. The government has guidance on treating and disposing of invasive plants.