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Barking and Dagenham bin collection days

Barking and Dagenham colour codes its wheelie bins: grey for non-recyclable rubbish, brown for recycling and green for garden waste. The grey bin is collected every week and the brown bin every other week. Food scraps go in the grey bin, since the council's pages describe no separate food waste caddy. Flats with communal bins have blue and silver Eurobins in place of the wheelie bins.

Last checked against 4 sources (www.lbbd.gov.uk).

What goes in each bin

Grey bin for non-recyclable waste · General waste

Bin · Every week

Yes please

  • Food scraps
  • Nappies
  • Cling film and plastic food wrapping
  • Polystyrene and meat trays
  • Crisp packets and sweet wrappers
  • Bottle lids

Not in this one

  • Anything that can go in the brown recycling bin
  • Batteries, which are a fire hazard
  • More than one council-owned bin of rubbish
  • Waste that is too heavy or would damage the collection vehicle

Source: www.lbbd.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

Brown bin for recycling · Mixed recycling

Bin · Every two weeks

Yes please

  • Paper, thin card, cardboard boxes, newspapers, magazines, leaflets, catalogues and directories
  • Plastic bottles, rinsed and with the lids removed
  • Mixed plastics such as yoghurt pots and margarine tubs, washed
  • Aluminium and steel tins and cans, rinsed, empty aerosols and clean aluminium foil
  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Paperback books, and hardback books with the covers removed

Not in this one

  • Recycling inside rubbish bags or plastic bags
  • Drinking glasses and glass cookware such as Pyrex
  • Batteries
  • Anything not on the council list, which can contaminate the whole bin

Source: www.lbbd.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

Green bin for garden waste · Garden waste

Bin · Every two weeks

Yes please

  • Cut flowers and weeds
  • Leaves and grass cuttings
  • Hedge trimmings and twigs

Not in this one

  • Fruit fall
  • Plastic and plastic bags
  • Soil, stones and rubble
  • General household waste
  • Food waste, including fruit and vegetable peelings

Source: www.lbbd.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

Check your bin day

Use Barking and Dagenham’s own page for your bin day

The council's bin collection date finder needs a browser, which BinWeek's lookup service does not run, so the page links to the council's own finder.

Find my bin day on www.lbbd.gov.uk(opens in a new tab)

How often each bin is collected

Collection frequency by bin for Barking and Dagenham
BinCollected
Grey bin for non-recyclable waste · General wasteEvery week
Brown bin for recycling · Mixed recyclingEvery two weeks
Green bin for garden waste · Garden wasteEvery two weeks

Food waste and the national recycling rules

Barking and Dagenham does not collect food waste every week. As of 3 October 2026 the council's what-goes-in-each-bin page lists food scraps as going in the grey general waste bin, which it collects weekly, and describes no separate food waste collection. It adds that a food waste sticker on some grey bins does not mean you cannot put food scraps in them. Check the council's page for any change.

Source: www.lbbd.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

If your bin was missed

Report online between 10pm on your scheduled collection day and 6pm the next working day, after checking the council's list of missed streets (a whole missed street is reported by email instead). There are separate online forms for houses and flats, and for communal bin collections. The council will not return if the bin was not out in time, held the wrong waste, was in the wrong place, or was too heavy or damaged, and the crew records the reason. Report from 10pm on the collection day until 6pm on the following working day.

Source: www.lbbd.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

Your nearest tip

Good to know in Barking and Dagenham

  • The council says it will only collect one bin's worth of rubbish from a property, and the bin has to be council-owned. Privately bought bins are not emptied. If you have more than fits in the grey bin, take it to a reuse and recycling centre.
  • Present bins at the front boundary of your property. The collection-days page says by 6am, while the missed collection page says a bin must be out by 5am and that crews work between 5am and 10pm, so putting your bin out earlier is safest.
  • Extra recycling can go in clear bags beside the brown bin on collection day, and thick cardboard should be stacked neatly beside it. The recycling must not be inside rubbish bags or plastic bags.
  • A contaminated bin is not emptied. For the green bin the council says it will place a contamination tag and will not arrange a missed collection, and it reserves the right to remove a bin permanently, without a refund, if it is regularly filled with non-garden waste.
  • In flats with communal bins, the blue Eurobin takes the same recycling as the brown bin and the silver Eurobin takes the same as the grey bin. Some blocks have two blue bins, one for paper and thin card and the other for mixed recycling such as glass, so read the signs.
  • Only people who have signed up for the green garden waste service get the green bin, which is collected every other week when the scheme is active.

Bin questions in Barking and Dagenham

How often are bins collected in Barking and Dagenham?

The grey bin for general waste is collected weekly and the brown bin for recycling fortnightly. The green garden waste bin is collected fortnightly for those who have signed up, when the scheme is active.

Where does food waste go in Barking and Dagenham?

The council lists food scraps as going in the grey general waste bin. Its pages do not describe a separate food waste collection as of 3 October 2026.

What goes in the brown bin in Barking and Dagenham?

Paper, thin card, cardboard, plastic bottles, mixed plastics like yoghurt pots, tins and cans, aerosols, foil, glass bottles and jars, and books. Drinking glasses, Pyrex, batteries and anything in plastic bags do not go in.

When can I report a missed bin in Barking and Dagenham?

From 10pm on the scheduled collection day until 6pm the following working day. The council will not come back if the bin was out late, in the wrong place, too heavy or held the wrong waste.

Where are all the household bin pages?

The council's household bin collection page links to checking your collection days, reporting a missed collection, what goes in each bin, reducing waste and arranging an assisted collection.

Guides that may help

Nearby councils