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Brentwood bin collection days

Brentwood collects black sacks of rubbish and the food caddy every week. Recycling alternates: blue sacks for paper and card one week, and white sacks, the red glass box and garden waste the other week. Sacks and the caddy go to the front kerbside on the collection day, from 7:30am, and not the night before.

Last checked against 5 sources (www.brentwood.gov.uk).

What goes in each bin

Black sack · General waste

Sack · Every week

Yes please

  • Bagged household waste in a black sack
  • Nappies, cat litter, tissues, crisp packets, cling film, polystyrene and plastic bags
  • Black plastic food trays, shredded paper, plant pots and wrapped drinking glasses or broken glass

Not in this one

  • Clinical waste, garden waste, asbestos, paint tins and cooking oil, which the A to Z sends elsewhere
  • Sacks that are not black. Another colour may be left because it can look like recycling or garden waste

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

Blue sack · Paper and card

Sack · Every two weeks

Yes please

  • Cardboard, cereal boxes, envelopes, magazines, newspapers and telephone directories
  • Plain birthday and Christmas cards with no glitter
  • Clean pizza boxes and paper plates, egg boxes if they are cardboard, and toilet roll or kitchen roll tubes

Not in this one

  • Glitter on cards, wrapping paper, tissues and shredded paper
  • Waxed cardboard ice cream tubs

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

White sack · Mixed recycling

Sack · Every two weeks

Yes please

  • Food and drink cans, with lids inside, and empty aerosols
  • Plastic bottles, yoghurt pots, margarine tubs, shampoo bottles and clear or coloured plastic food trays
  • Foil and foil trays with no foil pouches, and metal jar lids
  • Cartons, and Tetrapak from 31 March 2026

Not in this one

  • Black plastic food trays
  • Plastic bags, crisp packets and cling film
  • Foil pouches

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

Red box · Glass

Box · Every two weeks

Yes please

  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Clean nail varnish bottles
  • Glass jar lids

Not in this one

  • Drinking glasses and wine glasses, which the A to Z says to wrap and put in the black sack
  • Broken glass, which also goes in the black sack if it is wrapped in newspaper

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

Food waste caddy · Food waste

Caddy · Every week

Yes please

  • Raw and cooked food, including peelings, bones, carcasses, tea bags, coffee beans, egg shells and windfall apples

Not in this one

  • Bags that are not compostable or do not meet EN13432 and show the seedling logo
  • Packaging. The A to Z puts food packaging in the sacks, not the caddy

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

Brown bin or green biodegradable sack · Garden waste

Bin · Every two weeks

Yes please

  • Grass, hedge cuttings, weeds, flowers, plants, twigs and leaves
  • Tree cuttings up to 150mm across that fit in the bin or sack
  • Real Christmas trees cut to a maximum height of six feet

Not in this one

  • Soil, compost, plant pots, stones, rocks and gardening tools
  • Kitchen waste and animal waste
  • Harmful weeds including ragwort, Japanese knotweed, thistles, docks, Himalayan balsam and giant hogweed
  • Any sack that is not the council's biodegradable sack

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

Check your bin day

Use Brentwood’s own page for your bin day

The council publishes only a generic calendar, not a per-address lookup BinWeek can read, so the page links to the council's own finder.

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

How often each bin is collected

Collection frequency by bin for Brentwood
BinCollected
Black sack · General wasteEvery week
Blue sack · Paper and cardEvery two weeks
White sack · Mixed recyclingEvery two weeks
Red box · GlassEvery two weeks
Food waste caddy · Food wasteEvery week
Brown bin or green biodegradable sack · Garden wasteEvery two weeks

Food waste and the national recycling rules

Brentwood collects food waste every week. Food waste is collected every week, with the black sack. Homes get a lockable kitchen caddy, a lockable outdoor caddy, and a starter pack of 25 compostable liners. More liners are free from the stockists on the food page, or you can use newspaper. Liners must be compostable, meet EN13432 and show the seedling logo. The food goes to an anaerobic digestion facility.

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

Garden waste

Garden waste is a paid-for service. Hiring the brown bin and the service costs £60 for the year, which the council says is 25 collections, once every two weeks, except the Christmas holidays. You can hire more than one bin. Green biodegradable sacks are £6 for a roll of 10 and can be used instead. There is no full or part refund if you cancel. Only bins from the council's lease scheme are emptied, and only if a valid sticker is on the back below the handles. Sacks are 100% compostable. In winter a frozen bin is not emptied. Put the bin or sacks out by 7:30am on the garden week.

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

If your bin was missed

Check there is no 'Sorry to Leave You' sticker. A sticker can mean the wrong sack, something inside that should not be there, orange sacks, or sacks that are not the council's. Fix that and wait for the next collection day. Otherwise use the missed collection report. The council aims to collect a reported miss by the end of the next working day. Report on the collection day or the following working day. Waste has to have been at the front kerbside from 7:30am, not blocked, and not too heavy. After that the council says it cannot return.

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

Your nearest tip

Good to know in Brentwood

  • Use a black sack for rubbish. Another colour can be left. The missed collection page will not take clinical waste, garden waste, loose waste, bulky items, dead pets, asbestos, paint tins, commercial waste or cooking oil on the refuse round.
  • The A to Z, updated 12 March 2026, sends cartons and, from 31 March 2026, Tetrapak to the white sack. The same A to Z still lists drinks cartons, juice cartons and milk cartons for the black sack. Follow the line for the exact item, because those entries do not all agree.
  • Glass bottles and jars go in the red box. Drinking glasses, wine glasses and broken glass go in the black sack, wrapped in newspaper. Black plastic trays go in the black sack. Clear and coloured plastic trays go in the white sack.
  • Clothes, shoes, belts, towels and handbags are a textiles bag, not the white sack. Household batteries, paint and cooking oil are listed for a civic amenity site, not the kerbside sacks.
  • The brown bin hire is £60 a year for 25 fortnightly collections, with a sticker on the back of the bin. Without a sticker it is not emptied. Sacks are £6 for 10, and they are the only sacks the crew takes. Renew or ask about the bin on 01277 312500. The garden page names Essex County Council sites at Coxtie Green in Brentwood and Roman Road in Mountnessing for garden waste you take yourself.
  • A food caddy liner has to meet EN13432 and show the seedling logo. The council gives 25 liners to start and lists shops and the Town Hall reception where more are free. Newspaper is also allowed. A lost or damaged caddy can be reordered, small or large.

Bin questions in Brentwood

How often does Brentwood collect rubbish and recycling?

Black sacks and the food caddy every week. Blue paper and card sacks one week, then white sacks, the glass box and garden waste the next week. The day is on the council's collection day page.

How much is a Brentwood garden bin?

£60 for the year, described as 25 collections, every two weeks, except Christmas. Extra bins can be hired. Sacks are £6 for a roll of 10. No refund if you cancel. The bin needs a sticker permit, and it goes out by 7:30am.

When do I report a missed Brentwood collection?

On the collection day or the next working day, if it was out from 7:30am at the front kerbside. The council aims to come back by the end of the next working day. A sticker on the sack means put it right and wait for the next scheduled day.

Guides that may help

Nearby councils