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Buckinghamshire bin collection days

Buckinghamshire has two collection systems under one council, because it was formed from four former district councils. In the north (the old Aylesbury Vale area) all dry recycling, paper and cardboard included, goes in one bin. In the south (Chiltern, Wycombe and South Bucks) paper and cardboard have their own black box and the blue bin takes everything else. Food waste is collected every week everywhere, and garden waste is a paid subscription.

Last checked against 6 sources (www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk).

What goes in each bin

General waste bin (green 140 litre in the north, black 180 litre in the south) · General waste

Bin · Every two weeks

Yes please

  • Household waste that cannot be recycled

Not in this one

  • Anything that can be recycled
  • Waste that does not fit in the bin: side waste is not collected
  • Business or commercial waste
  • Waste that stops the lid closing fully

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

Blue-lidded recycling bin, 240 litre (north: Aylesbury Vale area) · Mixed recycling

Bin · Every two weeks

Yes please

  • Mixed plastics
  • Metal cans and tins and aluminium foil
  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Food and drink cartons
  • Paper and cardboard

Not in this one

  • Plastic bags and plastic film packaging, which the council does not currently accept
  • Items that do not belong in recycling: a bin with the wrong material in it will not be emptied

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

Blue recycling bin, 240 litre (south: Chiltern, Wycombe and South Bucks areas) · Mixed recycling

Bin · Every two weeks

Yes please

  • Mixed plastics
  • Metal cans and tins
  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Liquid food and drink cartons

Not in this one

  • Paper and cardboard, which go in the separate black box
  • Plastic bags and plastic film packaging, which the council does not currently accept

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

Black paper and cardboard box, 55 litre (south only) · Paper and card

Box · Every two weeks

Yes please

  • Paper and cardboard
  • Extra cardboard, flattened and broken down to less than 1 metre high and wide, left neatly beside the box

Not in this one

  • Plastic and other non-paper recycling: a container with the wrong type of material is not emptied

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

Garden waste bin, 240 litre (paid subscription; brown in the north, green in the south) · Garden waste

Bin · Every two weeks

Yes please

  • Grass clippings
  • Cuttings from trees or hedges, including leaves
  • Small branches up to 10 centimetres across
  • Non-noxious weeds, dead plants and flowers
  • Fallen fruit

Not in this one

  • Plastic carrier bags, bin liners and compostable liners
  • Food waste, paper and cardboard
  • Animal litter or bedding
  • Large branches or timber
  • Soil, turf, stones or rubble
  • Plant pots
  • Harmful weeds such as Japanese knotweed, and plants treated with agricultural chemicals

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

Check your bin day

We can’t check Buckinghamshire addresses yet

Live bin day lookups for Buckinghamshire are planned. Until then, Buckinghamshire’s own page will show your collection day.

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

How often each bin is collected

Collection frequency by bin for Buckinghamshire
BinCollected
General waste bin (green 140 litre in the north, black 180 litre in the south) · General wasteEvery two weeks
Blue-lidded recycling bin, 240 litre (north: Aylesbury Vale area) · Mixed recyclingEvery two weeks
Blue recycling bin, 240 litre (south: Chiltern, Wycombe and South Bucks areas) · Mixed recyclingEvery two weeks
Black paper and cardboard box, 55 litre (south only) · Paper and cardEvery two weeks
Garden waste bin, 240 litre (paid subscription; brown in the north, green in the south) · Garden wasteEvery two weeks

Food waste and the national recycling rules

Buckinghamshire collects food waste every week. The council says households with their own bins already had separate weekly food waste collections, so for most people nothing changed on 31 March 2026. Residents in flats with communal bins now have food waste collections too. The council says it will start collecting plastic film and plastic bags for recycling by 31 March 2027.

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

Garden waste

Garden waste is a paid-for service. A subscription costs £65 a year, and each extra bin is £65 a year. First-time subscribers are sent a bin, and the subscription lasts for one year from the date you sign up. You need a My Buckinghamshire account to sign up or renew. Collections are fortnightly. The council says the service is suspended between 14 December 2026 and 22 January 2027 and starts again on Monday 25 January on the usual collection days. You can renew up to 2 months before your subscription expires.

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

If your bin was missed

Check the council's list of roads with known missed or delayed collections first. If your road is not listed, report the miss online, and leave the bin out until it is collected. Do not report the same miss twice. Report between 6pm on your collection day and midnight the following day (a Friday collection can be reported until Monday). If you report within 24 hours the council aims to return within 2 working days.

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

Your nearest tip

Good to know in Buckinghamshire

  • Check which part of the county you live in before you read a bin colour. The council's own policy separates the north (the legacy Aylesbury Vale area) from the south (the legacy Chiltern, Wycombe and South Bucks areas), and the general waste, food waste and garden waste bins are different colours and sizes in each.
  • General waste is collected fortnightly and only what fits in the bin with the lid closed is taken. Side waste is not collected. From 2026 the council has stopped issuing 360 litre bins and the largest general waste bin it will provide is 240 litres, for households that meet its criteria, such as five or more permanent residents.
  • Homes that cannot take wheeled bins are given sacks instead. In the north that is 52 purple sacks a year for general waste and 78 blue sacks for recycling; in the south it is 104 purple sacks. The council collects no more than four purple sacks a fortnight from these homes.
  • Put bins out by 6:30am on the day, and not before 5:00pm the day before. The council says a miss only counts as genuine if the container was out before the crew arrived, at the right collection point, and was not contaminated or overweight.
  • Wrong items in the recycling bin mean the whole bin is not emptied. For extra recycling that does not fit, use a reusable container or, in the north, a cardboard box or clear plastic bag, and leave it beside the bin. Do not put extra recycling in ordinary plastic bags in the south.
  • Small electricals, batteries and vapes can be put out in a carrier bag on top of the bin lid on collection day. The council collects them weekly in the north and fortnightly in the south.
  • Garden waste collections stop for a winter break each year. The council says the 2026 break runs from 14 December 2026 to 22 January 2027, and bins over 50kg will not be collected.

Bin questions in Buckinghamshire

How often are bins collected in Buckinghamshire?

General waste and dry recycling are collected every two weeks, food waste every week, and garden waste every two weeks for subscribers. In the south, paper and cardboard are collected fortnightly in their own box.

How much is garden waste collection in Buckinghamshire?

The council charges £65 a year per bin. The service is suspended for six weeks from 14 December 2026 to 22 January 2027 and restarts on Monday 25 January.

How long do I have to report a missed bin in Buckinghamshire?

Report it between 6pm on your collection day and midnight the next day. If you report within 24 hours the council aims to come back within 2 working days, and you should leave the bin out until then.

Does Buckinghamshire collect plastic bags for recycling?

Not yet. The council says it does not currently accept plastic film or plastic bags in recycling and plans to start collecting them by 31 March 2027, in line with Simpler Recycling.

Guides that may help

Nearby councils