Cambridge City Council runs bins jointly with South Cambridgeshire as the Greater Cambridge Shared Waste Service. The city council's own collection-day address sends you there. Houses have a black bin, a blue bin and a green bin, and a silver caddy is arriving street by street through 2026.
Last checked against 3 sources (www.greatercambridgewaste.org).
What goes in each bin
Black bin · General waste
Bin · Varies by area, so check your address
Yes please
Household material that is neither recyclable nor compostable
Disposable nappies
Polystyrene, Styrofoam and foam or sponge packaging
Ash that has cooled and been bagged
Tissues, and kitchen roll used with cleaning products
Not in this one
Paint tins, whether empty or full
Rubble, bricks and soil
Items that are very heavy
Electrical items
Ash that is loose, and batteries placed inside the bin
Cambridge collects food waste every week. During 2026 every household in Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire is due a weekly food collection, rolled out in phases. A letter gives the street its start date, and the same date appears on the bin calendar. Until that date, food can still go in the green bin. After it, the green bin is for garden waste. The food page says 73% of food waste comes from households. A lost or damaged outdoor caddy is replaced within 10 days. Indoor caddies are not replaced.
Leave the bin or sack where it was if no advice card was left, and only report it when the bin was out by 6am, the way to it was clear, and it was used correctly. A card means the crew found a problem, so fix that and wait for the next round. Outdoor food caddies are not collected on a return visit. Shared food bins at flats use a different form, and those are returned for. If the caddy is full before the next week, food can go in the black bin. Reporting opens at 3:30pm on collection day and closes at 3:30pm the next weekday. The crew aims to come back within 3 working days, sooner if a vehicle is free, so the bin stays out.
The coloured-bin page names what each container is for and does not say how many weeks sit between black, blue or green collections. The collection-day tool asks for a postcode and can push the dates into a phone calendar.
Houses with their own bins get a small kitchen caddy and a larger outdoor caddy with a lockable handle. The kitchen caddy is not emptied if it is put out. Flats share a food bin kept with the other communal bins. Where the store is too small, a separate housing can be put in. Assisted collections already in place cover the food caddy as well.
A starter roll of liners comes with the caddy. Further rolls are not supplied. Any liner is allowed, including compostable ones from shops, or none. Plastic liners have to be see-through so the crew can tell there is food inside. Liners are pulled out at the anaerobic digestion plant and used as fuel. The food becomes biogas and a fertiliser for farms. Garden waste is composted somewhere else.
Unwanted new caddies are not picked up from the house. Between 7 September and 19 October the drop-off list included Milton Park and Ride, South Cambs Hall in Cambourne, Thriplow Recycling Centre at Gravel Pit Hill, and Trumpington Park and Ride. Old caddies from the 2020 trial stay at home. Do not take those to the drop-off.
Small household batteries, including AA, AAA, C, D and button cells, go in a tied bag on the lid of a house's own blue, green or black bin, never inside it. If the lorry's battery box is full they wait until the following week. Flats should use shop collection points instead of the shared bin lids.
Windfall fruit is garden waste. A green bin that is too heavy can trip the lorry's weight sensor and be left. Close lids, and do not leave extra rubbish or garden waste beside the bin. Extra recycling has its own guidance on the shared waste site.
As of 3 October 2026 the bin-colour page still does not print a fortnightly or weekly pattern for the black, blue or green bin. Food is the only stream with a stated interval, and even that reaches streets in phases.
Bin questions in Cambridge
Which bins does Cambridge use?
Blue is recycling, black is waste that is not recyclable or compostable, green is garden waste, and the silver caddy is food. Cambridge City Council's checker points at the Greater Cambridge Shared Waste Service, which also covers South Cambridgeshire.
Has weekly food waste started in Cambridge?
It is being introduced in phases throughout 2026 for Cambridge and South Cambridgeshire. Each street gets a letter and a calendar date. Until then, food may still go in the green bin.
How long do I have to report a missed Cambridge bin?
From 3:30pm on the collection day until 3:30pm the next weekday. The return is within 3 working days. The bin had to be out by 6am. Outdoor food caddies are not returned for.
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