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Carmarthenshire bin collection days

Carmarthenshire collects unlimited blue recycling bags every week, a food bin every week, and up to 3 black bags of leftover rubbish every 3 weeks. Most homes also have a black glass box on the same three-week day as the black bags. Garden waste is a paid wheeled bin. The collections page says a separated recycling service is due to start in parts of the county in mid to late autumn 2026, and it points residents to a separate note for that change.

Last checked against 6 sources (www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales).

Check your bin day

We only use your postcode to find your collections. It is not stored.

What goes in each bin

Standard black bags for rubbish that cannot be recycled or composted · General waste

Bag · Every three weeks

Yes please

  • General household rubbish that cannot be recycled or composted, in bags you buy yourself

Not in this one

  • More than 3 standard bags on a collection, or wheeled-bin liners
  • Bags left inside a wheelie bin
  • Sharp objects, batteries, garden waste and clinical waste such as swabs, dressings or sharps

Source: www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales (opens in a new tab), read

Blue recycling bags, with no limit on how many go out · Mixed recycling

Bag · Every week

Yes please

  • Metal cans, tins, aerosols and foil
  • Plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays
  • Paper, cardboard and cartons

Not in this one

  • Glass, which the blue-bag page says is dangerous for the crew
  • Bags put inside a wheelie bin
  • Bags that contain the wrong items, which are stickered and left

Source: www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales (opens in a new tab), read

Black box for empty glass bottles and jars · Glass

Box · Every three weeks

Yes please

  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Glass in a wheeled bin where the home uses a communal compound

Not in this one

  • Glass placed in a blue recycling bag
  • Homes the council has not yet given a glass collection, which use a bottle bank instead

Source: www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales (opens in a new tab), read

Green food bin and kitchen caddy · Food waste

Caddy

Yes please

  • Used teabags and coffee grounds
  • Eggshells, fruit skins and vegetable peelings
  • Raw and cooked meat and fish, including bones and shells
  • Plate scrapings, stale bread, leftovers, food that is no longer safe to eat, and pet food

Not in this one

  • Packaging and anything that is not food
  • Liquids such as milk
  • Liquid oils or fats, which go to a recycling centre
  • Coffee pods, which go in the red sack for metals, plastics and cartons

Source: www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales (opens in a new tab), read

Charged collection of large items from the usual collection point · Bulky waste

Container

Yes please

  • Large items such as a fridge or a wardrobe, up to three on one collection

Not in this one

  • Items the bulky service is not booked to take

Source: www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales (opens in a new tab), read

Set your own bin day

These dates are the ones you enter. BinWeek does not get them from Carmarthenshire. Check them on the council’s site (opens in a new tab) (www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales).

Standard black bags for rubbish that cannot be recycled or composted · General waste

The council’s pages say this is collected every three weeks. Your round may differ, so use the pattern you were given.

Blue recycling bags, with no limit on how many go out · Mixed recycling

The council’s pages say this is collected every week. Your round may differ, so use the pattern you were given.

Black box for empty glass bottles and jars · Glass

The council’s pages say this is collected every three weeks. Your round may differ, so use the pattern you were given.

Green food bin and kitchen caddy · Food waste
Charged collection of large items from the usual collection point · Bulky waste

Add to calendar

A private calendar link for the pattern you entered, with an alert at 6pm the evening before. The link contains those days. BinWeek does not keep a copy, and anyone with the link can see them.

Email me the night before

You can still add these days to your calendar.

How often each bin is collected

Collection frequency by bin for Carmarthenshire
BinCollected
Standard black bags for rubbish that cannot be recycled or composted · General wasteEvery three weeks
Blue recycling bags, with no limit on how many go out · Mixed recyclingEvery week
Black box for empty glass bottles and jars · GlassEvery three weeks

Garden waste

Garden waste is a paid-for service. Every customer, existing or new, has to subscribe each year. The 2026 season costs £60.60. Paying the whole amount by credit or debit card takes 10% off, so the service charge is £54.54. A council 240 litre wheeled bin is an extra one-off £19 if you do not already have one, and only those bins are emptied. An additional bin has its service charge reduced by 10%. Direct Debit spreads the service charge over 6 equal payments, and any bin you buy is paid separately. The 2026 season is 21 fortnightly collections between February and December, starting earlier than before. Once collections have started there is no refund if you leave part way through. The garden page does not list which plants, soil or food the bin will take.

Source: www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales (opens in a new tab), read

If your bin was missed

Carmarthenshire crews work between 6am and 2pm, and different vehicles can visit the same street at different times. Do not report a missed collection until after 2pm. Before that, check the day and week, including bank holidays, look for a sticker for the wrong items or an overfilled container, remember the 3 black bag limit, and make sure bags were out before 6am. Also see whether neighbours were collected and whether the disruptions page lists a delay. If none of that explains it, report the miss after 2pm. After 2pm on the collection day, once the checks above are done. The page does not give a later cut-off.

Source: www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales (opens in a new tab), read

Good to know in Carmarthenshire

  • Blue bags are delivered as three rolls a year. Wash and squash, and keep recyclables dry. You may put out as many blue bags as you have. Glass never goes in them.
  • Blue bags and black bags are not taken out of wheelie bins. The council will collect from an ordinary dustbin if the waste is bagged. Black bags must be a standard size, not a wheeled-bin liner, and you buy them yourself. The collections page describes that standard size as 60 litre bags.
  • Put black bags out the night before, or before 6am. Do not fill an ash bag more than a third full. Families of 6 or over, and homes with extra ash, can apply for exemption stickers if they are already recycling. Nappies and hygiene waste have their own free collections, and those should be applied for before an exemption.
  • Clinical waste such as swabs, dressings or sharps is not a council black-bag collection. Carmarthenshire says Hywel Dda University Health Board collects it, and the black-bag page gives the number 01269 845554.
  • The food page allows small amounts of liquid food down the sink with water. Oils and fats go to a recycling centre in a suitable container. Coffee pods go in the red sack, not the food bin.
  • A bulky collection from the usual point takes up to three large items, such as a fridge or a wardrobe, for £27.
  • The garden waste page sets the price and the 21 fortnightly rounds, and it says there is no part-season refund, but it does not say whether grass, soil, food or invasive plants are accepted.

Bin questions in Carmarthenshire

How often does Carmarthenshire empty the blue bags and the black bags?

Blue bags are weekly, and there is no cap on the number. Black bags are every 3 weeks, with a cap of 3 standard bags. The food bin is weekly. The black glass box is every 3 weeks, on the black-bag day, for homes that have one.

What does the Carmarthenshire garden bin cost in 2026?

£60.60 for the season, or £54.54 if you pay in full by card and take the 10% discount. A new 240 litre council bin is £19 on top. The season is 21 fortnightly collections from February to December.

Why would Carmarthenshire leave a bag behind?

A sticker means the container was overfilled or held the wrong items. Black bags left in a wheelie bin, put out after 6am, or above the 3 bag limit are also left. Collections run from 6am to 2pm, so a report before 2pm is too early.

Guides that may help

Nearby councils