Croydon names its bins by lid colour and splits recycling by material: a blue lidded bin or box for paper and card, a grey or green lidded bin or box for glass, cans, plastic and cartons, a separate caddy or bin for food, and a brown-lidded bin for garden waste if you pay. The council's pages tell you to use its collection day checker for dates, and they do not say how often each bin is emptied.
Last checked against 7 sources (www.croydon.gov.uk).
What goes in each bin
General rubbish bin · General waste
Bin · Varies by area, so check your address
Yes please
Waste that cannot be recycled, put in black sacks within the bin
Cold ash from fires, bagged
Food-soiled cardboard such as pizza and fast food boxes
Plastic bags and film, though supermarkets also take them
Polystyrene
Disposable nappies
Not in this one
Food waste, which goes in the food waste bin
Waste that can be recycled
Textiles and batteries, which are collected with the recycling bins
Electrical waste and DIY waste
Garden waste, unless you pay for the garden waste service
Hazardous waste such as asbestos, chemicals, gas bottles, paints, varnishes and tyres
Garden waste is a paid-for service. The garden waste service offers collections every 2 weeks for £90.10 a year. New customers get a wheelie bin with a brown lid, and the bins remain the property of the council. The service is only available to households that have their own individual bins, not to properties with a shared or communal rubbish bin such as blocks of flats. If you do not use the service, garden waste can be composted at home.
If the rest of your street was collected and your bin was not, report a rubbish collection problem online. You do not need an account. If your whole street was missed, leave your waste and recycling out and the crews will try to return as soon as possible, and you should not report it. The council will not return if the bin was not at the edge of your property where it meets the public highway, held the wrong items or was over-filled, and it puts a tag on the bin to say why. Report within 2 working days, starting at 10pm on the day of the collection. The council aims to collect a mistakenly missed bin by the end of the following weekend.
Because the council's pages do not state a collection frequency for any of the bins, this page does not either. Use the council's checker, which shows your own days and a downloadable calendar.
Leave your bin out by 6am on your collection day, where it can be seen easily, at the edge of your property where it meets the public highway. A bin that is over-filled so the lid does not close, or holds waste that belongs in a different bin, is not collected.
Put general rubbish in black sacks inside the bin. Household batteries go in an untied plastic bag, and textiles and shoes in a tied plastic bag, placed next to or on top of your recycling bins or boxes. Textiles can include clothes, linens and shoes tied in pairs, but not duvets, pillows or cushions.
Paper and card should be kept dry. If you use recycling boxes, use a lid, and you can request a new lid if yours is broken.
These recycling rules apply to houses and converted flats with fewer than five flats. Estates and purpose-built flats, and flats above shops, have their own recycling pages.
The reuse and recycling centres accept household waste in black bags, garden waste, small electrical goods and small bulky waste items, but not asbestos, chemicals, gas bottles, paints, varnishes or tyres.
Bin questions in Croydon
What goes in the blue lidded bin in Croydon?
Most paper and card: newspapers, magazines, envelopes, junk mail, flattened cardboard boxes and wrapping paper without foil. Cartons do not go in this bin and belong with the grey or green lidded recycling.
How much does garden waste collection cost in Croydon?
The garden waste service costs £90.10 a year for collections every 2 weeks, and it is only available to households with their own individual bins.
How much does bulky waste collection cost in Croydon?
The service operates all year round and costs £40.40 for 1 to 3 items or £65.30 for 4 to 6 items. Items containing persistent organic pollutants, such as upholstered sofas and armchairs, are collected on a separate visit on the same day.
What time should I put my bin out in Croydon?
Leave your bin out by 6am on your collection day, where it can be seen easily, at the edge of your property where it meets the public highway. The council will not collect a bin that is not left there, holds waste that belongs in another bin or is over-filled.
When can I report a missed bin in Croydon?
Within 2 working days, starting at 10pm on the day of the collection. If your whole street was missed, do not report it, and leave your bin out for the crews to return.
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