Dartford puts household rubbish, including food, in a green bin collected every week, and dry recycling including glass in a grey bin. The grey bin is not collected every week. The council publishes a week 1 calendar and a week 2 calendar, and says collecting recycling every week as well would double the cost. Garden waste is a paid brown bin, fortnightly. Separate food caddies are not in use yet.
Last checked against 6 sources (www.dartford.gov.uk).
What goes in each bin
Green refuse bin · General waste
Bin · Every week
Yes please
Household waste that cannot be recycled
Food waste
Nappies and sanitary products
Pet litter
Polystyrene, bubble wrap, plastic bags and film
Crisp packets and sweet wrappers
Tissues, used paper towels and cling film
Laminated food and drink pouches
Paper or card stained with food, grease, paint or dirt, including pizza boxes
Glitter-covered cards, foil wrapping paper, and a small amount of cold ash
Not in this one
DIY or building waste such as rubble, wood or plasterboard
Garden waste
Textiles
Medical waste, including syringes and stoma bags
Small electrical appliances
Hazardous waste, chemicals, engine oil and metal containers for chemicals
Dartford does not collect food waste every week. A separate weekly food waste collection has not started. The council's news page, published on 15th September 2026, says caddies will be delivered to houses in the autumn and that first collections begin in November 2026. Flats are planned for early 2027. Until then, residual waste including food is still collected weekly in the green bin. The news page says guidance on what can and cannot go in the caddies will be shared later, so there is no caddy list yet.
Garden waste is a paid-for service. The annual cost is £53. The one-off payment for the 240L wheeled bin is £56. The subscription runs from 1st April, and the annual cost reduces on a sliding scale if you join part way through the year. The garden page does not list the quarterly amounts. The subscription runs from 1st April each year. You can join at any time, and the annual cost reduces on a sliding scale part way through the year. The page does not list those part-year amounts. Garden waste must not go in the refuse bin or the recycling bin.
Missed refuse and recycling have to be reported within 48 hours of the collection day or the contractor will not return. Report a missed refuse bin and a missed recycling bin separately. Leave the bin at the edge of the property until it is collected. You cannot report a neighbour's bin. A genuine missed garden bin must have been out before 6am, not contaminated, and reported within 48 hours. Report within 48 hours. The green bin is for household rubbish and the grey bin is for recycling, including glass.
The green bin is one 180L refuse bin per property, emptied weekly. Homes with no room for a bin can have up to three black sacks collected. Extra or larger containers need written agreement. Side waste on or next to the green bin is not taken. The refuse page also says items heavier than 15kg should not go in it, and lists garden waste, textiles, medical waste, electricals, batteries and window glass among the things to take to a Kent County Council recycling centre instead.
The grey bin is a 240 litre wheeled bin for paper, card, cans, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, and glass bottles and jars. Black plastic pots, tubs and trays are refused. Food, pizza boxes, crisp packets, polystyrene, plant pots, books and clothing are refused. Recycling can be loose or in clear sacks. Black sacks in the grey bin are treated as contamination. Side recycling is accepted if it is less than 3 translucent sacks or neatly folded cardboard. Batteries must not go in the grey bin. The old black glass box is optional. The contractor is collecting boxes that residents no longer want.
The recycling information page does not use the word fortnightly. It says residual waste including food stays weekly, and that weekly recycling as well would mean twice as many lorries. Dates are on the week 1 and week 2 calendars. Flats are dealt with site by site.
Garden waste is £53 a year and £56 for the 240L bin. Collections start from 6am, every fortnight, from 1st April to 31st March. The charge drops on a sliding scale if you join later, but the page does not publish the quarterly prices. Soil, food, turf, plant pots, logs and listed invasive plants are refused. No Christmas trees, and no overflow beside the bin.
As of 3 October 2026 the food waste news page still said house collections begin in November 2026, after caddies go out in the autumn, and that flats follow in early 2027. It names fruit and vegetable peelings, leftovers, meat, fish, bones, dairy, bread, rice and pasta as examples, and says the detailed caddy rules will come later. Food still goes in the weekly green bin until that service starts.
Bin questions in Dartford
Which Dartford bin is for rubbish, and which is for recycling?
Household rubbish, including food, goes in the green bin and is collected weekly. Recycling, including glass bottles and jars, goes in the grey bin. The grey bin is not emptied every week. Use the week 1 or week 2 calendar for your address.
How much is Dartford garden waste?
£53 a year, plus £56 once for the 240L brown bin. The subscription runs from 1st April, and the cost reduces on a sliding scale if you join later. That page does not list the part-year prices.
Has Dartford started weekly food waste collections?
Not yet. The 15th September 2026 news page says house caddies go out in the autumn and collections start in November 2026. Flats are planned for early 2027. Until then food goes in the green refuse bin.
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