Dover collects a grey-lidded refuse bin every two weeks and, on the same fortnight, a blue-lidded bin or blue box for glass, plastic, tins and cartons plus a black box for paper and card. Food waste is weekly in a green outdoor bin. Homes with no room for a wheeled bin, or where a bin would have to go over steps or a steep slope, get purple sacks instead.
Last checked against 5 sources (www.dover.gov.uk).
What goes in each bin
Grey-lidded refuse bin · General waste
Bin · Every two weeks
Yes please
Household waste that cannot be recycled, including nappies placed straight in the bin
Waste in a black sack, as long as the sack is inside the grey-lidded bin
Not in this one
Food and drink pots, tubs, trays, bottles, jars, cans and aerosols, which go in the blue-lidded bin
Newspaper, pamphlets, cardboard, paper, magazines, brochures and junk mail, which go in the black box
Food, including meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, dairy, plate scrapings, tea bags and coffee grounds
Batteries, which go in a bag on top of the black box
Blue-lidded recycling bin or blue box · Mixed recycling
Every two weeks
Black paper and card box · Paper and card
Every two weeks
Green outdoor food bin · Food waste
Every week
Garden waste wheeled bin · Garden waste
Every two weeks
Food waste and the national recycling rules
Dover collects food waste every week. Food waste is collected every week, between 7am and 4pm, on the same day as rubbish or recycling but by a separate vehicle, so it may be at a different time. A grey kitchen caddy is lined with newspaper or a compostable liner, never a plastic bag, and emptied into the green lockable outdoor bin. The outdoor bin holds 23 litres. The council says food is about 15% of household waste. It is composted at a plant near Maidstone.
Garden waste is a paid-for service. The 2026/27 subscription is £66.20. A new subscriber also pays £42.25 to borrow the wheeled bin. Each extra subscription is another £66.20, and each extra bin is another £42.25. Bins are on loan. Restocking delays can push delivery past the usual 10 working days. The subscription year starts on 1 April 2026. Garden waste is collected every two weeks, up to 25 times a year, with one collection missed over a two-week Christmas break. The bin is 240 litres and goes on the front boundary by 7am. Assisted recycling collections carry over to the garden bin unless the terms say otherwise.
Report the bin that was actually missed. Recycling, rubbish, food and garden waste use different vehicles, and the wrong service is not emptied. If the contractor logged the bin as not out, they check the vehicle CCTV and do not return when the bin was not presented. Contaminated recycling, including black sacks, soft plastics, electrical waste, nappies or textiles, is not collected again until the next day. Side waste and loose black sacks are left. Bins go on the front boundary by 7am. Collections run from 7am to 4pm, later if a vehicle breaks down. Report a miss by the end of the following day, and within one working day of the scheduled collection. Food may be later than the other bins because it is a different vehicle, so report it the next day unless you are sure it was missed.
Only one 180 litre grey bin is collected, unless there are six or more permanent residents or a medical need for a second 180 litre bin. The council may ask for names and ages. Side waste is left. A black sack is collected only if it is inside the bin. A standard bin is 50cm wide, 74cm deep and 109cm tall.
Purple sacks are delivered every 13 weeks. Put out no more than four sacks on a refuse collection. Where seagulls are a problem, a seagull-proof sack can be requested on 01304 872428 or through the portal.
The council says recycling and food can be up to 70% of household waste, so a properly used refuse bin should hold two weeks of rubbish. Garden waste in the grey bin means the bin is not collected. Rubble goes to a household waste recycling centre.
Blue-bin recycling must be loose, rinsed, with lids and bottle tops left on. A contaminated bin is not emptied, because the council says the wrong items can spoil a whole lorry load. Mixed recycling goes to a bulking point and then a materials recovery facility just outside Kent. Cartons are reprocessed in Halifax. Paper goes to a mill in Snodland.
Large cardboard is broken into dustbin-sized pieces and left safely near the black box. Smaller pieces go inside a cereal box so they do not blow away. Batteries go in a clear food bag, or a battery bag, on top of the black box. Battery bags can be picked up at the council offices, White Cliffs Business Park, Whitfield, Dover CT16 3PJ. Batteryback sends them to REVATECH S.A. in Belgium.
The grey kitchen caddy is not collected. Empty it into the green outdoor bin. Flats get a kitchen caddy and a communal food bin. The food page does not list fruit, dairy or plate scrapings in its own yes list; the refuse page says those belong in the food bin rather than the grey bin.
Garden waste for 2026/27 is £66.20, plus £42.25 to borrow a bin. Branches must be smaller than 9cm across. It is composted at Hope Farm near Capel-le-Ferne. The district has three household waste recycling centres, run by Kent County Council. The subscription page does not name them.
Bin questions in Dover
How often does Dover collect the grey bin?
Once every two weeks, between 7am and 4pm. One 180 litre bin, unless the household has six or more permanent residents or a medical second bin. Purple-sack properties present up to four sacks.
Does Dover take glass in the blue bin?
Yes. Glass and plastic bottles and jars, including lids, go in the blue-lidded bin or blue box with tins, cans, plastic food containers and cartons. Paper and card stay in the black box. Both are collected every two weeks.
When do I report a missed Dover bin?
By the end of the next day, and within one working day. Put bins on the front boundary by 7am. A bin the CCTV shows was not out is not collected until the next scheduled day.
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