Skip to main content

East Suffolk bin collection days

East Suffolk moved to a new Better Recycling service on 1 June 2026. General rubbish, blue-lidded recycling and a new green-lidded paper and card bin are now each emptied every three weeks, food waste is weekly in a grey container, and garden waste stays on a paid fortnightly subscription.

Last checked against 5 sources (www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk).

What goes in each bin

General rubbish bin (black or grey lid) · General waste

Bin · Every three weeks

Yes please

  • Everyday rubbish that cannot be recycled
  • Loose ash, cinders and other dusty materials, bagged and sealed first

Not in this one

  • Side waste that will not fit in the bin; take it to a recycling centre
  • Bins with the wrong waste in them, which are not emptied
  • Overflowing bins

Source: www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

Blue-lidded recycling bin · Mixed recycling

Bin · Every three weeks

Yes please

  • Cartons
  • Plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays
  • Soft plastic bags
  • Tins, cans and aerosols
  • Glass bottles and jars

Not in this one

  • Paper and cardboard, which go in the green-lidded bin
  • Material that is not clean and dry: the council says all recycling should be clean and dry
  • Bagged material: the council says recycling should be placed loose

Source: www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

Green-lidded recycling bin for paper and card · Paper and card

Bin · Every three weeks

Yes please

  • Dry, clean cardboard
  • Paper without glitter
  • Envelopes, magazines and books
  • Shredded paper wrapped in paper

Not in this one

  • Paper with glitter
  • Wet or dirty material: the council says all recycling should be clean and dry
  • Bagged material: the council says recycling should be placed loose

Source: www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

Garden waste bin (annual subscription, brown lid) · Garden waste

Bin · Every two weeks

Yes please

  • Grass, leaves and weeds
  • Flowers and plants from your garden
  • Hedge clippings
  • Branches up to 6cm thick, prunings and twigs
  • Windfall fruit
  • Hay or straw bedding from non-meat-eating animals such as rabbits

Not in this one

  • Bagged waste
  • Food or kitchen waste
  • Cat or dog faeces
  • Vacuum dust or fire cinders
  • Soil, stones or rubble
  • Treated or painted wood
  • Plastic flower pots, trays or bags
  • Paper, card and shredded paper
  • Invasive weeds such as ragwort or Japanese knotweed

Source: www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

Check your bin day

Use East Suffolk’s own page for your bin day

The council's bin collection date finder needs a browser, which BinWeek's lookup service does not run, so the page links to the council's own finder.

Find my bin day on www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk(opens in a new tab)

How often each bin is collected

Collection frequency by bin for East Suffolk
BinCollected
General rubbish bin (black or grey lid) · General wasteEvery three weeks
Blue-lidded recycling bin · Mixed recyclingEvery three weeks
Green-lidded recycling bin for paper and card · Paper and cardEvery three weeks
Garden waste bin (annual subscription, brown lid) · Garden wasteEvery two weeks

Food waste and the national recycling rules

East Suffolk collects food waste every week. From 1 June 2026 East Suffolk households were due to receive a weekly food waste collection in a grey food container, alongside three-weekly general rubbish and recycling. The council's Better Recycling page reports a backlog of bin requests and an improvement plan for the rollout.

Source: www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

Garden waste

Garden waste is a paid-for service. The annual garden waste subscription costs £56.00 a year. Each extra bin costs the same, plus a £20.00 delivery fee if a new bin is needed. The subscription runs all year and provides 26 fortnightly collections. In some areas garden waste is collected on a different day from recycling.

Source: www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

If your bin was missed

Use the missed bin form for garden waste, container recycling, paper and cardboard or general waste. For a missed food waste container, bring it back from the kerbside and the contractor will arrange a collection on your assigned day next week. Check your bin was out by 6:00am and that the right waste was in it. A collection must be reported as missed within 2 working days of the street being collected. Crews work until 5:00pm, so you may not be able to report until after then. If a road closure or blocked street stopped the crew, they try to return within three working days.

Source: www.eastsuffolk.gov.uk (opens in a new tab), read

Your nearest tip

Good to know in East Suffolk

  • Bins should be out by 6.00am on collection day because collection times can change. Over Christmas and New Year the council says all collections change and tells residents to use its bin collection date finder for their Christmas dates.
  • Crews check recycling bins for wrong items before emptying them. If they find some, they leave a sticker and do not empty the bin, and they do not come back before the next scheduled date. Taking the waste to a recycling centre is the council's advice if you cannot wait.
  • The council's Better Recycling page said on 3 October 2026 that it was working through a backlog of requests for new and replacement black and blue-lidded bins, starting from 14 September and expected to last six to eight weeks.
  • Additional blue and green bins can be bought for a one-off fee. Additional black bins are only available to households of six or more and to those with a medical condition that produces excess waste, and proof is needed.
  • Garden waste bins are being given a new brown lid, so that lid colours match across Suffolk. Put your garden bin out as normal, even if empty, and leave it out until the end of the day in case the refitting crew calls.
  • Households with a sack collection for general waste and recycling who want garden waste must contact Customer Services to join the scheme.
  • East Suffolk's recycling centres are run by Suffolk County Council, so opening hours and rules come from the county rather than the district.

Bin questions in East Suffolk

How often are bins collected in East Suffolk?

From 1 June 2026, general rubbish, blue-lidded recycling and green-lidded paper and card are each collected every three weeks, food waste weekly, and garden waste every two weeks for subscribers.

How much is garden waste collection in East Suffolk?

£56.00 a year for the first bin, for 26 fortnightly collections all year round, and the same price for each additional bin plus a £20.00 delivery fee for new bins.

What happens if my East Suffolk bin is not emptied?

Check it was out by 6:00am with the right waste in it. If so, report it within 2 working days of the street being collected. Contaminated bins are not emptied until the next scheduled collection.

What is Better Recycling in East Suffolk?

The council's new service, started in Suffolk in June 2026, gives every household an extra bin so paper and card are collected separately from plastics, metal, cartons and glass, plus a food waste container.

Guides that may help

Nearby councils