Lambeth collects recycling every week, which is more often than most London boroughs: a green wheelie bin or clear sack takes paper, card, plastics, glass, cans and cartons together. Rubbish goes out fortnightly in a black bin or weekly in sacks, and food waste is weekly for most homes with a wheelie bin.
Last checked against 7 sources (www.lambeth.gov.uk).
What goes in each bin
Black bin for rubbish (weekly sacks for flats above shops) · General waste
Bin · Every two weeks
Yes please
Waste that cannot be recycled
Food-soiled cardboard
Plastic bags and film
Polystyrene
Disposable nappies
Aerosols
Cold ash from fires, bagged
Not in this one
Food waste, if the food waste service is available at your address
Waste that belongs in the recycling bin or sacks
Garden waste, which is collected separately if you pay for the garden waste service
DIY waste, building materials and large items over 25kg
Hot ashes, liquids of any sort, asbestos and tyres
Lambeth collects food waste every week. Food waste is collected weekly for most houses and maisonettes with a wheelie bin, on the same day as rubbish and recycling. It is not collected from flats above shops, and the council's pages give different pictures of the rollout to estates (one page says a small number of estates now and all in the next few years, another says all estates by May 2026), so check your address on the council's collection day tool.
Garden waste is a paid-for service. Garden waste is only collected if you subscribe, and the service runs all year round with a weekly collection. It lasts a year and can then be renewed. The council collects 2 garden waste bags per week, and you can pay for extra bags. Sacks must be bought in addition to the collection service, and the service is only available to properties that have food waste collections.
Check your collection day, then report the missed rubbish, recycling, food or garden waste collection on the council's online form. If a crew could not reach your property, evening crews usually try again later. If your waste has not been collected by the following morning, report it and the council will reschedule for the next working day. You can only report a missed collection within 2 working days. After that it is collected the following week on your usual day. The council will not return if the bin was not at the front of your property, held the wrong waste or was too full for the lid to close. A swinging tag on a green bin means it held the wrong materials: remove them and the tag and it is collected on the next collection day.
What you get depends on where you live. Kerbside homes have fortnightly black bin rubbish or weekly sack collections, weekly green bin or clear sack recycling, and weekly food waste for most houses and maisonettes. Estates and larger blocks have communal bins collected weekly or more often. Flats above shops get weekly sack collections and free clear recycling sacks.
Lambeth lets you put plastic bags, film and polystyrene in the rubbish bin, and also food-soiled cardboard. The council does not recycle plastic film, aerosols, shredded paper or foil and paper yoghurt pot lids, so do not put them in the green bin.
Leave your bin out by 6am on collection day, where it can be seen at the front of your property, unless you live in a timed collection area. Five town centres have timed collection areas where waste can only go out at set times on collection days.
Electrical items and batteries are collected separately from houses and maisonettes with a wheelie bin. If they were not collected it is likely the vehicle was full, so take them back inside and try again the next week, when the council says it will prioritise you.
The council says bank holidays do not change collections on most days. If your collection day falls on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, it collects the day after instead.
The reuse and recycling centre on Vale Street in West Norwood is for Lambeth residents only. You must book a time slot to visit in a vehicle and bring photo identification and proof of a Lambeth address on every visit. It takes reuse and recycling only, not rubbish, and the council could not accept cooking or engine oil there as of 2 October 2026.
For waste the centre cannot take, the council suggests Wandsworth household waste and recycling centre, a bulky waste collection or a property waste clearance.
Bin questions in Lambeth
How often are bins collected in Lambeth?
Recycling is collected every week from the green bin or clear sacks. Kerbside homes get fortnightly black bin collections or weekly sack collections for rubbish, and weekly food waste collections for most houses and maisonettes. Garden waste is weekly if you subscribe.
How long do I have to report a missed bin in Lambeth?
You can report a missed collection within 2 working days. If you report it later than that, the waste is collected the following week on your usual collection day.
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