Peterborough gives most homes four bins: a black bin for general waste, a green bin for recycling, a grey caddy for food waste and an optional brown bin for garden waste. Its pages do not set out a fixed weekly or fortnightly pattern for the black and green bins. It asks you to look up your collection days by postcode, with grey food bins emptied weekly.
Last checked against 7 sources (www.peterborough.gov.uk).
What goes in each bin
Black wheelie bin for general waste · General waste
Bin · Varies by area, so check your address
Yes please
General household rubbish that you cannot reuse, recycle or compost
Nappies in tied bags, and tissues and kitchen roll
Polystyrene and coffee pods (plastic or aluminium)
Small amounts of pet waste such as cat litter, animal bedding and faecal matter, in tied bags
Broken glass wrapped in layers of paper or in a cardboard box
Cooled hot ash
Not in this one
Batteries, vapes and electrical items
Garden waste (the brown bin), soil, and wood, timber, rubble, bricks, gravel, stone, sand and concrete
Engine oil, paint and paint tins that contain paint, and asbestos
Waste from commercial or business activities
Excess waste placed next to or on top of the bin, because the lid must close
Peterborough collects food waste every week. Each household should have two grey food caddies, collected weekly, with free liners. The council's page says flats are being added in stages and that a block without a food waste service should keep putting food waste in the communal general waste bin for now.
Garden waste is a paid-for service. For 2026/27 collecting one bin costs £58 a year and two bins cost £89.50 a year. A second bin ordered later costs an extra £31.50, including the bin. The council says no concession rates are available. The 2026/27 collection period runs from 27 April 2026 to 23 April 2027. The brown bin is collected in the same week as the black bin, but in Millfield North, Dogsthorpe South, Eye, Thorney and Werrington East it is collected a day earlier. You can sign up at any time, with no reduction in the cost.
Report a missed bin online on the council's missed bin form and leave the bin out for collection. If you phone Customer Services on 01733 747474 before 5pm on collection day, the crew may still be in the area. The council does not return to empty a missed food bin because food waste is collected weekly. You can report after 5pm on your collection day and have until 4pm on the next working day after it.
Put your bin out by 6.45am on collection day, which is the council's stated time for black, green, grey and brown bins.
The green bin takes plastics including film and carrier bags, metal, paper, card and cartons, and glass bottles and jars. If a recycling load is too large for the bin, the council says you can leave it next to the bin in clear tied bags or open cardboard boxes.
Crisp packets, baby and pet food pouches, toothpaste tubes, polystyrene and black bags are not accepted in the green bin. Coffee pods, textiles and CDs go to the Household Recycling Centre.
Food waste is the simplest rule: if it is not liquid, it goes in the grey caddy. The council supplies liners in rolls of 40 free of charge and also allows newspaper, paper bags or plastic bags, which it removes in treatment.
A black bin must be shut with all waste inside it. Crews do not take bags left beside the bin, and anything left on the highway by the end of the day can be treated as fly-tipping, with a possible penalty notice.
Garden waste must be loose in the brown bin, not bagged, even in compostable liners. Landlords' garden waste from a rental property counts as business waste, though a tenant can sign up for the service.
The Fengate Household Recycling Centre is for residents only, with proof of address and a free vehicle e-permit. It has size limits: vehicles no larger than a long wheelbase transit-type van, and trailer beds no longer than 8 feet 6 inches.
Bin questions in Peterborough
How do I find my bin day in Peterborough?
Use the council's postcode lookup on its bin collection days page. It shows the days for your black, green and brown bins, and the council says the grey food waste bin is collected weekly with your green or black bin.
How much is garden waste collection in Peterborough?
For 2026/27 the cost is £58 a year for one bin and £89.50 for two. The collection period runs from 27 April 2026 to 23 April 2027 and no concession rates are available.
What are the Household Recycling Centre opening hours in Peterborough?
It is open seven days a week. From 1 April to 30 September it opens 8am to 6pm, and from 1 October to 31 March it opens 8am to 4pm, with gates shutting 10 minutes early. It closes on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day.
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