Skip to main content

Torfaen bin collection days

Torfaen collects recycling every week and the purple-lidded rubbish bin every 2 weeks. The green garden bin is every 2 weeks from March to the end of November, and it is not charged. Food is a weekly brown caddy. Cardboard has its own blue bag, plastics and tins a red bag, and glass shares a black box with paper, batteries, textiles and small electricals.

Last checked against 7 sources (www.torfaen.gov.uk).

What goes in each bin

Purple-lidded bin for rubbish that cannot be recycled or composted · General waste

Bin · Every two weeks

Yes please

  • Cold ashes, pet waste and broken glass
  • Polystyrene and wrapping paper
  • Duvets, pillows and bed sheets or linen

Not in this one

  • Anything that can be recycled, including foil and wearable clothing
  • Vapes, electrical items, cables, batteries, oil, paint and chemicals
  • Food, garden waste, hot ashes, stones, rubble, soil, tree branches, asbestos, clinical waste and needles
  • Side waste, or a bin left with the lid open

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

Blue bag for cardboard and brown or grey packaging paper · Paper and card

Bag · Every week

Yes please

  • Cardboard boxes, toilet roll tubes, egg cartons and card sleeves from food packs
  • Greeting cards once badges, bows, foil, glitter and ribbons are removed
  • Cardboard backing from battery and toothbrush packs, delivery boxes, cardboard envelopes, and brown or grey packaging paper

Not in this one

  • Food, wrapping paper, polystyrene and glittered cards
  • Food or drink cartons such as Tetra Pak

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

Red bag for tins, cans, cartons and plastic containers · Mixed recycling

Bag · Every week

Yes please

  • Tins, drinks cans, food tins, chocolate and biscuit tins, empty aerosols, and clean foil and foil trays
  • Food and drink cartons such as Tetra Pak
  • Toiletry, toothpaste, cleaning and drinks bottles, plus pots, tubs, punnets and takeaway trays and lids

Not in this one

  • Crisp packets, plastic bags, wrapping and fruit netting
  • Food pouches, pet-food pouches, dry pet-food bags and blister packs
  • Toothbrushes, plastic razors, vapes, gas canisters, lighters and needles
  • Compost or topsoil bags, and bulky plastics such as toys, washing-up bowls, plant pots or Tupperware

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

Black box, also used for bagged paper, batteries, textiles and small electricals · Glass

Box · Every week

Yes please

  • Drinks bottles, jars, and medicine and toiletry bottles
  • Bagged paper: letters, envelopes, magazines, newspapers, brochures, catalogues, printer paper and small amounts of shredded paper
  • Bagged household batteries, with lithium-ion terminals taped
  • Bagged and labelled clothing and shoes, and small electricals no larger than 30cm x 30cm x 30cm with plugs left on and batteries removed

Not in this one

  • Drinking glasses, vases, Pyrex, microwave plates, mirrors, window glass and ceramics
  • Kitchen roll, tissues, wrapping paper, wet or contaminated paper, and brown or grey paper that belongs in the blue bag
  • Vapes, loose chargeable tool or laptop batteries, car batteries, pillows, duvets, nappies, phones, air fryers, microwaves, laptops and TVs

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

Brown food caddy · Food waste

Caddy · Every week

Yes please

  • Teabags and coffee grounds, eggshells, fruit skins and vegetable peelings
  • Raw and cooked meat and fish, including bones
  • Leftovers and food that is no longer safe to eat

Not in this one

  • Packaging, milk, liquid oils and fats
  • Anything that is not food, including animal food

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

Green garden wheelie bin · Garden waste

Bin · Every two weeks

Yes please

  • Grass cuttings, leaves, hedge clippings and small twigs
  • Dead plants and flowers
  • Hay, straw or wood shavings from rabbits, guinea pigs and other small herbivores

Not in this one

  • General waste and black bags
  • Soil, stones, rubble, logs, large wood and garden furniture
  • Japanese knotweed, animal faeces and food waste

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

Check your bin day

Use Torfaen’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.torfaen.gov.uk(opens in a new tab)

Set your own bin day

These dates are the ones you enter. BinWeek does not get them from Torfaen. Check them on the council’s site (opens in a new tab) (www.torfaen.gov.uk).

Purple-lidded bin for rubbish that cannot be recycled or composted · General waste

The council’s pages say this is collected every two weeks. Your round may differ, so use the pattern you were given.

Blue bag for cardboard and brown or grey packaging paper · Paper and card

The council’s pages say this is collected every week. Your round may differ, so use the pattern you were given.

Red bag for tins, cans, cartons and plastic containers · Mixed recycling

The council’s pages say this is collected every week. Your round may differ, so use the pattern you were given.

Black box, also used for bagged paper, batteries, textiles and small electricals · Glass

The council’s pages say this is collected every week. Your round may differ, so use the pattern you were given.

Brown food caddy · Food waste

The council’s pages say this is collected every week. Your round may differ, so use the pattern you were given.

Green garden wheelie bin · Garden waste

The council’s pages say this is collected every two weeks. Your round may differ, so use the pattern you were given.

Add to calendar

A private calendar link for the pattern you entered, with an alert at 6pm the evening before. The link contains those days. BinWeek does not keep a copy, and anyone with the link can see them.

Email me the night before

You can still add these days to your calendar.

How often each bin is collected

Collection frequency by bin for Torfaen
BinCollected
Purple-lidded bin for rubbish that cannot be recycled or composted · General wasteEvery two weeks
Blue bag for cardboard and brown or grey packaging paper · Paper and cardEvery week
Red bag for tins, cans, cartons and plastic containers · Mixed recyclingEvery week
Black box, also used for bagged paper, batteries, textiles and small electricals · GlassEvery week
Brown food caddy · Food wasteEvery week
Green garden wheelie bin · Garden wasteEvery two weeks

Garden waste

Garden waste is collected free of charge. The green bin is emptied every 2 weeks from March to November. The green-bin page does not mention a fee or a signup. Food still goes in the brown caddy, not the green bin.

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

If your bin was missed

Put containers out by 6am, where the property meets the pavement, with cardboard inside the blue bag and no side waste by the purple bin. The bin-day page says to report a missed collection after 4pm on the collection day and within 24 hours. The purple-bin page says the crew will not return for a purple bin except for access problems, a recorded damaged bin, or a missed assisted collection. The blue bag and black box pages say that if the container was out by 6am and was not emptied, you should report it immediately. The bin-day page: after 4pm, and within 24 hours. The container pages: immediately, if it was out by 6am.

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

Good to know in Torfaen

  • The purple bin must shut. Side waste, or recycling left in it, can draw a fixed penalty notice of £100. A replacement purple bin is £5 unless the crew damaged it on the round. New residents are charged £66 for a full set of containers unless a developer already provided them.
  • Flatten cardboard so it fits the blue bag. Extra cardboard beside the bag must be no bigger than the bag. Tetra Pak cartons are a red-bag item, not a blue-bag item. Wrapping paper is rubbish, not cardboard.
  • If the council liners run out, the brown-caddy page allows a supermarket carrier bag or a bread bag. Animal food is refused. Hubs will hand over a maximum of two recycling boxes, caddies or bags per visit.
  • The black box takes glass, bagged paper, bagged batteries and bagged textiles, plus electricals that fit inside 30cm x 30cm x 30cm. Larger electricals go to the household recycling centre or a bulky booking. The waste number on the bin-day page is 01495 762200, and the email is waste@torfaen.gov.uk.
  • Green-bin garden waste includes grass, leaves, hedge clippings, dead plants and the bedding of small herbivores. It excludes soil, Japanese knotweed, animal faeces and food. There is no winter green-bin round after November on the pages we read.
  • Two missed-bin instructions sit on the site together. Bin day says report after 4pm and within 24 hours. The blue bag and the black box say report immediately if the container was out by 6am and was not emptied. The purple bin is not returned except for access, damage or an assisted collection.

Bin questions in Torfaen

What is collected every week in Torfaen?

The blue bag, the red bag, the brown caddy and the black box. The purple-lidded bin is every 2 weeks. The green bin is every 2 weeks from March to November. Everything goes out by 6am.

Will Torfaen come back for a purple bin?

Only if access was blocked, the bin was recorded as damaged, or an assisted collection was missed. Any other reason waits until the next scheduled collection. The bin still has to have been out before 6am.

When does Torfaen empty the green bin?

Every 2 weeks from March to November. The page does not mention a fee. Grass, leaves, small hedge clippings, dead plants and small-pet bedding can go in. Soil, food, animal faeces and Japanese knotweed cannot.

Guides that may help

Nearby councils