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Tower Hamlets bin collection days

Tower Hamlets does not give most households a rubbish bin at all. Residents buy black sacks for rubbish and use clear sacks, or a purple recycling bin where there is one, for recycling. Most homes are collected weekly, some properties have a daily collection, and the borough's weekly food waste service is deferred under the 2024 transitional regulations.

Last checked against 4 sources (www.towerhamlets.gov.uk, www.legislation.gov.uk).

What goes in each bin

Black sacks for rubbish · General waste

Sack · Every week

Yes please

  • Household rubbish, bagged in black sacks and securely tied
  • Rubbish that has been kept inside your property until the scheduled day

Not in this one

  • Recycling, which goes in clear sacks or purple bins
  • Rubbish left out at any time other than the scheduled day of collection
  • Rubbish left loose, rather than bagged and tied, or with the area around the sacks not kept clear

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

Clear sacks or purple recycling bin · Mixed recycling

Sack · Every week

Yes please

  • Empty aerosols and clean aluminium foil
  • Glass bottles and jars of all colours, rinsed
  • Plastic bottles of any type, rinsed
  • Food and drink cans
  • Food and drink cartons, rinsed
  • Cardboard, including brown boxes, greeting cards and cereal boxes, flattened
  • Paper, including cards, wrapping paper that is not shiny, and telephone directories
  • Plastic pots, tubs, trays, punnets and yoghurt pots, rinsed, with film removed

Not in this one

  • Shiny wrapping paper
  • Plastic bags, which some supermarkets collect
  • Batteries, which go to the reuse and recycling centre
  • Electrical items, which go to the reuse and recycling centre
  • Clothes and shoes, which go to charity shops or textile banks
  • Traditional light bulbs

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

Check your bin day

Use Tower Hamlets’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.towerhamlets.gov.uk(opens in a new tab)

How often each bin is collected

Collection frequency by bin for Tower Hamlets
BinCollected
Black sacks for rubbish · General wasteEvery week
Clear sacks or purple recycling bin · Mixed recyclingEvery week

Food waste and the national recycling rules

Tower Hamlets has a transitional arrangement for weekly food waste. Tower Hamlets is listed in the schedule to the Environment Act 2021 (Commencement No. 9 and Transitional Provisions) Regulations 2024, with a food waste collection date of 1 April 2027. The council's own recycling guide says some households in the borough already take part in a food waste collection scheme, so check whether your block is one of them.

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

If your bin was missed

Collections may be delayed by up to a day. Wait 24 hours after your scheduled collection, then report the missed collection on the council's online form. The council asks you to wait for 24 hours after the scheduled bin collection before you report it.

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

Your nearest tip

Good to know in Tower Hamlets

  • Some properties have a daily rubbish and recycling collection. The council says the rubbish and recycling in those properties must go in the right sacks, black for rubbish and clear for recycling, and be kept inside the property at all other times. Timed daily collections have their own roads and times on a separate page.
  • All other residential properties have a weekly collection. Leave containers at the edge of your property by 7am where the crew can see them from the road. The council says it does not provide containers for rubbish, so you need to buy black sacks, and you may want a small bin to store them in.
  • The council asks you to bag your rubbish before it goes in a bin, tie sacks securely and keep the area around your bin or sacks clear on collection day.
  • Your rubbish and recycling is collected on the same day every week, except for Christmas, New Year and bank holidays, when it is usually collected one day later. Changes are advertised on the council's collection pages.
  • If you live in a house with a garden, the council says it provides a reusable green bag for grass, twigs and leaves and empties it every week. A real Christmas tree can be left on the boundary of your property on your garden waste or food waste day.
  • If no one in your household can carry rubbish out, ask about an assisted collection on 020 7364 5000. Do not leave mattresses out with domestic waste, because the council says you may be fined for doing so.
  • The Reuse and Recycling Centre is for Tower Hamlets residents only. Bring proof of identity and address, and note that it does not accept tyres, plasterboard, asbestos, liquids or trade waste. Only one car boot load a month of DIY waste is allowed, and there is a 1.94 metre height restriction.

Bin questions in Tower Hamlets

How often are bins collected in Tower Hamlets?

Most residential properties have a weekly collection of rubbish and recycling on the same day each week. Some properties have a daily collection, and the council says collections are usually one day later at Christmas, New Year and bank holidays.

Does Tower Hamlets collect food waste?

Not borough-wide yet. Tower Hamlets is listed in the 2024 transitional regulations with a food waste collection date of 1 April 2027, although the council says some households already take part in a food waste scheme.

What can I put in recycling in Tower Hamlets?

Residents can recycle aerosols, foil, glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles, cans, cardboard, cartons, paper and plastic pots, tubs and trays through the clear sacks and purple recycling bins, rinsed where needed.

When is the Tower Hamlets recycling centre open?

It is open Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm, Saturday and Sunday 9am to 6pm, and bank holidays 9am to 4.30pm. It is on Yabsley Street, E14 9RG, and is for residents only.

Guides that may help

Nearby councils