Huntingdonshire Bin Collection is owned and operated by Huntingdonshire District Council. bins are collected on different days depending on where you are located in the Huntingdonshire area. You can easily find your bin collection day by using the link below.
🌱 Garden Waste Subscription, Pricing & FAQ
Manage your annual garden waste subscription, explore pricing structures, payment choices, sticker placement rules, and essential service FAQs below.
💷 Annual Subscription Pricing Structure
| Subscription Tier | Cost (Per Year) | Key Details |
|---|---|---|
| First Garden Waste Bin | £57.50 | Runs annually from 1 April to 31 March (full year fee applies regardless of join date). |
| Additional Bins (Max 3 extra) | £30.00 each | Delivered within 10 working days upon request. |
💳 Payment Methods & Setup
- Direct Debit: Automatic annual renewal. Takes up to 2 weeks to activate. (Auto-renews if used last year).
- Credit/Debit Card: Quick setup within a couple of days, but requires manual yearly renewal.
- Stickers: Posted within 2 weeks of payment. Apply clearly to the rear of the bin just below the handles.
🌿 Permitted Garden Materials
- Weeds, leaves, flowers, plants, and windfall fruit
- Hedge trimmings and grass cuttings
- Small twigs and branches (under 2.5cm / 1 inch thickness)
- Shredded paper and cold garden ashes
- Small vegetarian pet bedding (rabbits, guinea pigs)
❌ Strictly Prohibited Items
- Kitchen food waste (use your weekly food caddy instead)
- Soil, turf, compost, stones, and rubble
- Thick branches or logs over 2.5cm in diameter
- Plastic bags, bin bags, flowerpots, trays, and textiles
- Animal waste and general household rubbish
💬 Frequently Asked Questions
How do I cancel or update my Direct Debit?
Cancel directly with your bank before renewal to stop payments. To update account details, contact customer support or email the waste team directly.
How long do unneeded bin removals take?
Unwanted bins must be left empty, accessible, and visible outside your property. Removals can take up to 6 weeks.
Why is food waste no longer allowed in garden bins?
By law, council food waste collections cannot be charged for. Since the garden service carries a subscription fee, kitchen food waste must instead go into your weekly food waste caddy/bin.
🍏 Complete Weekly Food Waste Service Guide
Under the Environment Act 2021, weekly food waste collections are now active for all households and communal properties across the region. Review how the service works, accepted items, locking mechanisms, and environmental benefits below.
🗑️ Caddy Sizes & Operation
- Indoor Caddy: 7-litre grey container for kitchen worktop use.
- Outdoor Bin: 23-litre grey container with a locking handle to secure against animals and strong winds.
- Collection Timing: Weekly pickups on your standard waste day (place out by 6:30 AM with the handle locked upright).
- Liners: Optional (compostable or non-compostable liners/newspaper allowed; thick plastic bags or black sacks are prohibited).
✅ What CAN Go In
- Raw and cooked meat, bones, and fish
- Dairy products, cheese, and eggs
- Teabags and coffee grounds
- Rice, pasta, beans, bread, cakes, and pastries
- Raw and cooked vegetables, whole fruit, and peelings
- Pet food
❌ What CANNOT Go In
- Liquids (milk, oil, or fat)
- Plastic film or packaging
- Garden waste
- Pet waste (bedding, litter, faeces)
- Contaminated bins will be left uncollected until sorted.
♻️ What Happens to Your Food Waste? (Anaerobic Digestion)
Collected food waste is sent to sealed tanks where microbes break it down without oxygen. This process generates biogas (converted into renewable electricity, heat, or green gas) and a nutrient-rich fertiliser used on farmland.
Did you know? An average family of four discards roughly £1,000 worth of food a year. Diverting this waste from landfill reduces harmful methane emissions and cuts community waste processing costs.
🤝 Assisted Collections & Alternative Bin Options
If you are unable to move your bins to the kerbside yourself and have no able-bodied person living with you, the council offers an assisted collection service.
👤 How Assisted Collections Work
- Service: Crews collect your bin directly from its storage spot, empty it, and return it to the same location.
- Eligibility: Available for elderly, disabled, infirm, or visually impaired residents with no other help at home.
- Storage Condition: Bins or sacks must be stored on the ground floor to qualify.
📞 How to Apply
- Phone: Call customer support directly at 01480 388640.
- Online Portal: Submit an application through the council's resident assistance forms.
🔄 Alternative: Smaller Bins
- Lighter Load: If you don't need an assisted collection but struggle with a standard bin, you can request a smaller wheeled bin.
- Dimensions: It matches the height of a regular bin but is narrower, holding less waste to make it much lighter and easier to manage.
♻️ What Goes in My Bins? (Sorting Guide)
To prevent collection refusal due to contamination or weight issues, review the accepted and prohibited materials across all household waste streams below.
📊 Stream 1: Recycling vs. Domestic General Waste
| ✅ Recycling: Accepted | ❌ Recycling: Prohibited | ✅ Domestic: Accepted | ❌ Domestic: Prohibited |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Plastic bottles, tubs, trays, clean film, carrier & bread bags. Glass bottles/jars, paper, card, magazines, cans, aerosols, foil, cartons. |
Food, textiles, clothes, black bin bags, batteries, polystyrene, crisp packets, hard plastics, Pyrex, paint tins, tissues, wood. |
Non-recyclable/non-compostable general household rubbish. Polystyrene, cigarette ends, cat/dog waste, nappies, sanitary waste, wet wipes, tissues. |
Hot ashes, heavy materials, WEEE electricals, batteries, light bulbs, liquids, oil, paint, building/DIY waste. |
📊 Stream 2: Food Waste vs. Garden Waste
| ✅ Food Waste: Accepted | ❌ Food Waste: Prohibited | ✅ Garden Waste: Accepted | ❌ Garden Waste: Prohibited |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw/cooked meat, bones, fish, gristle, cheese, eggs/shells, teabags, coffee grounds, rice, pasta, baked goods, vegetables, fruit, peelings, pet food. | Liquids (milk, oil, fat), plastic film or packaging, garden waste, pet waste (bedding, litter, faeces). | Grass cuttings, hedge trimmings, leaves, twigs/branches (<2.5cm thick), Christmas trees, untreated wood, shredded paper, straw, sawdust, cold ashes. | Food waste, plastic bags (including compostable/biodegradable), soil, turf, compost, treated wood, rubble, thick logs, pet waste. |
📌 Important Extra Sacking Rules
Extra recycling will only be collected if placed in clear/transparent sacks next to your bin. For domestic general waste, excess outside the bin is not collected, and sack collections must strictly utilize the blue sacks provided.
☣️ Dangerous & Hazardous Waste Disposal
Hazardous materials pose a direct risk to human health and the environment. Review proper handling protocols and disposal routes for dangerous items below.
⚠️ Asbestos & Batteries
- Asbestos: Strictly classed as hazardous. Handle with extreme care and never break it up; requires specialist disposal.
- Batteries: Car and household batteries can be recycled at household recycling centres (Alconbury, Bluntisham, St Neots) or via retail collection bins.
🧪 Chemicals, Paint & Solvents
- Disposal Sites: Chemicals, pesticides, engine oil, and solvents go to recycling centres in Alconbury, Bluntisham, and St Neots.
- Paint: Accepted at St Neots only (processed via REMO for community reuse/donation).
- Warning: Never pour chemicals down drains to prevent environmental damage.
💉 Public Needles & Syringes
- Do Not: Touch, separate parts, flush, put in litter bins, or hide them.
- Safety Action: You may cover it to prevent injury (make sure the cover is obvious), then report its exact location to the council immediately.
🐾 Dead Animals & Wildlife Protocol
Private landowners are responsible for dead animal removal on private property. The council removes animals (cats, dogs, ducks, muntjac deer, badgers, foxes) from council land and non-busy roads.
- Microchips: Cats and dogs are scanned for microchip tracking to contact owners; un-collared/un-chipped pets go to Vetspeed.
- Rivers & Water: Report dead swans or floating river animals directly to the Environment Agency hotline at 0800 807060.
🏥 Clinical, Hygiene & Sharps Waste Disposal
Clinical waste is tightly controlled and must never mix with normal household refuse. Review what types are collected, how hygiene waste is managed, and rules for sharps below.
🛡️ What We Collect (Clinical)
- Dialysis Waste: Arranged via your Clinical Commissioning Group or healthcare care team.
- Infectious Waste: Swabs and dressings from self-treatment at home (requires written GP/healthcare team confirmation; call 01480 388640).
- Sharps: Can be returned free to participating pharmacies. Home collection available for a fee of £8 per collection for sealed boxes.
🧻 Household Hygiene Waste
- Non-Hazardous: Incontinence pads, stoma/catheter bags, nappies, sanitary items, syringes (needles removed), and pet waste go into normal household refuse.
- Odour Control: Double wrap and tie waste securely in plastic bags. Additional bins or blue sacks can be requested if space runs short.
❌ Commercial Restrictions
- No Commercial Clinical Service: The council does not remove clinical waste from commercial premises (businesses must hire a private contractor).
- Data Sharing Note: Details for home clinical collections are shared with an outside contractor to execute pickups.
🚨 Report a Missed Bin & Collection Troubleshooting Guide
Collections take place between 6:30 AM and 3:00 PM. Check local Facebook updates first, review common reasons for collection refusal below, or submit a missed bin report online.
⏰ Timing, Placement & Subscriptions
- Timing: Bins must be out by 6:30 AM (routes vary, so collection times fluctuate).
- Placement: Must be at the exact property boundary meeting the highway (unless on assisted collection).
- Garden Subscriptions: Unpaid garden waste subscriptions will result in missed or uncollected garden bins.
⚖️ Contamination & Weight Limits
- Wrong Materials: Contaminated bins are left behind with an explanatory information hanger.
- Overfilling: Lids must close fully. Excess general/garden waste is left behind (though extra clear-sack recycling is accepted).
- Weight: Bins that are too heavy for crews or mechanical lifts to handle safely will not be emptied.
⌛ Delays & Reporting Rules
- Standard Rounds: Crews operate until 3:00 PM. Please do not report a missed bin before this time.
- Reporting Window: Submit reports after 3:00 PM on collection day and within 3 days.
- Recollection: Crews will return within 3 working days. Keep your bin out at the collection point until emptied.
🌐 Submit a Missed Bin Report
Ensure none of the refusal conditions apply, then file your missed collection request directly through the official council portal.
Report Missed Residential Bin Online ↗
