Developers and managing agents - bins for your properties

Please return a completed form with all supporting documents per newly built property to the Recycling Team by email to apply for the provision of household recycling and waste services to a newly built property.

We will aim to respond to all complete applications within ten working days.

Providing, storing and maintaining bins is the responsibility of the developer or managing agent of a property.

When planning permission for a property development is requested, the Council's Recycling Team will tell the developer how many bins will be required for the number of dwellings and what space is needed to store them.

Properties with access to metal communal bins are provided with a refuse, recycling, and food waste collection service. Properties with access to one set of plastic two-wheeled bins are provided with a refuse, recycling, food waste, and garden waste collection service.

Waltham Forest Council do not sell metal communal refuse or recycling bins, but they can be hired for an annual charge which is worked out pro-rata if bins are hired part-way through the financial year. The annual charge includes replacements for if a communal bin becomes damaged but not for if a communal bin is stolen. Communal food waste bins are currently provided free of charge.

Plastic, two-wheeled refuse, recycling, and garden waste bins can be purchased from Waltham Forest Council at a cost of £30 per bin. Outdoor food waste caddies and kitchen caddies are currently provided free of charge.

Weekly food waste collections are a mandatory collection service in Waltham Forest as of Autumn 2024.

At least eight weeks before residents move into a new build property, the developer or managing agent must complete the  new build application form (Word) for the provision of household recycling and waste collection services at newly built properties and send it by email to the Recycling Team to begin the process for signing off waste collections. This is to allow adequate time for any additional information to be provided, any issues to be addressed, and for an on-site meeting to be arranged at the development.

When planning permission for a new build property is requested, we will tell the developer or managing agent how many bins will be required for the number of dwellings and what space is needed to store these.

Once the Recycling Team receives a fully completed application form for waste collections at newly built properties, a representative of the Recycling Team will aim to respond within ten working days.

If the application form is incomplete or unsatisfactory, the Recycling Team's concerns will be outlined by email in response and the new build signing off process will not continue until all the concerns have been addressed with a new application form.

When a satisfactory application form has been received, then a representative of the Recycling Team and a representative from the Council's contractor will need to conduct a mandatory on-site meeting with a decision-maker on behalf of the developer or managing agent. Ideally, this will need to take place two weeks before residents move into the new build property.

For the on-site meeting to go ahead, a number of prerequisites must be met by the developer and managing agent:

• the road on which the property is accessed from must be finished, accessible, and signed off by the Council's Highways department; or there must be an agreement in place at the time of the visit between the developer and the Council's Highways department
• the bin store or bin area must be clear of any building materials or debris
• the bin store or bin area must have safe, functional lighting
• if bins have been privately procured, then they must be ready on-site during the meeting
• if a key or fob is required to access the bin store or bin area, then a number sufficient for all mandatory collection services in Waltham Forest must be provided during the meeting. The Recycling Team will confirm this number when organising the on-site meeting

The Recycling Team will not deliver any metal communal bins until an on-site meeting with the developer or managing agent has been completed and signed off.

Metal communal refuse and recycling bins can be hired for an annual charge from April-March. Charges are calculated pro-rata if bins are hired part-way through the financial year and includes replacements for if a communal bin becomes damaged but not for if a communal bin is stolen. Hire charge prices are available upon request.

Food waste recycling is a mandatory collection service in Waltham Forest as of Autumn 2024. Food waste recycling units and kitchen caddies are currently provided to developers and managing agents free of charge.

For properties with four or fewer dwellings, plastic two-wheeled bins and food waste caddies provide sufficient container capacity for all mandatory collection services in Waltham Forest.

Plastic two-wheeled bins can be purchased at a cost of £30 per bin. Outdoor food waste caddies and kitchen caddies are currently provided free of charge upon request.

Refuse bins are provided in a standard 140 litre size. Large (240 litre) refuse bins can be requested under exceptional circumstances relating to the occupants of a property.

Recycling and garden waste bins can be provided in the standard or large size upon request.

If communal bins are procured independently of the Council, the managing agent or developer must contact the Recycling Team by email before any order is placed with the supplier. This is so the specifications of the bins can be checked to ensure compliance with Waltham Forest specification guidelines before any order is placed. 

Communal bins must comply with Waltham Forest specification guidelines so that they can be lifted and emptied by Waltham Forest collection vehicles safely.

Guidance on the specifications of Waltham Forest Council compliant communal bins can be found on page 13 of the Council's Waste and Recycling Policy for Developers (PDF).

Once an order has been placed for independently procured communal bins, paperwork must be provided to the Recycling Team to confirm that the invoice paid for the bins complies with the Council's communal bin specifications. The independently procured communal bins must be on-site during the on-site meeting between the Recycling Team, the Council's contractor, and a decision-maker from the developer or managing agent for a newly built property to be signed off for scheduled collections.

If bins are ordered from an independent supplier without providing the specification to the Recycling Team, this can cause delays in waste collection services being provided to the property.

If the access to bins is changing, the managing agent must let the Recycling Team know at least one month in advance. Asking the Recycling Team for feedback on proposed changes prior to this will help developers ensure that any adverse impacts on collection services are minimised.

Examples of a change of access to bins that the Recycling Team need to be notified about include:

• a new gate
• a new code
• a new lock
• construction of a new bin store
• bins being relocated

If a key or fob is required for the proposed new access requirements, then a number sufficient for all mandatory collection services in Waltham Forest must be provided before the proposed new access requirements come into effect. The Recycling Team will confirm this number when providing feedback on the proposed new access requirements.

To ensure any impact to collection services provided to residents is avoided, the following steps will need to be completed when access to bins is changing:

1. The managing agent emails recyclingteam@walthamforest.gov.uk with the following information:
   • the full address of the property
   • the current access requirements
   • the proposed new access requirements
   • when the proposed new access requirements would come into effect
2. If new fobs or keys are required to access bins, the required number of copies will need to be delivered to the Recycling Team to ensure all mandatory collection services in Waltham Forest can be carried out.

The Recycling Team will provide delivery instructions for new keys and fobs when providing feedback on the proposed new access requirements.

New keys or fobs should always be delivered directly to the Recycling Team and should never be handed directly to collection crews.

After receiving new keys, fobs, or access codes, these will be tested by the Recycling Team before being handed over to the Council's contractor to ensure that the bins are accessible.

No collection services will be provided by Waltham Forest Council where collection arrangements have not been signed off by the Council's Recycling Team and the Council's contractor.

A non-exhaustive list of examples where this will be the case includes if:

• a complete application form for the provision of household recycling and waste services has not been provided to the Council's Recycling Team with all requested supporting documents
• a mandatory site visit between the developer or managing agent, the Council's Recycling Team, and the Council's contractor has not been carried out
• non-compliant bins have been procured independently
• mandatory works have not been completed
• a change in bin store access has been implemented without notifying the Council's Recycling Team

This will be the case until all issues have been rectified, even if residents occupy the property and are producing waste.

While this is the case, it is the responsibility of the developer and managing agent to collect household waste from the property.

Failure to clear household waste may lead to enforcement action under the Environment Protection Act 1990 and any other relevant legislation.