Developers and managing agents - bins for your properties

The organisation of bins is the responsibility of the developer or managing agent.

It is the responsibility of the developer or managing agent to tell us when residents are moving into the property. This must be done no later than two weeks before the moving date.

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

Please note that communal refuse and recycling bins cannot be bough from us, but can be leased instead. 

To find out more about this and independent procurement of bins please read our refuse and recycling guidance.

What will happen if bins are not provided?

Properties that do not have suitable bins may not be entitled to our refuse and recycling collection service.

We may take enforcement action under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and / or other relevant legislation.

We will not empty any bin or receptacle other than those we have preapproved. Please refer to the refuse and recycling guidance for clarification.

Please see the refuse and recycling guidance for advice on what specifications you must adhere to.

When buying any 1,280, 1,100 or 660 litre bins you must ensure that the position of the comb bar adheres to the dimensions outlined in the drawing below (all measurements in millimetres). This is to ensure it can be emptied safely by the collection crew.

Please email wasteteam@walthamforest.gov.uk for any questions regarding the purchase of your own bins. These will need to be approved to ensure that the bins adhere to current specifications. 

Once the bins you have bought are at the property, please arrange a site visit with the Waste Team so they can attend the site to schedule the bins for collection.

Information we need from you

At least six weeks before residents move into your development, you must email our waste team to make arrangements for waste and recycling collections.

Please note that any new build requests that are submitted between Monday 19 December 2022 and Wednesday 4 January 2023 will be dealt with from Thursday 5 January 2023.

We need the following information:

• The name of the Managing Agent of the development;
• The contact details of the Managing Agent (full address, contact number, email address);
• The full address(es) of the development;
• The number of dwellings;
• Any important information on accessing the site (particularly if construction is still going on);
• The dates when the dwellings are being occupied;
• Details on the location of any bin stores. If you have a site plan showing these please provide it;
• If you require us to supply bins (at a cost to you) or if you are buying your own bins.
• If you are buying your own bins please consult our Waste Team once reading our ‘Ordering bins independently’ guidance on this page.

A representative from the Waste Team will need to conduct a site visit of your development as early as possible to evaluate access and bin storage capacity. If access to the bins will require a key or electronic fob you will need to supply copies of these.

Change of access

If the access to the bin store has changed; you will need to let our Waste Team know to ensure collections are not affected.

Email wasteteam@walthamforest.gov.uk and provide the following information:

• full address of the block
• confirm current access
• confirm new access
• When will the new access be in effect

You may need to provide copies of keys/fobs but this can be discussed with the team.

Example of changes that you need to let us know about:

• a new gate
• a new code
• or new locks