Important: changes to black bin collections for kerbside properties

In March 2025, black bin collections will be changing in Waltham Forest. 

If you live in a kerbside property, your black bin will be collected once every two weeks, instead of every week. This change will start on either the week beginning Monday 24 March, or the week beginning Monday 31 March. 

If you live in a block of flats or property where you use communal bins, your general waste will continue to be collected every week. 

Every kerbside household in the borough will receive information through their door outlining these changes, and information on exactly which items can go in each of your bins.  

Green recycling bins and brown food waste bins will continue to be collected every week. Brown garden waste bins will continue to be collected every other week as usual. We provide all kerbside offers free of charge. 

This change brings us in line with other London boroughs and underlines our commitment to recycling as much as possible, leading the way to becoming a net-zero borough. 

While our recycling rates have been improving, some 85 per cent of the current contents of black bins could be recycled, cutting black bin waste down to a minimum. Roughly 30 per cent of this figure includes food waste. Since the introduction of separate food waste recycling in autumn 2024, we’ve been regularly collecting more than 100 tonnes per week of food waste.  

Green recycling bins take paper, cardboard and glass, while items such as batteries, textiles and small electrical goods can be left on top of green bins for separate collection. Large item collections can be booked via the Council service here. We also have a Reuse and Repair Directory for getting items repaired within Waltham Forest. 

We also have two Reuse and Recycling Centres in the borough where a wide range of items can be taken for reuse, recycling or disposal – including books, bicycles, paints, electrical appliances, printer cartridges, and much more. 

Find out more about our Reuse and Recycling Centres. 

Cllr Clyde Loakes, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Climate and Air Quality, says: 

“We’re constantly improving our recycling rates in Waltham Forest, and we’ve worked to make it as easy as possible to recycle a wide range of materials, reducing the need to use black bins. Alongside this, we’ve had the successful opening of a Library of Things, enabling residents to borrow items for one-time use, and our Reuse and Recycling Centres help to bring life back to items like bicycles, furniture and paint. 

By reusing and recycling as much as possible, we all play our part in achieving net-zero in our borough and making it a greener place to live. It’s action that we can all take to help the environment, locally and nationally.”