Household rubbish collections

When is my household waste collected?

In Cornwall, we collect:

• rubbish every two weeks
• food waste every week
• recycling every two weeks, on the opposite week to rubbish 
• garden waste every two weeks, if you subscribe to the service 

Find your collection day, view and download your collection calendar 

How to put your rubbish out for collection

• Put your rubbish out by 7am on your collection day.
• Put it out at your usual collection point – for most homes that’s the property boundary.
• Only use the wheelie bin or protective sack we provided, with the lid closed.
• Do not leave extra bags of rubbish on top of or next to your bin– they won’t be collected.
• All rubbish must be bagged before going into your bin or sack.

What can go in your rubbish bin

Yes please:

• General household rubbish that can’t be recycled like. tissues, soft plastics and food and drink cartons

No thank you:

• Hazardous waste
• Batteries
• Electrical and electronic items
• Large items or bulky items
• Infectious clinical waste

What to do with items we can't collect 

You can take items like batteries, electricals and other waste to most of our Household Waste and Recycling Centres.

For items that are too large for the normal household rubbish or recycling collections, we offer a bulky waste collection service. There is a charge for this service.

Broken glass and sharp objects

Carefully wrap any broken glass or sharp objects or put them in a sturdy plastic container like an ice cream tub. Clearly label the package so the crew know there’s broken glass inside and leave it out on top of your wheelie bin or sack.

Assisted collections 

We offer an assisted collection service to people that are unable to move their waste to their property boundary for collection. Assisted collections allow you to pick an outside location closer to your property for us to collect your waste from.

Find out more about assisted waste collections 

What to do if you have extra rubbish

Most households who make full use of their recycling and food waste collections will find any rubbish that’s left fits easily in their bin or sack.

If you have extra rubbish from time to time, you can take it to one of our HWRCs and dispose of it there.

We will collect more rubbish from some households under certain exceptional circumstances. You must apply to us to review your fortnightly 180 litre rubbish limit.

What to do if your bin or sack doesn’t work for your property 

We have assessed the outside of every property on our household waste collections service and provided most with a wheelie bin for rubbish.

We gave some properties a protective sack instead, based on one or more of the following:

• limited outdoor space for storing a wheelie bin
• too many steps between where the bin would need to be stored and the collection point 
• the property is serviced by a specialist collection vehicle that’s smaller

If you think the bin or sack we’ve provided doesn’t work for your property, you can apply to us to review our assessment. We’ll consider exchanging it under certain circumstances. 

Missing or damaged wheelie bin or sack 

If your wheelie bin or sack is missing or damaged, you can request a replacement. Please note that we will collect the damaged one when delivering the new one. 

Bins and bags for new build or newly registered property

If you’ve moved into a new build or newly registered property and there are no bins or bags, you can request them from us.

Bins and bags for a new build or newly registered property 

Missed collections 

If you think we’ve missed your collection, visit our missed collections page to report it.

Report a missed collection

Tell us you're moving for households with extra bins 

If you’re moving house and we’ve given you an extra bin or sack for your rubbish, please get in touch two weeks before you move. 

Find out more about moving house with extra bins 

Household rubbish weight limits

To protect our crews and the lifting equipment on our vehicles, please make sure your bin or sack isn’t too heavy. If it’s difficult to move or for the vehicle to lift safely, we won’t be able to collect it.