A guide to kerbside waste collection
Whether you live in a small flat or in a big house share, we’re sure you’ve faced the age old problem of waste collection. To help you keep your house waste and pest free, we’ve prepared a quick guide on waste collection for Cardiff.
When does my waste get collected?
At the time of writing this guide, the collection dates in Cathays are on Wednesdays and in Cardiff Bay they're on Fridays. Some parts of Roath are collected on Thursdays, whereas in others it will be on Fridays. Bin bags should be taken out no earlier than 4:30pm on the night before and no later than 6:00am on the collection day. It’s important to remember dates can change, particularly around bank holidays, so a good rule of thumb is to check with your neighbours or the Council’s website. You can even sign-up for their e-mail reminder system to avoid missing bin day!
Useful tip: keeping your bins tidy and managing your waste responsibly reduces not only the mess on the kerbside, but it will help keep pests away. We’ve all been woken up by at least one overly excited seagull on an early morning treasure hunt ripping through our bin bags! Check out our recycling guide for more information.
We’ve also compiled a summary of which items go in each waste type group and have included their collection frequency to help you manage your waste efficiently:
Food Waste
Food waste is collected weekly and it goes into caddy liners and placed into the brown caddies. You can dispose of cooked or raw food this way.
General Waste
General waste is collected fortnightly. Depending on the type of property you live in, general waste will either go into red-striped bags (for properties without forecourts) or in black bags placed in black wheelie bins (for properties with forecourts). You can dispose of any non-recyclable waste this way.
Garden Waste
The frequency of garden waste collection depends on the time of the year. During the spring and summer months garden waste is collected fortnightly. Outside of the spring and summer months, please check with your local council for collection dates. Garden waste goes into reusable white sacks or green wheelie bins. You can dispose of weeds, grass cuttings, dead plants and leaves this way.
Getting extra bags
Recycling bags and caddy liners are stocked in all Council hubs and libraries, as well as many shops or post offices. Check your nearest stocklist on the Council’s website. You can order them from their website too, but they try to limit this to customers who are not able to get to the stockists themselves.Unfortunately you wouldn’t be able to pick up extra red stripe bags. The Council deliver these twice a year and provide enough to put out up to 3 bags each fortnight. If you’re a larger household of 6 or more, you can contact them to ask for a recycling and waste assessment to see if you qualify for additional bags. Don’t be tempted to use another type of bag instead as your waste will not be collected and you may even face a fine!
Ordering bins
If your black wheelie bin is damaged or has gone missing (note: only properties with a forecourt have these) or you need a new brown food caddy, you can order them from the Council. There will be a charge for the black wheelie bin, but the food caddies are free.What to do if your bins haven’t been collected
There are a few reasons why your bins might not get collected. If your bins are not placed on the kerbside, they wouldn’t be taken away no matter how close to it they are. You’ll also need to make sure the bins aren’t over spilling - a good rule of thumb is that the lid needs to stay closed. If you’ve been a victim of a seagull attack and the bins have been ripped open, you’ll have to collect the rubbish, put it into a new bin bag and make sure it’s tied neatly and ready for collection. Alternatively, it might be a case of a genuine human error and your bins might have been missed. Whatever the reason, you can report missed collections via the Council website, but also make sure you’ve done everything on your end to avoid your bins not being collected. Don’t forget you can be fined if you persistently dispose of items incorrectly.