You’re allowed up to four blue bins for mixed recycling, and four green bins for food and garden waste.

In certain circumstances you can have a second black bin for general waste.

There is no charge for emptying your first green bin. If you want to have any additional bins emptied you must pay for a permit.

Pay for a green bin permit

• Use this option to renew your permit, or if you have an additional green bin(s) and need to pay for a permit(s) so that they will be emptied for 2024/25. If you require the bin as well, please use the links below.

If your property does not have space to store bins away from the pavement or road, we can provide sacks instead. Read about alternatives to bins below.

Black and blue bins are available in two sizes – standard and small. We issue them at our discretion.

• Standard bins: 107 × 48 × 74cm (240-litre capacity)
• Small bins: 107 × 48 × 56cm (140-litre capacity)

• If you’re moving into a newly built property, please check with the developer whether bins have been ordered before contacting us.
• Reporting a stolen or damaged bin should also be reported using this form.
• If you’re requesting a replacement bin, please make sure your bin is actually lost.
• If we’re collecting an old bin from you, please leave it at the front of your property where we can easily access it.

To amend or cancel an order, please email waste@scambs.gov.uk – make sure to tell us the order reference number.

Blue bins for mixed recycling

• Each property is allowed 4 blue bins – there is a £30 delivery charge for your third and fourth bins.
• There is no charge for emptying blue bins.
• Some homes might be given clear sacks instead, if there is no space for a bin.

Occasional extra recycling can be placed in a transparent sack and put next to the bin on collection day.

Some people might have a blue box for their recycling, instead of a blue bin or clear sacks. We no longer replace blue boxes, instead we will issue clear sacks as an alternative. We will always provide clear sacks when responding to new requests for an alternative to a blue bin.

Green bins for food and garden waste

• Green bins are collected fortnightly from March to November, and every four weeks from December to February.
• Each property is allowed 4 green bins.
• There is no charge for emptying your first green bin.
• Additional bins cost £45 each per year, and come with a permit valid until the end of September – renewing your permit every October costs £45 per bin.
• Some homes might be given brown sacks instead, if there is no space for a bin.
• Additional green bins permits: Terms and conditions [PDF, 45Kb]

Contact us at greenbinpermits@scambs.gov.uk if you change address or have any questions about additional green bins or permits.

Buy a new additional green bin

Buy a new additional green bin

• Use this form if you want to order a new additional green bin.
• You will automatically receive a permit when you have placed your order, so you do not need to order that separately.
• Please do not use this option if your bin is damaged or lost.

Buy a new additional green bin permit

Use this form if you already have an additional green bin but need to pay for a permit so that your bin will be emptied.

Buy a new additional green bin permit

Black bins for general waste

• Each property is allowed 1 black bin – some properties might be eligible for a second bin.
• There is a £30 delivery charge for an additional black bin.
• Second black bins will be delivered with a red sticker attached – we will not empty additional black bins without red stickers.
• Some homes might be given white sacks instead, if there is no space for a bin.

There is no charge for delivery of an additional black bin if somebody living at your property has medical needs that necessitate one. You might be interested in our domestic clinical and hygiene waste collections.

Eligibility

We’ll only deliver a second black bin to properties with six or more residents, or with two or more children in nappies.

We are committed to reducing the amount of waste we collect, so we regularly review whether additional bins are still needed. If an additional bin is no longer needed, we will take it away.

Alternatives to bins

If your property does not have space to store bins away from the pavement or road, we can instead provide:

• clear sacks for recycling
• brown paper sacks for food and garden waste
• white sacks for general waste (contact us via email or telephone to order white sacks)

If you have already used these alternatives and would like more, please use the form at the top of this page to request additional sacks.

We can also provide these alternatives if physical barriers prevent you from safely moving bins to the roadside.

We will empty up to four sacks per collection.

Contact us to discuss using sacks instead of bins. We will not empty them without prior arrangement.

Bins at new houses

A set of three 240-litre bins will be issued to new houses as standard - one blue, one green, and one black.

If you have moved into a new house and no bins have been delivered, check whether the developer or landlord has already ordered some before contacting us.

Bins issued to new houses cost £91 for a full set. Where S106 applies, the developer pays for the bins – otherwise the householder must pay.

Bins at blocks of flats

Contact us to order a communal bin for a block of flats. We’ll deliver a 660-litre or 1,100-litre wheeled bin, depending on the number of occupants that will use it and the available space.

• No delivery charge for blue or green bins
• Delivery charge applies for black bins

We only provide green bins for ground-floor flats that have their own garden. In this case the information given for green bins above applies.