Brown bin waste

What to put in a brown bin, putting your bin out, text reminders, uncollected waste, tags, new or extra bins.

Weekly brown bin collections are coming

Some residents will see changes to green and blue bin days when the rollout reaches their area.

Check if your dates are changing

Read about the weekly brown bin collection

About your brown bin

Your brown bin is for disposing of garden waste and food waste.

The council provides a free kitchen caddy and liners to help you collect food waste in your kitchen, before putting it in your brown bin.

It’s currently collected every fortnight, but from February 2026, weekly collections will begin to help recycle more food waste.

Find out more about the weekly brown bin collections.

Help us recycle more food in the East Riding!

What can I put in my brown bin?

You must only place garden or food waste in your brown bin.

Take a look at what can go in, and what can’t:

Find out what goes in your bins

When and where should I put my brown bin out?

Find out more information about when and where to put your brown bin out on the bin collection dates page.

Can you remind me to put my brown bin out?

The free East Riding App

East Riding council has introduced a new bin collection app. It’s free to download.

Apple App Store icon

Google Play Store icon

Further information can be found on the download the East Riding app page.

Why wasn’t my brown bin collected?

The most common reasons for a brown bin not being collected are:

  • you didn’t put it out before 7am on your scheduled collection day

  • it wasn’t accessible to our crew

  • the lid wasn’t fully closed

  • there was a reason why we couldn’t accept your waste and a tag will have been attached to your bin explaining why

  • parked vehicles may have stopped our bin lorry reaching your property

  • it’s before 4.30pm on the day of collection - the bin crew may still come and collect your waste.

If none of the above reasons apply, find out if we can come back and collect it for you.

What can I do with extra garden and food waste?

If your brown bin is full and you can’t wait for the next collection, you can:

  • bring garden waste to any household waste recycling site (HWRS) to be composted. Food waste cannot be recycled at an HWRS, so please separate it from your garden waste, and leave it in your brown bin for your next scheduled collection.
    Please note: for the health and safety of yourself and others you must not bring wheelie bins to an HWRS.
  • book and pay for a bulky collection for your garden waste.
    Please note: we do not compost garden waste when we collect it as part of a bulky collection.
  • compost garden waste and most food items at home.

Why is there a tag on my brown bin?

We’ll leave a tag on your bin if we haven’t been able to empty it because:

  • there was something in there we do not collect

  • it’s too heavy to tip into the bin lorry.

The tag lists items that shouldn’t be in your brown bin. Remove any such items and place your bin out on your next collection date.

Find out what you can do with extra garden or food waste if you can’t wait this long.

What happens to the waste I put in my brown bin?

All the waste you put in your brown bin is taken to an in-vessel composting (IVC) facility where it’s processed over time to become compost.

Read more about how we recycle your food waste, and why it’s good for the environment.

Are there any other ways to reduce food waste?

Find out more about how to reduce, reuse and recycle waste and how it can help save money.

Can you collect my Christmas tree?

During January, we will take away your Christmas tree if you leave it beside your brown bin.

Please make sure the tree is cut into lengths of 5 feet (1.5 metres) or less so that it will fit into the collection vehicle.

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Important:
Please make sure no plastic goes in your brown bin, such as plant pots, plastic bags and food packaging.

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