A new bin collection service starts in North Herts from 4 August 2025.
Veolia will take over the shared waste contract for North and East Herts. Their new fleet of waste and recycling trucks will expand the range of home recycling that we can offer, align bin provision and collection between the two districts, and work to a new collection cycle.
Visit our frequently asked questions page for more information.
New blue-lidded bins for cardboard and paper will be delivered to you
Between May and July you will receive a new 240 litre blue-lidded bin for cardboard and paper, replacing the lidless blue box. These bins will be delivered with instructions not to use them until the new service starts after 4 August. We are delivering them early as we have over 200,000 to get out ready for when the new service begins.
Some households will receive new re-usable sacks for collecting cardboard and paper. These are for houses and flats with no off-street storage, or terraced properties which front onto the road where residents have no access to rear garden storage.
The new three-weekly collection cycle
Food recycling will remain weekly, and a new three-weekly collection rota will be introduced from 4 August 2025 for:
- Mixed recycling
- Cardboard and paper
- Non-recyclable waste
Flats and households with communal bin areas will mostly remain on their current two week cycle. Where this is not the case, we will post separate information to residents.
| Type of bin | When | What goes in |
|---|---|---|
| Food waste (23 litre brown caddy) |
Weekly | Food waste, this includes: - All leftovers, including pet food and plate scrapings - Dairy, cheese and eggs (including shells) - Bread and pastries, pasta and rice - Raw and cooked meat and fish, bones and carcasses - Tea bags and coffee grounds - Fruit and vegetable peelings Please do not include: x Liquids/oils/fats x Plastic food wrappings and packaging x Anything that is not food! Recycling your food waste is good for the environment and reduces the amount of waste in your purple-lidded bin. Visit our food waste page for recycling tips or to request a replacement outside 23-litre caddy. |
| Mixed recycling (240 litre black-lidded bin) |
Every three weeks | Dry recyclable waste, empty and rinsed clean, including: - Glass bottles and jars - Plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays - Cartons ('Tetrapaks') - Food tins and drink cans - Aerosols and cleaning trigger sprays - New! From 4 August: loose plastic bags and plastic wrappings Please do not include: x Batteries & vapes (can cause dangerous emissions and fires) x Clothes/textiles/shoes (these clog and break our machinery) x Glass other than unbroken glass bottles and jars x Cardboard (goes into the cardboard & paper bin from August) x Polystyrene |
| Cardboard and paper (240 litre blue-lidded bin) |
Every three weeks | Cardboard and paper only, clean, dry and free from food residue, including: - Flattened cardboard boxes & corrugated card - Egg boxes and cereal boxes - Magazines and newspapers, envelopes and junk mail - Shredded paper Please do not include: x Soiled paper, including grease-contaminated wrappers x Foiled paper, like shiny gift wrap or cards with foil/embellishments x Paper towels (fibres too short to be recycled) x Paper cups and cartons wax or foil lined x Cotton wool/make-up pads/wipes x Polystyrene We will not be collecting the old blue boxes; please reuse them for storage, recycle them at your local Recycling Centre |
| Non-recyclable waste (180 litre purple-lidded bin) |
Every three weeks | Any waste that cannot be recycled. Please do not include: x Batteries, products with built-in (often rechargeable) batteries x Vapes x Clothes and textiles, shoes x Hard plastic & electricals x Bricks/rubble & soil x Hazardous material All of the above that cannot go into your bin can go to the relevant section of your local recycling centre. Also, loose batteries can go to local supermarket battery bins, clothes to charity shops, vapes to vape retailer exchange schemes, electricals to retail exchange schemes on a like-for-like basis. |
| Garden waste (subscription service 240 litre brown-lidded bin) |
Fortnightly | Garden waste, including: - Grass cuttings, hedge trimmings and pruning - Small tree prunings, branches and twigs - Flowers, weeks and fallen fruit - Plants with excess soil removed Collections remains fortnightly, with the exception of two weeks after Christmas. |
Why we are changing the service
- To give residents more recycling options by increasing the range of materials that can be recycled from home.
- To reach government targets for recycling household waste and meet government requirements for councils to:
- collect and recycle food waste and cardboard & paper separately, and
- include 'soft plastics' (plastic bags and wrappings) in our household recycling service - please note that soft plastic/plastic bags and wrappings do not need to be separated, and are permitted to be added loose into mixed recycling
- Changing collection frequencies to every three weeks, and aligning the bins and collections between East and North Herts, makes delivering the service more efficient and sustainable
- The changes were agreed in response to the public consultation held in the Summer of 2022 at North Herts Council's Cabinet and East Herts Council's Executive meeting in October 2022. Further updates were made in December 2023, with a confirmation of the waste service decisions in July 2024.
Households with additional needs
For anyone currently being supported with extra capacity, we will be writing to you separately. If you believe you may qualify for extra capacity and do not currently receive it, visit our extra capacity page.
The following households are eligible to apply for extra bin capacity:
- larger household with 6+ permanent residents
- homes with two or more children under 36 months
- adults using incontinence items/with medical needs
How the bin collection changes will be communicated
We will send more information directly to residents, including collection details, later this year.
You will receive a leaflet with your Council Tax bill, notifying you that the changes are coming, and to expect the new bin deliveries from May.
In addition:
- As we near August, a leaflet will be circulated with more information relevant to your household.
- We will be sending posters to libraries and community centres, town and parish councils.
- We will share information and updates on our North Herts Council Facebook page and other social media channels, plus ideas on waste reduction and 'recycling right'.
- There will be outreach work into the community to provide information to residents directly through Community Forums.
- Local media will be contacted with information for newspapers and online news sites.
Other awareness raising activities will be undertaken as we progress towards the new service start date. Keep checking this page for the latest information.