Our service to you
Worcester City Council is responsible for the collection of all municipal waste. Waste disposal is carried out in partnership with Worcestershire County Council. The Municipal Waste Management Strategy for Herefordshire & Worcestershire sets out the objectives of the two counties.
An alternate week wheelie bin scheme is operated in Worcester.
How the wheelie bin scheme works
Our policy for most properties is that two wheelie bins are provided and that they are emptied on alternate weeks. The general waste bin (180ltr black) is collected one week, the recyclable waste bin (240ltr green) the next week and so on. This means that each type of waste needs to be safely stored in the appropriate bin for two weeks.
Some households may not be able to have either or both wheelie bins. Those situations are assessed by the Council and the household may need to use sacks but on alternate weeks.
We collect domestic waste and recyclables on four days per week; Tuesday to Friday. The collection service operates between 7.00 and 16.45. Different arrangements apply at Easter and Christmas/New Year which are announced on this website.
Householders are asked to place refuse (sacks or wheelie bins depending on which scheme you are on) at the front edge of the property on the day of collection by 7.00am. Please note that your refuse should ALWAYS be placed out by 7.00am on your day of collection.
The refuse should be on your property and not positioned on the public highway where it could cause an obstruction. However, where there is no front edge to the property, you are allowed to place refuse, in a safe position, on the footpath on the day of collection. Bins stored at the rear of properties should be brought round to the front. Please note that you should always return your bin to your property following collection and bins must not be stored on the public highway on non-scheduled collection days.
If you use a communal bin store (shared by three or more properties), we will collect from that bin store. Where you have your own bin store (one or two properties), you will still be required to place your refuse out on the front edge of your property. For flats without communal bin stores (inc. upper floors), residents should take their refuse to the ground floor and place it at the front edge of the property. Refuse should not be left loose in bin stores but placed in the appropriate bin ready for collection.
If you are late or forget to place out your refuse, or if you are away from home on the day of collection, then please store it until the next collection. Refuse should not be left out in advance of the collection day as this could cause a health hazard. Occasionally, collection times can vary due to traffic, roadworks or breakdowns so the teams may take a different route. Therefore, householders should ensure their refuse or recycling is placed out by 7.00 on the day of collection. We cannot return to collect your refuse if you have placed it out after the vehicle has been.
Food waste in the black bins should be wrapped or contained within a bag. This will help keep the bin clean and reduce the potential for smells.
Recyclable materials should be placed loose into the green bin. As these materials should be clean, they will not create smells or a mess within the green bin.
View the recyclables that can be placed in the green wheelie bin
Householders who decide not to use the Council's refuse collection services can take their refuse/recycling to a household waste site.
If you are a landlord, a housing association, managing agent or developer for properties in Worcester and you are not on our wheelie bin scheme please contact us so that we can discuss your circumstances with you.
Properties on a sack collection
There are several properties that are not able to have wheelie bins and will remain on a sack collection. Black and Green sacks are supplied to these households in rolls of 52 for black and 40 for green collections.
Sacks are delivered to your property upon request, should you require replenishment of sacks please use our “Deliver/Collect/Replace bin or sack” request form.
Deliver/Collect/Replace bin or sack request form
On the alternate weekly collections, properties can place out a maximum of FOUR black sacks per collection, weekly collection properties should place a maximum of 2 sacks.
Any number of green recycling sacks can be placed out for collection across both collection cycles.
I need help moving my wheelie bin or sacks
Householders can apply for assisted collection if they require help to move their wheelie bins or sacks due to an infirmity. An assisted collection is NOT available for opting out of wheelie bins in favour of sacks.
Request help placing out bins or sacks
Bulky household waste collections
Large domestic items must not be placed in the bins. These items can be collected by the Council via a chargeable service booked online, alternatively they can be taken by the householder to one of the household recycling sites. Large items include furniture, white goods, mattresses, bags of garden waste or DIY rubble, rolls of carpet or any item that is not suitable to be compacted in the refuse lorry.