General waste: green wheelie bin

We collect non-recyclable household rubbish every two weeks. Make sure your bin is out by 7am on collection day with the lid closed.

You can recycle card, paper, glass, tins and plastics.

We will not collect trade or building waste.

We will not collect your general waste bin if it has any of the following in:

stones, gravel, rubble, builders' waste
garden waste, soil
clinical waste including sharp objects, needles
hazardous waste, including oils and chemicals
DIY materials, such as construction waste, tiles, paint tins
Household fixtures and fittings including pieces of carpet/underlay larger than a standard front door mat
electrical goods
waste generated from businesses

Ask the Waste Wizard where to repair, recycle, donate or dispose of your items

Collection days

Find out when your bin collection day is.

We will collect your green refuse bin together with your food caddy one week and your recycling box and food caddy on the same day the following week.

When there is a bank holiday in the week, refuse is normally collected one day later. Separate arrangements are made for the Christmas/New Year period. Check our bank holiday collections page for details.

Lost and stolen bins

Visit our Request bins and recycling containers page for more information

Rollout of smaller waste bins

From September 2025 Cheltenham Borough Council will be delivering smaller 140 litre waste (refuse) bins for new developments and any replacement bin requested.

Waste analysis completed by Gloucestershire County Council found that a quarter of household waste is made up of food. Almost another quarter (23 percent) is made up of plastics, paper, and card that could be recycled.

Our aim is for the borough to be ‘small on waste and big on recycling’ and these 140 litre bins reflect our efforts to reduce the amount of recyclable and compostable material going to landfill or sent for incineration.

Find more information in the Greener Gloucestershire action plan.

Extra rubbish

We do not collect extra household rubbish in addition to the standard bins. You can take it to your local household recycling centre.

Slim your bin

The message of the 'Slim your bin' campaign is simple:

recycling your waste is good - if you need to bin it, can it be recycled?
reusing is better - do you need to throw it away, or can it be used for something else?
reducing your waste is best - could you avoid buying it in the first place?

Find out some of the ways you can slim your rubbish bin.

Frequently asked questions

Read our FAQs about the green wheelie bin collection service.

Your waste is your responsibility

All householders in England have a legal responsibility to ensure that all of their waste is disposed of properly. Under the Duty of Care regulations, all householders need to ensure that their refuse is passed to authorised carriers only. You could face a fine of up to £5,000 if you fail to do this.

If you are using the council to take away all your refuse, then there is nothing more you need to do. If you are using a builder, gardener or house clearer to take away building, garden or household waste, you must ensure they have an authorised waste carrier's number. If in doubt, you can check their details with the Environment Agency by calling 08708 506506.