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Canterbury bin collection dates
- Add your dates to Google, Apple or Outlook calendar
- Get an email the evening before
- Print an A4 sheet for the fridge
Bins in Canterbury
These are the containers used in Canterbury. Which ones a home has depends on its address.
Recycling
Food waste
Paper and card
or Black bins and purple sacks
Black bin for most waste that doesn't go in recycling, or purple rubbish sacks
or Blue bins and boxes
Blue bin for glass, tin and plastic recycling, or blue box for glass, tin and plastic recycling
Container details
The container pictures and words are Canterbury City Council's own. This may not be every container it uses.
Greyed-out bin icons are placeholders where the container type or colour is not confirmed.
- Black bins and purple sacks: Homes using a black bin rather than purple sacks
- Black bins and purple sacks: Authorised properties on the purple sack list because there is no room for a black bin
- Blue bins and boxes: Homes using a blue bin rather than a blue box
- Blue bins and boxes: Homes using a blue box rather than a blue bin
- What goes in your bins or boxes | Canterbury City Council
- Buy a roll of purple rubbish sacks | Canterbury City Council
Container descriptions checked 17 September 2026; list of collections built from Canterbury City Council's own service names 22 September 2026.
Order, book and apply
- Bin and box purchase informationCanterbury City Council
- What goes in your bins or boxesCanterbury City Council
- Garden waste collectionsCanterbury City Council
- Food waste collectionsCanterbury City Council
- Recycling centres and tipsCanterbury City Council
- Get help putting your bins outCanterbury City Council
Links checked 17 September 2026.
Missed bin or a problem
Tell Canterbury City Council first - it can only fix what it knows about.
- Report a missed binA bin that wasn't emptied on the day.
- Make a complaint to Canterbury City CouncilIf reporting it didn't fix it.
Complaint didn't work either? Ask your councillors
If you've already reported the problem and used the council's complaints process, your district councillors can take up a repeated problem or a wider service failure. Find and write to my district councillors on Canterbury City Council.
WriteToThem is an independent mySociety service. You'll enter your postcode there before choosing who to contact.
Complaint routes verified 6 September 2026.
How Canterbury compares
- Recycled or composted
- 43%of household waste, 2024 to 2025
- Rubbish not recycled
- 398 kgper household a year
- Cost of collections
- £38per household a year. Similar councils: £56
- Value for money
- 9 out of 10 An independently constructed WhenIsBins rating, not an official government rating.
Official figures for England, 2024 to 2025.
Local bins and recycling news
AI-generated summary, reviewed before publication. Checked 18 September 2026.
For the 2026/27 collection year, the council’s March 2026 announcement set the subscription at £65 for one bin and £56.48 for each additional bin.
- Sign up for garden waste collections for 2026/27 - Canterbury Newsroom — news.canterbury.gov.uk