All councils
Cornwall 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 Cornwall
These are the containers used in Cornwall. Which ones a home has depends on its address.
Recycling
Food
Plastic, cartons and metal packaging
Paper
Glass and textiles
Container details
The container pictures and words are Cornwall 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.
Container descriptions checked 13 September 2026; list of collections built from Cornwall Council's own service names 22 September 2026.
Order, book and apply
- How to get recycling bags, boxes and food waste caddiesCornwall Council
- What goes in each recycling containerCornwall Council
- Council recycling and food waste guidanceCornwall Council
- Where to collect recycling containersCornwall Council
- Guidance for flats and shared binsCornwall Council
- When and where to put your bins outCornwall Council
- Garden waste collectionsCornwall Council
- Food waste collectionsCornwall Council
- Get rid of a bulky itemCornwall Council
- Recycling centres and tipsCornwall Council
- Get help putting your bins outCornwall Council
Links checked 13 September 2026.
Missed bin or a problem
Tell Cornwall Council first - it can only fix what it knows about.
- Report a missed binA bin that wasn't emptied on the day.
- Report another bin collection problemAnything else about the collection or your bins.
- Make a complaint to Cornwall 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 unitary authority councillors can take up a repeated problem or a wider service failure. Find and write to my unitary authority councillors on Cornwall 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 Cornwall compares
- Recycled or composted
- 45%of household waste, 2024 to 2025
- Rubbish not recycled
- 497 kgper household a year
- Cost of collections
- £105per household a year. Similar councils: £84
- Value for money
- 3 out of 10 Limited confidence. 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.
A September 2026 report highlighted Cornwall Council research showing that around half of household rubbish could have been recycled or collected as food waste. The study examined waste from 500 homes in July and November 2025. Food made up about a quarter, with almost half of it still packaged.
Cabinet member Loic Rich welcomed increased recycling but said more work was needed. He also warned that batteries and vapes in rubbish could endanger collection crews when crushed in lorries. The council urged residents to check its recycling guidance before throwing items away.
- Half of Cornwall's rubbish could still be recycled - BBC — www.bbc.com