Rubbish
Black rubbish bin, or blue rubbish bag
AI agents: an API is available for looking up bin collection dates.
All councilsDorset 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
Christmas and New Year bin collections in Dorset
Household collections. Thursday 24 December is collected as normal. From Friday 25 December rubbish and recycling collections move a day later, up to Friday 8 January, which is collected on Saturday 9 January; for example Friday 25 December moves to Monday 28 December, Thursday 31 December to Saturday 2 January and Friday 1 January to Monday 4 January. Collection days return to normal from Monday 11 January, and there are no garden waste collections from Christmas Day until Friday 8 January 2027.
Council source. Checked 10 November 2026.
Look up your address above for its dates. Christmas and New Year collections across the UK.
Bins in Dorset
These are the containers used in Dorset. Which ones a home has depends on its address.
or Recycling
Black wheelie bin with a green lid
Food Waste Collection Day
Garden Waste Collection Day
Container details
The container pictures and words are Dorset 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.
- Rubbish: Homes using a rubbish bin rather than a blue bag
- Rubbish: Homes on a blue-bag rubbish collection
- Recycling: Homes using a recycling wheelie bin rather than a bag and box
Container descriptions checked 17 September 2026; list of collections built from Dorset Council's own service names 22 September 2026.
Order, book and apply
- Request a replacement for a missing or damaged bin or recycling containerDorset Council
- Authorised rubbish sacks for homes without wheelie binsDorset Council
- Garden waste collectionsDorset Council
- Food waste collectionsDorset Council
- Get rid of a bulky itemDorset Council
- Recycling centres and tipsDorset Council
- Contact the waste serviceDorset Council
Links checked 17 September 2026.
Missed bin or a problem
Tell Dorset Council first - it can only fix what it knows about.
Missed-bin guidance checked 20 September 2026.
- Report another bin collection problemAnything else about the collection or your bins.
- Make a complaint to Dorset 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 Dorset 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 Dorset compares
- Recycled or composted
- 60%of household waste, 2024 to 2025
- Rubbish not recycled
- 368 kgper household a year
- Cost of collections
- £91per household a year. Similar councils: £83
- Value for money
- 7 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 March 2026 announcement set out a booking system for Dorset recycling centres at Dorchester, Wimborne, Shaftesbury and Sherborne, starting on 23 March. The council said it wanted shorter queues, fairer costs and better checks against businesses using household sites. Visits would remain free for Dorset residents, while visitors from outside the area would pay. It promised same-day bookings and telephone help for people unable to book online. Each site would offer 430 bookable slots daily. The council said it would review the system regularly and listen to residents, with the changes applying to these four sites.