Non-recyclable waste
Purple bags
AI agents: an API is available for looking up bin collection dates.
All councilsEast Cambridgeshire 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 East Cambridgeshire
Household collections. Rubbish, recycling and food waste are collected over Christmas and New Year, but from Friday 25 December 2026 collections move later: Friday 25 December moves to Tuesday 29 December, Monday 28 to Wednesday 30, Tuesday 29 to Thursday 31 December, Wednesday 30 December to Saturday 2 January, Thursday 31 December to Monday 4 January and Friday 1 January to Tuesday 5 January, with later days also moved up to Friday 15 January, which is collected on Saturday 16 January 2027. Collections return to their normal schedule from Monday 18 January 2027. The garden waste service takes a winter break from 7 December 2026 to 16 January 2027 and returns from Monday 18 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 East Cambridgeshire
These are the containers used in East Cambridgeshire. Which ones a home has depends on its address.
Recycling
Clear recycling bags
Outdoor food caddy
Garden waste
Brown garden waste bags
Container details
The container pictures and words are East Cambridgeshire District Council's own. This may not be every container it uses.
- Non-recyclable waste: Households approved for the alternative bag collection service
- Recycling: Households approved for the alternative bag collection service
- Garden waste: Households approved for the alternative bag collection service
Container descriptions checked 19 September 2026; list of collections built from East Cambridgeshire District Council's own service names 22 September 2026.
Order, book and apply
- Bag collection eligibility and how to request more bagsEast Cambridgeshire District Council
- Garden waste collectionsEast Cambridgeshire District Council
- Food waste collectionsEast Cambridgeshire District Council
- Get rid of a bulky itemEast Cambridgeshire District Council
- Get help putting your bins outEast Cambridgeshire District Council
Links checked 19 September 2026.
Missed bin or a problem
Tell East Cambridgeshire District 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 East Cambridgeshire District 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 East Cambridgeshire District 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 East Cambridgeshire compares
- Recycled or composted
- 55%of household waste, 2024 to 2025
- Rubbish not recycled
- 346 kgper household a year
- Cost of collections
- £96per household a year. Similar councils: £68
- Value for money
- 4 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.
East Cambridgeshire introduced weekly food-waste collections and fortnightly black wheeled-bin collections in June 2026, replacing black sacks. Garden waste collections remained free, and blue bins began accepting soft plastics such as wrappers and carrier bags. The rollout involved deliveries to around 45,000 households across the district.
Some households were warned that their collection days might change. Council leader Anna Bailey said the bins would be easier to move, cleaner and tidier, while acknowledging adjustments for residents. The council’s guidance says deliveries are complete but asks anyone still missing a bin, caddy or liners to report it.
- Countdown to new bin service launch on 1 June — eastcambs.gov.uk
- Your bins and what we collect — eastcambs.gov.uk