General waste
Green-lidded general waste bin
These are the containers used in Southampton. Which ones a home has depends on its address.
Green-lidded general waste bin
The container pictures and words are Southampton 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.
Container descriptions checked 18 September 2026; list of collections built from Southampton City Council's own service names 22 September 2026.
Links checked 14 September 2026.
Tell Southampton City Council first - it can only fix what it knows about.
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 Southampton City Council.
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Complaint routes verified 6 September 2026.
Official figures for England, 2024 to 2025.
AI-generated summary, reviewed before publication. Checked 18 September 2026.
An August 2026 report described Southampton residents’ complaints about missed bin collections and the council’s apology for delays. The council blamed a shortage of qualified drivers, unexpected sickness and unreliable vehicles. It said food waste and general rubbish were being prioritised because delays could create hygiene and odour problems. Additional Saturday rounds were arranged to tackle the backlog, including missed glass collections. At the time, affected residents were asked to leave glass boxes out while crews returned. The council also encouraged residents who could do so to use recycling banks, including newly installed sites around the city.