General rubbish
Black bin
All councils
West Berkshire 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 West Berkshire
These are the containers used in West Berkshire. Which ones a home has depends on its address.
Dry Recycling Collection
Food waste
Purple food waste bin
Plastic containers, aerosols and cans
Red top bin
Glass bottles and jars
Brown top bin
Paper and cardboard
Blue top bin
Container details
The container pictures and words are West Berkshire 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.
- General rubbish: Communal properties with a designated bin store
- Food waste: Communal properties with a designated bin store
- Plastic containers, aerosols and cans: Communal properties with a designated bin store
- Glass bottles and jars: Communal properties with a designated bin store
- Paper and cardboard: Communal properties with a designated bin store
Container descriptions checked 19 September 2026; list of collections built from West Berkshire Council's own service names 22 September 2026.
Order, book and apply
- What goes in shared bin-store rubbish and recycling binsWest Berkshire Council
- Garden waste collectionsWest Berkshire Council
- Food waste collectionsWest Berkshire Council
- Get rid of a bulky itemWest Berkshire Council
- Recycling centres and tipsWest Berkshire Council
Links checked 19 September 2026.
Missed bin or a problem
Tell West Berkshire Council first - it can only fix what it knows about.
Missed-bin guidance checked 20 September 2026.
- 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 West Berkshire 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 West Berkshire 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 West Berkshire compares
- Recycled or composted
- 53%of household waste, 2024 to 2025
- Rubbish not recycled
- 481 kgper household a year
- Cost of collections
- £109per household a year. Similar councils: £80
- 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.
West Berkshire reported a provisional recycling rate of 55% in March 2026 after moving black-bin collections to every three weeks the previous September. The council said general rubbish had fallen by 15% and food recycling risen by 22% compared with the same reporting period a year earlier. It also reported a small decrease in fly-tipping. Councillor Stuart Gourley thanked residents for adapting while acknowledging that changing habits takes time. Savings for 2025/26 were estimated at £280,000 after implementation costs, above the original £150,000 target. The council said final figures were still being confirmed.
- West Berkshire hits record recycling highs — www.westberks.gov.uk