Lewisham Bin Collection Days, Recycling and Garden Waste

Lewisham Council collects household rubbish, recycling, food waste and (by subscription) garden waste across Lewisham town centre, Ladywell, Lee, Hither Green, Brockley and Blackheath. The same rules apply in all of them. Everything below is taken from the council's pages, so check the links before you rely on a date or a charge.

How do I find my bin collection day?

The council's bin collection days page has a lookup tool. Enter your postcode or your full street name, without abbreviations or house numbers, and it shows the day for rubbish, recycling, food and garden waste. The schedule only appears after you search, so there is no borough-wide timetable to print. If you live in a flat or on an estate, use the same tool for your street.

What bins do I get?

According to the council's bins by property page, houses and converted flats have a 180-litre black wheelie bin for rubbish and a 240-litre green wheelie bin for recycling, plus a 23-litre food waste bin and a 5-litre kitchen caddy. An optional brown bin covers garden waste. Flats above shops use orange sacks for general rubbish and clear sacks for recycling, delivered quarterly (typically March, June, September and December). Flats in larger buildings and estates share communal bins.

The same page says recycling, food waste and garden waste are collected weekly and general rubbish every two weeks. Your own day is still the one the lookup tool gives you.

What goes in each bin?

The council's what can you put in your bin page lists these rules:

• Green recycling bin: paper, magazines, newspapers, glass, cans, flattened cardboard, plastic bottles with the lids on, and clean food containers. Not plastic bags, wet cardboard, crisp packets, hard plastics such as Tupperware, polystyrene, food waste, textiles, batteries or broken glass.
• Black rubbish bin: general household waste that cannot be recycled. Not batteries, oils, gas canisters, DIY waste, electrical items, textiles, food waste or large furniture.
• Grey food waste bin: fruit and vegetable waste, cooked and uncooked scraps, bread, cheese, eggshells, tea bags and coffee grounds. Not nappies, packaging, liquids, plastics or pet waste.

Rinse plastics before they go in the green bin. The council's plastics page warns that unrinsed plastics can lead to the whole collection being classed as contaminated and sent for incineration. It accepts bottles and tubs such as milk bottles and margarine tubs, but not plastic bags, which it says should not go in household recycling.

Kerbside homes get food waste containers free, and the food waste page says flats are receiving bins in a phased rollout.

When should I put the bins out?

The council's service standards say bins should be out before 6am on collection day at the edge of your property, and should not be left in the street afterwards. Crews cannot go into your property unless you are signed up for an assisted collection.

What if my bin is missed?

Report it through the council's missed collection form. The service standards say to report after 2pm on the collection day and within 48 hours. The same form covers a damaged bin, for example a broken lid.

Can someone take my bins out for me?

Yes, if you cannot get them to the boundary because of disability, ill health, physical impairment or frailty, and nobody else in the household can do it. The assisted collections page says to allow 10 working days, label your bins with your house number, and note that rear-of-property bins cannot be serviced.

How much does a replacement bin cost?

Per the council's order a bin page, a replacement black or green bin has a £30 charge, and food waste bins and caddies are free. Order online through the council's form. The council will not replace recycling or food waste bins removed for incorrect use, and says it sends warning letters first.

How does the garden waste subscription work?

The garden waste page explains the weekly garden waste collection for a 240-litre brown bin, running from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. New subscribers get a bin and a permit sticker within 10 working days. Branches must not be thicker than 10cm or longer than 50cm, and Japanese knotweed is not accepted. The council's pages do not agree on the subscription price, so we do not quote one here: check the price on the garden waste page and its sign-up form before you pay.

For items too big for the bins, see our guide to the Landmann Way recycling centre and bulky waste collections.