Recycling rules for Havering
Based on Havering published guidance · Last verified September 2026
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us
Here's what currently goes in each bin in Havering.
Search what goes in your bins →Quick answers for Havering
Polystyrene: Usually general waste (UK-wide position)UK-wide, not council-specific
Across the UK, polystyrene is rarely collected at the kerbside and usually belongs in general waste. Havering's published guidance we hold doesn't list it.
Cardboard: Goes in your recycling bin
Fold it and place it under the recycling sack.
Glass bottles and jars: Goes in your recycling bin
Food waste: Not accepted in Havering's garden waste bin
Tins and cans: Goes in your recycling bin
Aerosols: Goes in your recycling bin
Lids on.
Your bins in Havering, by colour
Orange sack
Recycling
Orange is the recycling colour in 2 of the 91 councils with a checked recycling colour.
Availability: Houses and houses converted to flats
Houses and converted flats, weekly; 16 sacks every 13 weeks; flats with communal bins differ
Black sack
General household waste
Black is the general rubbish colour in 58 of the 100 councils with a checked general rubbish colour.
Availability: Houses and houses converted to flats
Houses and converted flats; flats with communal bins are collected differently
Green bin
Garden waste
Green is the garden waste colour in 58 of the 141 councils with a checked garden waste colour.
Paid subscription, £87 per bin per year
What goes in each bin
Recycling
Accepted
Metals
- Food tins and drinks cans · Symbol guide
- Empty aerosol cans · Lids on · UK basics
- Aluminium foil and foil trays · Clean; scrunch small pieces · UK basics
Glass
- Glass bottles and jars · Symbol guide
Plastics
- Plastic bottles · Symbol guide
- Plastic pots, tubs and trays · Rinsed, no food, no black plastic
- Clean tubes · Face wash, toothpaste
Paper & Card
- Cartons and Tetra Paks · Symbol guide
- Paper
- Envelopes · Including windows
- Thin card
- Thick card and larger cardboard · Fold it and place it under the recycling sack
Not accepted
- Black plastic · UK basics
- Recycling with food on it
Common mistakes
- Thick cardboard → goes in Recycling · Fold it and put it under the recycling sack
Tips (8)
- • Rinse and squash everything
- • No black plastic
- • Fold thick card under the sack
- • 16 sacks delivered every 13 weeks
- • Extra sacks from libraries
- • Sacks out by 7am, inside boundary
- • Not collected from wheeled bins
- • Lids on aerosols
Garden Waste
Accepted
- Flowers and plants
- Garden weeds
- Grass cuttings
- Hedge trimmings
- Leaves
- Small twigs and branches
Not accepted
- Food waste
- General household waste
- Stones or plant pots
- Plastic bags or containers
- Soil
Tips (8)
- • Fee per bin, per year
- • Collected every other week
- • Two-week pause over Christmas
- • Contract runs April to March
- • Bins may be pre-loved
- • No stickers needed
- • Compostable sacks also accepted
- • No soil or stones
Food waste in Havering
In Havering’s own words (checked September 2026): “The roll out of a separate weekly food waste service has been delayed due to a lack of vehicles from the manufactures to deliver this service.”
22 of the 181 councils whose food waste guidance we have checked say it is starting or being rolled out.
The government’s rule for England requires “weekly food waste collections for most homes, unless a transitional arrangement applies”. Read it on gov.uk
Which councils collect food waste weeklyAreas covered by Havering
- Postcode districts all or nearly all in Havering: RM1, RM2, RM3, RM5, RM11, RM12 and RM13.
- Postcode districts mostly in Havering: RM7 (shared with Barking and Dagenham); RM14 (shared with Thurrock).
- Postcode districts partly in Havering: RM4 (shared with Brentwood, Epping Forest).
Built-up area (ONS) with the most postcodes in Havering: Havering.
Shares count each district’s live postcodes; a district is listed where Havering has at least 5% of them or 50. Built-up areas are ONS statistical areas, not a list from the council.
Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2025. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2025. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Council homepages: GOV.UK, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Next door
In Thurrock the recycling bin is blue and the garden waste bin is brown (availability: paid subscription); here the recycling sack is orange (availability: Houses and houses converted to flats) and the garden waste bin is green.
In Epping Forest the recycling bin is blue; here the recycling sack is orange (availability: Houses and houses converted to flats).
On bank holidays, collections stay on the usual day in Havering; in Redbridge, that week’s collections move a day later.
Neighbouring councils we have checked: Thurrock, Epping Forest, Redbridge.
When are bins collected in Havering?
Havering sets collection days by street: find your bin day, or browse neighbours’ schedules by postcode.
Havering doesn't move bin collections for bank holidays, so your usual day stands. Christmas and New Year weeks can still differ, so check the council's site for those. Your neighbours can vote on the actual day on BinBosh if it changes.
Garden waste collections pause over Christmas.
1 street in Havering has a bin schedule on BinBosh, 0 confirmed by neighbours.
Add your street for neighbours to adopt.
How we checked this page
We checked this guidance against Havering’s website in September 2026.
Source: Havering council website, which has the latest updates. Bin colours are as the council publishes them; some homes get a different container.
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us
Every report goes to BinBosh’s owner, who checks it against the council’s own page.
Frequently asked questions
What colour are the bins in Havering?
In Havering the recycling sack is orange (availability: Houses and houses converted to flats), the garden waste bin is green and the general rubbish sack is black (availability: Houses and houses converted to flats). Orange is the recycling colour in 2 of the 91 councils with a checked recycling colour.
Where does glass go in Havering?
Glass goes in the orange recycling sack (availability: Houses and houses converted to flats) in Havering (“Glass bottles and jars”).
Does Havering collect food waste, and how often?
In Havering’s own words (checked September 2026): “The roll out of a separate weekly food waste service has been delayed due to a lack of vehicles from the manufactures to deliver this service.”
Is garden waste collected all year in Havering?
Garden waste collections pause over Christmas.
Do bin collections change on bank holidays in Havering?
Havering doesn't move bin collections for bank holidays, so your usual day stands. Christmas and New Year weeks can still differ, so check the council's site for those.
What goes in the recycling bin in Havering?
Havering’s recycling bin takes “Food tins and drinks cans”, “Glass bottles and jars” and “Plastic bottles”, among other things.
See the full recycling listWork for Havering? See how BinBosh helps councils →
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