Alternate weekly rubbish collections FAQs

The changes to our rubbish collection service will come into effect from Monday 5 October 2026.

Our aim is to improve our recycling rate. 

We will be doing this by:

• introducing a weekly food waste collection
• moving to a fortnightly rubbish collection 

By using our new food waste collections and existing recycling services, you can help us to improve our recycling rate by increasing how much we recycle. 

There may be a small number of households whose collection day will need to change. We will contact these households directly and provide them with the information they need.

We will be communicating the changes through our:

• website
• social media:
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Next Door
  • Blue Sky
• email bin reminder service (you can sign up for email reminders via our bin collection calendar)

No. Any money that we save by moving to fortnightly collections will be used to make up the shortfall in the Council budget.

We will still be providing a weekly collection service through our new food waste collection.

We need to change the frequency of your rubbish collection to encourage the use of the food waste and recycling services and to deliver a modern collection service to Solihull residents.

There is no evidence to suggest collecting rubbish fortnightly is a health hazard. 

We will also still be providing a weekly collection for food waste.  

We will provide a weekly food waste collection which will help reduce odours from your rubbish bin. 

We recommend that you put items like used nappies and pet waste in a bag before putting them in the bin. This will keep the inside of your bin clean and reduce the likelihood of smells.

It is also good practice to clean your bin regularly with some hot water and disinfectant. Alternatively, some companies offer this service for a fee. 
 

If you are recycling as much as possible, your black wheelie bin should hold two weeks’ worth of rubbish. Our what goes in my container page tells you what you can and can't recycle.

Some households may be eligible for a bigger bin. To find out if you are eligible, please refer to the 'I have lots of rubbish, can I get a larger bin' section on our replacement containers page. 
 

If you do not meet our criteria for a larger bin, you can follow our reduce, reuse, recycle guide to help you to reduce your waste and recycle more. 

If you have a medical condition that results in more non-recyclable waste, you can request a larger wheelie bin or additional purple sacks.

No, we do not provide additional capacity for pet waste. 

No, we operate a 'no side waste, lid closed' policy. This means any extra waste put at the side of your bin will not be collected and the lid of your bin must be fully closed.

If you have extra waste, you will need to:

• place it back into your rubbish bin for the following collection
• book an appointment at Bickenhill Household Waste and Recycling Centre (HWRC)

If you put out extra waste and do not take it back into your property after collections, you are fly-tipping and may be given a fixed penalty notice.

Yes, you can put additional recycling out next to your brown wheelie bin as long as it is in a suitable container. For example:

• a sturdy plastic box (no larger than 55 litres)
• a reusable bag (excluding builders bags)

We cannot accept recycling presented in black sacks.   

If you live in a flat with communal bins, your collections will remain unchanged for now. However, we will be introducing weekly food waste collections in 2027.

Yes. If you live in a flat and have your own bins, you will move to a fortnightly rubbish collection and weekly food waste collection from 5 October 2026.

No, not initially as we will not be providing flats above shops with food waste collections until 2027. Your rubbish collections will remain weekly until then.

We'll be looking at whether we can move some households from sack collections to bin collections in the future. 

Please refer to what goes in my containers to find out what you can and cannot put in your brown recycling bin.

Don't forget you can now recycle plastic film and plastic bags.

Many household items can also be recycled through in-store take back schemes. This includes items such as:

• water filters
• cosmetics
• medication packaging
• household batteries

To find out more, visit Recycle Now.

Christmas collection arrangements will be published on our website at the end of November or early December.

The kerbside services that we provide are for household waste only. 

If you run a business from your home, you will need a different commercial waste contract for this waste. It should not be included in your household waste collection.

If you are renting a property or a room on Airbnb or similar, this is a commercial activity and you should not dispose of this waste using the household collection service. 

You will need to arrange a separate commercial waste collection.

We do not supply a separate bin for paper and cardboard because the recycling facility used by the council can efficiently sort mixed recycling to a high standard. 

This means materials can be collected together without affecting the quality, making a separate collection unnecessary.