What goes in my recycling and rubbish bins or bags?

Organic waste bins (brown bins and sacks)

To ensure fair access to food and garden waste service, we can only provide one type of waste container configuration to a property dependent on eligibility.

They are one brown wheeled bin, or 2 brown reusable sacks with one 23 litre food waste bin.

Combinations of the 2 options cannot be provided.

From 2 June 2025, we'll no longer collect any extra garden waste that does not fit into your brown bin. If you regularly have more garden waste, you can:

If your property is suitable for a brown bin

Most houses set back from the highway in Medway can have a brown bin.

If you have room to store a bin and can safely present it on the public highway, you may have a brown bin.

If your property is not suitable for a brown bin

Some properties cannot safely store or leave out a brown bin.

In this case, you may have a 23 litre food waste bin and 2 reusable brown sacks for any garden waste instead. Food must not be put in these reusable bags.

If you cannot safely move a wheeled bin to the boundary of your property for collection, you can request 2 reusable brown sacks and one food waste bin as a replacement. This is under the condition that your wheeled bin is given back when the replacements are delivered.

Assisted collections

If you are unable to put your rubbish out through illness, infirmity or disability, you can request an assisted bin collection.  

Request an assisted collection

Brown bins and food waste

Brown bins are for garden and food waste only. Do not place your black sacks in your brown bin on collection day.

Use your brown wheelie bin for all food and garden waste, including:

  • meat and fish
  • plate scrapings
  • fruit and vegetable peelings and cores
  • egg shells
  • tea bags and coffee grounds.

Use your brown garden sack for:

  • grass and hedge clippings
  • garden prunings and weeds
  • small branches (no more than 5cm across)
  • dead plants.

We encourage all residents to recycle their food waste. Food that is contained within the brown bin is not attacked by scavenging animals, keeping the environment clean and tidy. Food is co-mingled with garden waste and is turned into compost to be used on farmland in the south-east.

If you have subscribed to the garden waste subscription service and have an additional permitted brown bin, you must only use this bin for garden waste.

Putting food waste into a brown bin

Food can go directly into a brown bin. Alternatively, you may collect a silver 5 litre kitchen caddy from any Medway community hub or library free of charge. You could line the caddy with newspaper or compostable caddy liners. You can buy caddy liners from a library for £2.50 per roll of 26, or from most supermarkets.

To maintain the hygiene of your caddy, regularly wash in warm, soapy water or put in the dishwasher.

Silver kitchen caddies

Caddies are small and may not been seen by crews. They may also become damaged as they are not designed for outdoor use. Please remove the contents of the silver caddy before collection day and put it in your brown bin.

If you live in a flat

Garden waste

If you live in a flat and have a private garden that you maintain, you can apply for a brown bin through our garden waste subscription service.

Find out more about the garden waste subscription service

Food waste

We do not currently provide a food waste service for flats. We recommend that food waste is placed in your black rubbish sacks.

A new food waste service for flats will be introduced from April 2026.

Additional brown bins

Properties are allocated one brown bin. This allows our collection crews to effectively plan for quantities of waste they will collect and dispose of during their round.

In Medway, all waste is collected weekly. This is twice the frequency of most other local councils. 

From 2 June 2025, we'll no longer collect any extra garden waste that does not fit into your brown bin. If you regularly have more garden waste, you can:

If Medway Council-issued brown reusable sacks are left out alongside a brown wheeled bin at a property, our crews will remove the reusable brown sacks.

Reusable brown sacks can be reissued to the property upon request. This is under the condition that any brown wheeled bin at the property is given back at the time of delivery.

If you have 2 brown bins

Our crews are instructed to collect one brown bin per household per week. This has been Medway Council and contractor policy since 2013.

If you have previously had 2 bins collected per week, you have been receiving an additional service that had not been authorised. We regret that this is not a service that we are able to endorse or maintain. 

From 13 May 2025, we're offering a new optional garden waste subscription service which allows you to have a second brown bin. If you subscribe to this service, you can have 2 brown bins collected.

If you do not subscribe to the service and still have 2 bins, you may leave them out for collection on alternate weeks to ensure they are emptied regularly. If both bins are presented on the same week only one will be emptied.