Coronavirus (COVID-19)
England is now subject to National lockdown: Stay at Home restrictions. You must stay at home.
This page gives you information about our recycling and rubbish services during the coronavirus outbreak.
There is also new guidance about using the household waste recycling centre at Port Solent.
Important: It may be tempting to de-clutter if you are at home, but services are limited. With most residents now staying at home, more household waste will put pressure on recycling and waste services. We ask for your cooperation in keeping your recycling and rubbish to a minimum and working with the council to ensure that it can be managed. Please try and keep to the weekly rubbish allowance and use local recycling banks where possible. The HWRC will remain open and can be used for disposal of extra waste – don’t forget to book. The crew will collect one standard black bag in addition to a household’s waste allowance during this lockdown
Services running as normal:
Suspended services:
If you choose to contact a professional to take your waste away, please ensure they are a registered waste carrier that holds a licence issued by the Environment Agency. If you don’t and your waste ends up fly-tipped, it’s you who could end up with a large fine.
Reduce and reuse as much as possible
We are aiming to keep collections running as normal for as long as possible, but now is a good time to start trying to reduce how much waste you create and how much you throw away.
Advice if you are self-isolating
If you:
You should follow the national government advice, which details what you should do with your rubbish:
Disposal of face coverings and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
There is separate advice for healthcare settings, including care homes. For disposal of regular personal waste such as face coverings and gloves that you might have used on public transport or in a shop, please:
You do not need to:
You can wash and reuse cloth face coverings to prevent and reduce waste. Read guidance on how to make and wear a reusable cloth face covering.
A large amount of discarded personal waste has been collected by our street cleansing crews. Do not leave waste in the street, help keep our city clean and tidy. Find out more about our campaign to discourage littering in the city.
Read more on the government’s advice for what to do with coronavirus related waste.
All of our crews have been briefed using industry guidance from the Waste Industry Safety and Health (WISH) on social distancing and, wherever possible, are adhering to these.
Crew leaving times are also staggered in the morning to prevent too many people being in the yard at once. Some are leaving as early as 6:20am and this may mean they get to you earlier than normal. Please leave your rubbish out by 6:20am so your collection isn’t missed.
Follow the guidelines on ‘How do I put my bins out for collection‘ page to ensure your bin is emptied.
Recycling and rubbish times are staggered at present and can be collected at any time between 6:20am and 4pm. Make sure it’s put out before 6:20am, or after 7pm the night before so as not to miss your collection.
Check before you chuck. Make sure you’re recycling right by following the guidelines on our recycling page or your bin might not get emptied.
Burning household waste is an offence, harmful to people’s health and pollutes the environment. Please be considerate to your neighbours and do not get rid of your household waste by burning it in your garden. More information on this is available on GOV.UK.
We should all be washing our hands more often, and especially before and after touching something that other people might touch. By washing your hands with soap and water for 20 seconds before and after handling your wheeled bins, and wiping the handles down, you can help keep your family and our crews safe.
Please park considerately. With more people at home, the crews are having difficulties getting into and travelling along some roads due to parked cars blocking access. Please make sure there is enough room for the refuse vehicle to pass your car on bin collection day.