Simpler Recycling - Changes to household waste collections
Early waste collection during heatwave conditions
Due to the hot weather, waste collection will start at 5am this week (23 to 26 June) to avoid crews working in the hottest part of the day.
Please make sure your bins are out by 5am on your usual collection day - put them out the night before if easier. Report missed collections as usual, and we'll aim to collect as soon as possible.
We are aiming to provide all households with the following collection services from 31 March 2026:
- Paper and cardboard recycling - weekly
- Mixed recycling - weekly
- Food recycling - weekly
- Other rubbish - weekly
- Garden waste - fortnightly, subscribing households with gardens only
This is due to new Simpler Recycling legislation requirements, and our commitment to:
- Improve recycling services
- Maintain weekly rubbish collections
These services are already offered to most households.
Paper and cardboard recycling
The following changes will apply to what you recycle in your paper and cardboard recycling container from 31 March 2026.
- Cartons - these will be excluded from the paper and cardboard stream, and should be included with mixed containers for recycling
Mixed recycling
The following materials will be added to the range of items that can be recycled in your mixed recycling container.
From 31 March 2026
- Aluminium food trays - these must be clean with no food remnants
- Squeezy metal tubes - for example empty tomato paste tubes
- Squeezy plastic tubes - for example empty toothpaste tubes
From 31 March 2027
- Plastic film packaging and carrier bags - until then, please recycle at larger supermarkets
Existing materials
This is in addition to the range of materials you can already recycle in your mixed recycling container.
You can check what items can be placed in your containers.
Weekly food recycling collections
All households in Richmond must have weekly food waste collections from 31 March 2026.
We've provided this service to kerbside houses for many years. We're committed to rolling the service out to flats using communal wheeled bins and to other domestic premises by the March 2026 deadline.
Weekly general waste collections
No changes are planned for this service, with all households receiving at least weekly collections. Some blocks of flats with communal bins receive two or three weekly collections due to a lack of space for waste storage.
However, the volume of general waste collected is expected to fall significantly due to increased recycling.
Fortnightly garden waste collections
No changes are required for this service. It's already fully compliant with Simpler Recycling requirements.
Got a question?
Web chat available Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Updated: 26 March 2026
