Household rubbish

Everyone in Westminster has a rubbish collection at least twice a week. The way your rubbish is collected depends on the property type you live in.

Everyone in Westminster also has a recycling collection at least once a week. Find out about recycling at home.

Find out your collection day.

Doorstep collections

Every street-level property in Westminster has a doorstep rubbish collection which is at least twice a week.

Rubbish should be placed out in front of your property or at the edge of your property boundary in secured black rubbish bags at the correct time for your street.

Central Westminster and commercial areas

Streets in the central area of Westminster as well as the main commercial streets in the outer areas of Westminster are classified as “Bags off Street”. If you live on one of these streets please place your rubbish out on the pavement up to 30 minutes before the start of the rubbish collection period for your street. Rubbish placed out after the start of your collection period may not be collected.

Find your collection days and times - “Bags off Street” streets are marked on the  schedules with 'BOS'.

View a map of “Bags off Street” streets

Other areas

If you have a front garden where you can leave your rubbish, please place it out so it is clearly visible to the crews, either the night before or in the morning before the start of the rubbish collection period for your street.

If you do not have a front garden please place your rubbish out on the pavement at the edge of your property boundary.

Rubbish placed out after the start of your collection period may not be collected.

Find your collection days and times

Household rubbish bins

In addition to your doorstep collection, you can use the communal household rubbish bins (also called “Big Black Bins”) on the pavement. These bins are located only in certain areas of Westminster.

These bins are for bagged household rubbish only. No recyclables, electrical items, bulky items or hazardous waste should be placed in these bins.

Anyone found dumping commercial or builder’s waste in these bins could be fined up to £5,000. If you witness illegal dumping, please call 020 7641 2000 providing the following information:

• Report the day, date and time you saw the incident 
• What you saw i.e. how many people were fly tipping, what did they fly-tip and where, what they looked like
• Any vehicles involved - their make, colour and registration number

More information on fly-tipping and enforcement

Find out about Westminster’s commercial waste service

Estates and mansion blocks

Estates and mansion blocks often have rubbish and recycling bins which are stored in dedicated rooms in your building. Your estate office staff, caretaker or porter can help you find these.

Some properties may need to use the doorstep collections as above. Please check arrangements for your block with your managing agent and then check your collection day and time as necessary.

All housing blocks need to have sufficient storage space for rubbish and recycling. If you are a managing agent, building manager or landlord and want to order rubbish or recycling bins please contact the environmental action line on 020 7641 2000. There is a charge to cover maintenance costs of rubbish bins but recycling bins are free of charge for residential properties, to reflect the lower disposal costs of recycling.

Where does it all go?

Your household rubbish is sent to SELCHP, a waste-fired power station in Deptford. Here waste is burned to generate green power for around 50,000 London homes. Residual metals are extracted from the bottom ash and the rest is used as an aggregate in road building.

What happens to my recycling?