Three-weekly waste collections

Health, hygiene and medical needs

Used nappies

To avoid smells please put all used nappies into a tied bag (or double bag) before placing them in the black bin. If you are still concerned then we would advise washing your bin occasionally with washing up liquid and/or boiling water. 

We appreciate that households with children in nappies may also produce a larger quantity of waste. If you have one or two children in nappies then the size of your black bin should be adequate if you are fully recycling your other waste. 

However, if you have several children in nappies and you think you will struggle with the size of your bin then, if the service is agreed and implemented, we could look at your household's individual circumstances.

Absorbent hygiene products (AHPs)

AHPs such as incontinence pads or sheets and colostomy bags should be double-bagged and placed into your wheeled bin. 

Additional wheeled bin capacity is available for residents who use these products and need more bin capacity.

Smells from black bins

We want to reduce the amount of waste in your black bin as much as possible by encouraging you to reduce, reuse and recycle your waste. That way you would have less to go in your black bin. 

As part of the 1-2-3+ service, food waste would still be collected each week so the main source of possible smells should be removed. Food waste, which can cause smelly bins, would still be collected every week – please put this in your brown caddy for collection. 

We recommend the use of caddy liners to contain your waste in the outdoor caddy to keep it as clean as possible. Liners do not need to be compostable as all liners are removed from the food waste before it is recycled. 

You can use any bag to line a caddy, but we sell caddy liners which fit the kitchen caddy perfectly for £1 for a roll of 30. Find out more about dealing with food waste.

Other tips include:

• if possible, keep your bin out of direct sunlight
• items such as disposable nappies, absorbent hygiene products and animal waste should be double-bagged and tied tightly before putting in the black bin to minimise smell
• rinse food packaging that can't be recycled before you put it in the bin to help stop smells
• wash your bin every now and again with washing up liquid and water to avoid a build-up of waste stuck to the inside - always use bin bags to contain your waste
• don't overfill your bins and keep bin lids fully closed

Last updated 27 April 2026