Thurrock Bin Collection Days: Round A and B, What Goes Where and Missed Bins

Bin collections for the whole of Thurrock, from Grays and Tilbury to South Ockendon and Stanford-le-Hope, are run by Thurrock Council, which is a unitary authority. That means one council handles waste, recycling and the household waste site for every town in the borough. Everything below comes from the council's own pages, so check them before you act in case a rule has changed.

How do Thurrock bin collections work?

According to the council's household waste and recycling page, green/grey and blue wheeled bins are each collected every two weeks on your usual day, and food bins are collected every week. If you pay for the garden waste service, the brown bin is collected in the same weeks as the blue bin.

Streets are split into two rounds, A and B. In one week your street has the blue (and brown) bins collected, and in the other week the green/grey bin, then the pattern swaps. The council's bin collection days page explains the rota. Which round you are on depends on your street, not your town, so two neighbours in Grays can sit on different weeks.

How do I find my collection day?

The council offers two ways. You can look up your street in its alphabetical street-name pages (linked from the bin collection days page) or use the postcode look-up form linked from the collection schedules page. Properties that cannot take wheeled bins use a separate bag-only collection service with its own schedule, and flats have a communal waste and recycling service that can use different containers and days. If you live in a flat, check what your managing agent or the council says for your block.

What goes in each bin?

The council's what goes in your bins page lists the detail. In short:

• Blue bin (recycling): paper, cardboard, aerosols, food tins, drink cans and cartons, plastic bottles, food trays, yoghurt pots, Tetra Pak and glass bottles and jars. The council says not to put in plastic bags, plastic wrap, polystyrene, light bulbs, Pyrex, mirrors, toys, textiles, shoes, garden waste or food waste.
• Green or grey bin (non-recyclable): general rubbish, pet waste, plastic bags, polystyrene, non-fluorescent light bulbs, Pyrex and mirrors, sanitary products and nappies. Not electrical items, recyclable waste, textiles, garden waste, soil or rubble.
• Brown bin (garden waste, subscription): grass cuttings, prunings, leaves, cut flowers, clean straw or hay and branches under 10cm across. No bags or sacks of any kind, including compostable ones.
• Food bin: cooked and uncooked food, peelings, meat, bones, eggshells, teabags and coffee grounds. No liquids, cans, glass or packaging, even if marked compostable.

Contaminated bins will not be emptied, so check the lists above if your bin has been left with a tag.

When do I put the bins out?

The council asks you to present waste and recycling at the kerbside before 6am on your collection day, with lids closed and without blocking the pavement.

How does the garden waste service work?

As published by the council on its garden waste page, the first brown bin costs £80 a year and each additional bin £50 a year. The 2026/27 service runs from the two weeks beginning Wednesday 1 April 2026 to the two weeks ending Wednesday 31 March 2027, and the council says there is no winter pause that year, so collections continue over Christmas and New Year. You subscribe online and pay up front by credit or debit card. A permit sticker is posted within 10 working days and must be fixed to the bin before collection begins.

How does the food waste caddy work?

The food recycling page says houses received a free kitchen caddy and a small outdoor food bin during 2024, and that flats and other residential properties were due to receive theirs by March 2026. The council supplied a one-off roll of compostable liners while supplies lasted. If you run out, it says you can use compostable bags from shops, ordinary plastic bags such as bread bags, or fold the waste in newspaper. If yours was never delivered or arrived damaged, there is an online form to report it.

What if my bin is missing, damaged or I have moved in?

Use the council's online form on the request new waste containers page. As published, a replacement standard wheeled bin costs £52, or £31 for people aged 66 and over or on certain benefits. Food caddies (one per household) and outdoor food bins (up to two) are free, as are blue sacks for eligible bag-only properties and a second blue bin for extra recycling. The council notes that requests for extra recycling bins were taking four to six weeks to deliver, and that bins damaged by its own crews are replaced free of charge.

What if my bin has been missed?

Report it online on the council's missed bin collection page. You must report before midnight on the second working day after the collection was due; later reports are not accepted. The council will treat the collection as missed only if your waste was at the edge of your property by 6am, was the right type of waste for that bin, was a sensible quantity with the lid fully closed, and was neither collected nor tagged by the end of the working day. If your report is valid, the council commits to return within two working days. It also notes that blocked roads, traffic, breakdowns or bad weather can delay a round.

Where do I take waste that does not go in the bins?

Larger items, electricals, DIY waste and garden waste beyond your bin can go to the Linford site. See our Thurrock tip guide for the address, hours and rules.