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Recycling, refuse and street cleaning
Service update
Last updated Friday 17 May
Following the recent unofficial industrial action, our recycling and refuse crews have been working on their usual collection days since Monday 13 May. However many residents have still not had their recycling or refuse collected. This is because of the significant back log of waste and on-going disruption to the service following the action.
In addition to the normal collection schedule, we have been sending out around two additional crews a day with agency staff to reduce the backlog as much as possible. We understand that this is taking some time and some areas are still behind on collections. We apologise for any inconvenience and we will continue to hire in extra resources to try and get the service back to normal as quickly as possible.
Because of the on-going disruption, we are unable to deal with individual reports of missed collections. If your refuse and recycling has been missed, please put it out for collection on your next scheduled collection day. You can check your scheduled collection day below. Some crews may also not collect waste that does not fit in your bin or boxes.
If you are able to you can take your rubbish and recycling to one of our recycling centres on Wilsons Avenue, in Brighton or Old Shoreham Road, in Hove. Recycling will need to be separated at the recycling centres. Alternatively you can wait for your next scheduled collection.
We apologise for the on-going disruption to your service.
Disruption FAQs
Missed collections
If your collection has been missed we would ask you to please bear with us. We are not currently able to deal with individual reports of missed collections online or via the phone. We are aware of the disruption across the city, including which roads and communal bins have not been collected.
If you are able to you can take your rubbish and recycling to one of our recycling centres on Wilsons Avenue, in Brighton or Old Shoreham Road, in Hove. Recycling will need to be separated at the recycling centres. Alternatively you can wait for your next scheduled collection.
We apologise for the inconvenience caused.
Hiring in extra staff and vehicles to catch up on missed collections
This is not as easy as it may sound. We employ over 100 staff who are out every day making recycling and refuse collections from 20,000 households. They use a fleet of more than 30 specialist HGV vehicles.
Our staff know their rounds and are trained to drive and operate our recycling and refuse vehicles. Because of this specialist knowledge and equipment we can not simply hire in agency staff and vehicles to catch up all the missed work.
We have hired in extra staff and vehicles to assist with getting the service back on schedule. These extra resources are being targeted at the worst affected areas.
Council tax reductions
Following the recent unofficial industrial action, some residents have been asking us if they can receive a refund of Council Tax. Unfortunately this is not possible. Council tax is a statutory tax paying for a range of local services and facilities all year round, not only refuse and recycling. Even though there has been disruption to collection, the law does not permit you to withhold payment of your council tax.
If you withhold your Council Tax payments, the Council’s normal processes would apply and you could be sent a reminder to pay or a summons to court if a reminder has already been sent to you this year.
Service checker
Please type in the name of your road to find:
- recycling and refuse collection days
- local team, manager and collections staff
Main Pages
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Recycling Request boxes & nets, tell us about missed recycling, find your recycling point & more |
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Refuse Request a wheelie bin, tell us about missed collections, find out about communal bins & more |
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Street cleaning Report litter, fly-tipping, dead animals or graffiti, request a street be cleaned & more |
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Reduce your waste Buy discounted composters, use our tools to help you reduce reuse recycle & more |
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Bulky waste collections
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Latest news
- Less trash more cash for Moulsecoomb - an exciting new project in Moulsecoomb
- How to recycle video - watch our video about how to use the black box recycling service
- Get your discounted composters now - and turn your food and garden waste into compost!
Out of hours emergency contact
An out of hours service operates for environmental emergencies. You can access this service between 5pm and 9am weekdays, and all day weekends and Bank Holidays. This service should not be used for non-emergency enquiries.
The telephone number for out of hours emergencies in Brighton & Hove is (01273) 292229.
