Fortnightly collections FAQs

If you're recycling as much as possible, your current (140 litre) bin should hold two weeks' worth of rubbish.

However, some households may eligible to get a bigger (240 litre) bin to replace their current bin.

Households which are automatically eligible

Households with 3 or more people who live at the property permanently. You can request a bigger (240 litre) bin for free. This is a replacement for your existing bin. We'll take your existing bin away.

You can request a bigger bin online.

Households which may be eligible after an assessment

Households with 6 or more people who live at the property permanently, and who currently have a bigger (240 litre) bin. You can request an additional 140 litre bin for free. We'll do an assessment to see if you need one.

Someone lives at the property permanently, who has a condition that produces extra general household waste. We'll do an assessment to see if you need an extra bin.

You can request an extra bin online.

Please note, we'll regularly review the circumstances of households who have bigger or additional bins to check they're still eligible.

One person who lives alone is not eligible.

One person who lives alone and has a condition that produces extra general household waste may be eligible. We'll need to do an assessment. You can request an extra bin online.

Households with 2 people who both live there permanently, who currently have a 140 litre bin, can buy an additional 140 litre bin for £40. You can buy an extra bin online.

If you've applied for a bigger bin

The yellow sticker tells our crews that your bin needs to be replaced with a bigger bin.

Please attach the sticker to your current bin.

You can find out more in the 'When will you deliver my bigger bin and take away the smaller one?' section below.

If you've applied for an extra bin

The red sticker tells our crews that your bin is an authorised extra bin, so they'll empty it.

Please attach the sticker to your extra bin when it's delivered.

You can find out more in the 'When will you deliver my extra black bin?' section below.

We'll take away your current bin and deliver your new bin within 21 days.

We'll try to do this on your usual collection day, but it may not always be possible.

If you can, please leave your bin somewhere easily accessible (with the yellow sticker visible), so we can replace the bin as soon as we're able to.

Households with 2 people

We'll deliver your extra bin within 21 days.

The extra bin we deliver has been recycled. We'll clean it before delivering it, to make sure it meets all the necessary standards, and we'll check to make sure it works properly.

Using recycled bins helps reduce waste and promotes environmental sustainability.

We'll also send you a red sticker in the post. Please attach the sticker to your extra bin so our crews know it's an authorised extra bin.

Households which may be eligible after an assessment

If we decide you're eligible after doing an assessment, we'll deliver your new bin within 21 days.

Some properties in TS5 will keep getting weekly rubbish collections. This is because our bin lorries would not be able to collect bigger bins from the alleyway behind these properties.

We're writing to the residents in these areas to explain.

If there are 3 or more people in your household and you've ordered a bigger bin, you will not get one. Please keep using your existing bin.

If there are 2 people in your household and you've paid for an additional 140 litre bin, please call us on 01642 726001.

Streets affected:

Aysgarth Road, all properties (TS5 5DQ)
Barker Road, all properties (TS5 5EW)
Cambridge Road, numbers 1 to 15 (TS5 5ND)
Cambridge Road, odd numbers 81 to 12 (TS5 5LD)
Devonshire Road, even numbers 2 to 74 (TS5 6DL)
Eton Road, all properties (TS5 5ER)
Lambeth Road, all properties (TS5 6ED)
Linden Grove, all properties (TS5 5NF)
Queens Road, all properties (TS5 6EF)
Rockliffe Road, all properties (TS5 5DL)
Roman Road, odd numbers 63 to 107 (TS5 5PH)
The Avenue, odd numbers 1 to 17 (TS5 6QU)
The Crescent, odd numbers 1 to 33 (TS5 6SD)
The Crescent, even numbers 2 to 8 (TS5 6SE)
Thornfield Road, even numbers 22 to 42 (TS5 5LA)
Thornfield Road, odd numbers 21 to 51 (TS5 5DD)
Ventnor Road, all properties (TS5 6DX)
Windsor Road, all properties (TS5 6DR)

Most households will keep the same collection day, but some properties will have their collection day changed.

You can see your bin collection dates on MyMiddlesbrough. You'll need to scroll down the page to see your bin collection calendar.

No. You must put all rubbish in your bin, and you must be able to close the lid fully.

We will not collect rubbish or bags left beside your bin (side waste).

Our enforcement team will investigate any issues of side waste.

If you have too much rubbish, please make sure you're recycling as much as possible. Find out more about how to recycle.

You can get rid of your extra rubbish at the Household Waste Recycling Centre. Don't forget, you need to book an appointment, you can't just turn up.

No. Most people can keep using their existing (140 litre) black refuse bin.

We know some people will struggle with moving to fortnightly collections, so eligible households can request a bigger bin.

Not yet. We're planning to start food waste collections in 2026 in line with government legislation.

More information will be available closer to the time.

No, unfortunately this is not possible.

No. Your current (140 litre) bin is the smallest bin we provide.

You must keep the bin you have.

If you shut the lid properly on your bin, this should seal in any nasty smells.

We advise that you put items like food waste and used nappies in a bag before putting them in the bin. This will keep the inside of your bin clean and reduce the likelihood of smells.

Most councils already do fortnightly rubbish collections and there's no evidence that it causes ill health in those areas.

Yes, you'll still get assisted collections.

The only thing that's changed is we now collect your rubbish fortnightly instead of weekly.

If you no longer need assisted collections, please let us know by calling 01642 726001.

You may be eligible for an assisted collection if you can prove that you have a medical condition or disability which stops you from moving your bin.

You may also be eligible if you're an older person and you find it difficult or impossible to move your bin.

Find out more about getting help with putting your bin out.

You can use any bag, sack, or carrier to hold the rubbish you put into your black bin.

You can also put rubbish in loose, but we advise you put messy items (like food waste) in a bag. This will keep the inside of your bin clean and reduce the likelihood of smells.

Fortnightly rubbish collections will help us with the savings we need to make. Like many councils across the country, we struggled to set a balanced budget for 2024-2025, which we're legally required to do.

Most other councils in the country already have fortnightly collections for rubbish.

These changes will also help us to improve recycling rates in the town. We'll be doing more to help people understand how to recycle and what goes in their different bins.

No. The money we're saving by moving to fortnightly collections will be used to fill the shortfall in our budget.

No, we have not changed your collections.

We still collect rubbish from designated communal bin areas and back alleys every week.

We'll keep providing you with a roll of 52 sacks each year.

You can also buy your own sacks, but you cannot put out more than 3 sacks of rubbish at a time.

If you have too much rubbish, please make sure you're recycling as much as possible. Find out more about how to recycle.

We'll be looking at whether we can move some households from sack collections to bin collections in the future. For now, we are not making any changes.

If you're currently on sack collections, we'll keep collecting your waste every week. If this changes, we'll let you know.

We encourage residents on a communal bin collection to recycle. You can leave your recycling for collection in a clear sack at the front of your property.

If you're using recycling sacks, please don't wait until you've run out to order new ones.

You can order more sacks online or by calling 01642 726001.

You can also collect new sacks from:

• North Ormesby Hub - 2 Derwent Street, Middlesbrough, TS3 6JB
• Newport Hub - St Paul's Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 5NQ
• Streets Ahead for Information - 109-111 Parliament Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 4JE

No. We'll still be collecting recycling every 2 weeks.

However, some people might have their collection day changed.

You can see your bin collection dates on MyMiddlesbrough. Make sure you scroll down to see your bin collection calendar.

Yes, but we'll need to do an assessment first. Call us on 01642 726001 to find out more.