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Flats with shared communal bins

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Communal bin collection service for flats

In Peterborough, if you live in a flat, you may have the use of a communal bin area for disposing of your waste.

Although the communal bin area at your building is the responsibility of your landlord / management company, we still provide and empty the bins. This includes:

  • A green recycling communal bin
  • A black general waste communal bin

Find out your bin collection days.

Items you put in the communal recycling bin

  • Please place recyclable items in the bin loose - no black bags
  • Please rinse any food packaging clean before recycling
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Even though electrical items, batteries and vapes can't go in your communal recycling bin, you can take these items for recycling at other locations. See further down the page for details.

Items you can put in the communal general waste bin

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Don't put batteries or vapes in the bin - it can cause fires

When batteries are thrown away into general waste or recycling bins, they are likely to be crushed and punctured during waste collection and processing. Some battery types can ignite or explode when damaged. 

In 2023, we dealt with 10 fires in our collection vehicles.

How to dispose of electrical items, batteries and vapes safely:

Food waste in flats

To comply with Government regulations, we must offer a food waste collection service to all flats in the city by March 2026. We will roll out this service in stages from September 2024.

We are contacting management companies to make arrangements. If you would like to make an enquiry about the roll out, please email us at recycling@peterborough.gov.uk.

Once a building starts receiving the food waste collection service, it will consist of:

  • Each building will have a communal food waste bin
  • Each flat will have an indoor food caddy and a roll of liners
  • Weekly collection

In the meantime, if your building isn't currently receiving a separate food waste collection service, please continue to put your food waste into the general waste communal bin.

View tips on how to reduce your food waste.

Bins are everyone's responsibility

We understand it can be hard sorting and moving your waste and recycling when you live in a flat.

It is the responsibility of everyone in your building to recycle, dispose of waste properly, and keep the bin area clean and tidy.

Please make sure you:

  • Put the correct items in the correct bin and in the correct way (see diagram above)
  • Don't block access to the bin store
  • Don't let the bins overflow - lids must shut
  • Don't put bags or items next to bins - this counts as fly-tipping
  • Don't put batteries or vapes in bins - this can cause fires

Why we ask you to follow these rules:

  • If the wrong items are in a bin, we can't empty it as the waste is 'contaminated' 
  • Blocked access to the bin store means our collection crew might not be able to get to the bin to empty it
  • Keep bin lids closed

If bins aren't emptied, or fly-tipping occurs, this could lead to:

  • Sanitary problems
  • Bad smells
  • Fire hazards
  • Health and safety hazards
  • Attraction of vermin - e.g. rats

Further information and services

Our Household Recycling Centre in Fengate is available to all residents for disposing of waste and recycling.

Visit our Household Recycling Centre page for information on opening times and a list of items you can take.

We offer a bulky waste collection service to all residents. We can come and collect items of furniture or appliances for a fee.

Your landlord or management company is responsible for the area of your building where the communal bins are kept. This includes any issues with safety, security, lighting, signage, cleanliness and maintenance etc.

If your flat is in a new development, it is the responsibility of the property developer to order and pay for the initial set of communal bins.

After that, it is the responsibility of the landlord or management company of the building to order new or replacement communal bins.

Landlords and management companies should email us at recycling@peterborough.gov.uk to place an order.

New or replacement 1100l communal bin – general waste or recycling = £189 per bin.

We can also fix wheel or lid issues.

You can report a missed bin collection on our WasteWorks system. You have until 4pm the next working day after your scheduled collection to let us know.

If you call our Customer Services Team before 5pm on collection day, the crew may still be in the area - 01733 747474.

If you have any questions about our waste collection services for flats, please email us at recycling@peterborough.gov.uk.

If you have tried to engage with your landlord or management company over waste issues affecting your building, but aren't getting anywhere, please contact us. Depending on the issue, we may be able to help.

Published: 05 November 2024