Sevenoaks Bin Collection Days: Check Yours + 12 Oct Switch

If you have just moved to Sevenoaks, or you keep guessing which week the recycling goes out, this is the page to bookmark. Below is how to find your collection day, what belongs in each bin, what happens on bank holidays, and the single most important thing to know in 2026: the whole service is changing. New wheelie bins, a weekly food waste caddy and the district’s first kerbside glass collection are all arriving this year, so the system you know now will not be the system you have by Christmas.

The quick answer

To find your day, enter your address in Sevenoaks District Council’s free waste collection checker, then put every container out by 7am. From 12 October 2026 the district switches to wheelie bins: a 180-litre black bin for rubbish and a 240-litre green-lidded bin for all recycling, glass included for the first time, collected on alternate weeks, while the food waste caddy stays weekly. Bins are being delivered between mid-July and early October, but the switch happens on the same day for everyone, so do not use a new bin before 12 October. Garden waste is a separate paid subscription.

How to find your bin collection day

Sevenoaks District Council runs a free online checker. You enter your address and it returns your rubbish, recycling, food waste and garden waste days.

• Go to the council’s find your waste collection day page and use the lookup tool.
• If you start from GOV.UK’s rubbish collection day finder, it simply matches your postcode to Sevenoaks District Council and sends you to the council’s own system.

Whatever day you are given, the rule is the same: containers out by 7am on collection day. Crews will not come back for bins put out late (Sevenoaks District Council collection rules).

What goes in which bin (the system right now)

Wheelie bins are landing on doorsteps across the district through the summer, but nothing about your collections changes until 12 October. Until that date most homes stay on the older sack-based service, with the weekly food waste caddy added on top from late April 2026:

• General rubbish: black sacks, collected weekly.
• Recycling: reusable bags or clear sacks, collected weekly. You do not separate it; paper, card, cans, plastic bottles, pots and tubs go in together.
• Food waste: a small grey kitchen caddy and a larger black and orange outdoor caddy, collected weekly on the same day as your rubbish and recycling.
• Garden waste: an optional paid service (see below).

These are the rules listed on the council’s collection rules page.

Food waste: what it is and what goes in

From Monday 27 April 2026, the council started separate weekly food waste collections for most households, with caddies delivered to around 50,000 homes from 30 March (council food waste announcement). It covers cooked and raw food: peelings, plate scrapings, bones, bread, teabags and the like. What it does not take is plastic bags or food packaging. Once collected, the food waste goes for anaerobic digestion to make renewable energy and fertiliser (food waste service).

Residents have taken to the new caddies quickly: in their first month the food waste rounds gathered 220 tonnes of scraps and lifted the district’s recycling rate to a record high, as we reported when Sevenoaks recycling hit a record high.

Flats, homes above shops, properties on communal bins and a small number of hard to serve addresses are not on the food waste service yet. The council says it plans to add communal recycling facilities for those residents in future years.

How to line your food caddy, and where to buy liners for 50p

This is the part that trips people up, and the council’s rule is strict: line the small indoor kitchen caddy with a compostable liner or a sheet of newspaper, and never a plastic bag, not even one labelled biodegradable. When you empty the indoor caddy into the black outdoor caddy with the orange lid, the liner goes in with it. Then lock the outdoor caddy by pushing the handle down, or the lid will not stay shut on a windy collection morning (food waste collections).

Compostable liners are on sale in most supermarkets, but you do not have to pay supermarket prices. Kent County Council is running a pilot that puts discounted caddy liners on sale at 50p a roll, limited to two rolls per person, at outlets across the district. The council describes the offer as available for a limited time, so it is worth using while it lasts. The same outlets sell garden waste sacks at £29 for a bundle of 25, or £1.16 for a single sack (where to buy liners and sacks).

Twenty-eight outlets stock them, spread across twenty towns and villages, and many are parish offices and village shops rather than big stores:

The council asks you to ring ahead before setting off, since stock and opening hours vary, and only its own offices are guaranteed to have them. If your household fills the outdoor caddy before collection day, you can ask the council for a second one, and new residents who arrived without caddies request them through the same replacement caddy form.

Garden waste: a paid subscription

Garden waste is not free in Sevenoaks. Your weekly rubbish, recycling and food waste collections are covered by your council tax, but garden waste sits outside that: it is a separate paid subscription that runs for 48 weeks a year, with a four week break over Christmas and New Year (garden waste collection):

• £65 a year for a 240 litre garden waste wheelie bin.
• £48 a year for a smaller 140 litre bin if storage is tight.
• Sacks are sold in bundles of 25 for £29, or about £1.16 each individually.

Lawn cuttings, leaves, hedge trimmings, weeds, twigs, small shrubs and branches under one metre long and 50mm thick can go in. Soil, turf, stones, rubble, food waste, plastic, wood, fencing and pet waste cannot (what goes in garden waste). Anything bigger or unsuitable needs a trip to one of the district’s two Kent County Council recycling centres, at Dunbrik near Sundridge or Pedham Place in Swanley, where you have to book a slot before you go.

How to sign up for or renew garden waste collection

Because it is subscription only, no garden waste is emptied until you have joined and paid. Both starting and renewing are handled on the council’s garden waste collection page:

• New subscribers pay online, then receive a 240 litre or 140 litre bin (or a first bundle of sacks) and a start date. Collections then fall fortnightly on the same weekday as your other bins.
• Existing subscribers renew once a year to keep the service running. The subscription covers 48 weeks, with a four week break over Christmas and New Year, so it is worth renewing before your current year ends to avoid a gap.
• Address changes, extra bins and a missed garden waste collection are all reported through the same council pages, not a separate line.

Sevenoaks garden waste collection dates 2026

Garden waste is collected fortnightly, on the same day as your other bins, across a 48 week subscription year with a four week pause over Christmas and New Year. That works out at roughly 24 collections a year: one every other week, then a gap of about a month over the festive period before the fortnightly rhythm resumes. There is no single district-wide calendar: your garden waste collection dates depend on which round your address sits in, so two streets a mile apart can be on opposite weeks.

To get your own 2026 garden waste dates:

• Enter your address in the council’s find your waste collection day tool. It lists your next garden waste date alongside your rubbish, recycling and food waste days.
• Note your collection weekday, then count in fortnightly steps to map out the rest of the year. The tool is the authoritative source if a date ever looks off.

One thing to plan for in 2026: the move to wheelie bins and alternate-weekly rounds (see below) reshuffles collection days for rubbish and recycling from October. Your garden waste subscription and its fortnightly pattern continue, but it is worth re-checking the council tool once the new service starts on 12 October so your garden waste dates line up with the new schedule.

“Green bin” in Sevenoaks: which one people mean

Ask about the “green bin” in Sevenoaks and you could mean one of two things, so it is worth being clear:

• The green garden waste bin. This is the paid subscription bin above, collected fortnightly for garden cuttings only. If you are searching for “green bin collection” and you mean garden waste, use the fortnightly dates from the council’s checker.
• The new green-lidded recycling bin. From autumn 2026 the district’s new 240 litre recycling bin has a green lid and takes all your dry recycling, including glass for the first time. That is a different bin on a different, alternate-weekly schedule.

Green-lidded recycling bins are being delivered across the district now, but they are not in service until 12 October, so a “green bin” going out this week still means garden waste. Once the new collections start, check the council tool again so you know which green bin goes out which week.

The big change in 2026: wheelie bins are coming

This is the part worth reading even if you think you know your bin days. Sevenoaks is moving from sacks to wheelie bins, and the changeover happens in stages across 2026.

The council has now confirmed the full detail, including the exact start date. Our report on the Sevenoaks wheelie bins recycling upgrade sets out the 12 October 2026 switch-over, the summer delivery window, and what happens to the old green recycling bags.

Between mid-July and the start of October 2026, most households receive two wheelie bins (new bins and collections from autumn 2026):

• A 180 litre black bin for general rubbish.
• A 240 litre bin with a green lid for all your dry recycling.

The recycling bin will, for the first time, take glass bottles and jars at the kerbside, alongside paper, cardboard, cans, foil, plastic bottles, pots and tubs, cartons and even empty toothpaste tubes. The council’s line is simple: “You can put all your dry recycling in one bin.”

What changes for you

Three things matter for your routine:

1. Collections go fortnightly for rubbish and recycling. From October 2026, general waste and recycling will be collected on alternate weeks, one week one, the next week the other. Food waste stays weekly, which is the council’s answer to the usual worry about smell with fortnightly rubbish (changes to your collection service).
2. Do not use a new bin the day it turns up. Around 100,000 bins are being delivered between mid-July and the start of October, but the changeover is district-wide on Monday 12 October, not household by household. The council’s instruction is blunt: “Do not use them until the new service begins from 12 October 2026.” A wheelie bin put out before that date will not be emptied, so keep using your sacks until the 12th, however long the new bins have been sitting in the garden (new bins and collections from autumn 2026).
3. The green recycling bags stop on 12 October, replaced by the green-lidded bin. There is no rush to get rid of them: the council is running a separate collection for unwanted bags from early 2027. From the 12th, anything left beside a bin is side waste and will not be collected.

Households with extra need, large families, certain medical conditions, or nappy users, will be able to apply for more capacity, and assisted collections continue for residents who cannot move a bin themselves.

Bank holidays: collections move back a day

Around most bank holidays in Sevenoaks, collections do not stop, they shift. The pattern the council has used is that there is no collection on the bank holiday Monday, and every collection that week moves back one day, so a Tuesday round becomes Wednesday, and so on to the Saturday. That is how it handled the September 2022 bank holiday, when collections ran a day late all week (bank holiday waste collections).

The dates change every year, and the Christmas and New Year period is the one to watch. The council announces each year’s arrangements as a service update on its rubbish and recycling pages, so check there in the run-up rather than assuming your normal day holds. This year the same banner carried the heatwave notice that moved August collections earlier, so it is the page to watch for short-notice changes too.

If your bin is missed

Crews will not empty a bin or sack that is contaminated with the wrong materials, overflowing, too heavy, blocked, or left out with loose side waste. Nor will they take anything put out late or in the wrong place: everything should be at the edge of your property nearest the road by 7am, and not put out before 6pm the night before (collection rules). If none of that applies and your collection was genuinely missed, report it through the council’s report a missed collection page.

Food waste is the exception worth knowing. It travels on a different lorry from your rubbish and recycling, so it is often picked up hours apart from everything else. An empty kerb by mid-morning does not mean you have been missed. The council asks you to wait until 4pm on your collection day before reporting food waste as missed, and if you do report it, leave the caddy out until it is emptied.

Frequently asked questions

How do I find my bin collection day in Sevenoaks?

Use the council’s find your waste collection day tool and enter your address. It returns your rubbish, recycling, food waste and garden waste days. Put everything out by 7am.

When do the new wheelie bins start in Sevenoaks?

The new collections start on Monday 12 October 2026, on the same day right across the district. Bins are delivered between mid-July and the start of October, but the council asks you not to use them before the 12th, and a wheelie bin put out early will not be emptied. Keep using your current sacks until that date.

When is the green bin collected in Sevenoaks?

It depends which green bin you mean. The green garden waste bin is a paid subscription collected fortnightly, on the same weekday as your other bins, so check your dates in the council’s find your waste collection day tool. From autumn 2026 there is also a new recycling bin with a green lid for all your dry recycling, including glass, collected on alternate weeks once the new bins are delivered.

Are bin collections weekly or fortnightly in Sevenoaks?

Right now most rubbish and recycling is weekly. From October 2026, general rubbish and recycling move to alternate weeks (fortnightly each), while food waste stays weekly.

Does Sevenoaks collect glass at the kerbside?

Not yet, but it will. Kerbside glass collection starts on 12 October 2026 with the new service; glass bottles and jars will go in the green-lidded recycling bin.

What are the garden waste collection dates for 2026 in Sevenoaks?

Garden waste is collected fortnightly, on the same weekday as your other bins, over a 48 week year with a four week break at Christmas. There is no single calendar for the district, so enter your address in the council’s find your waste collection day tool to see your own dates, then count in fortnightly steps. Re-check it once the new service starts on 12 October 2026, as collection days are being reorganised.

What can I use to line my food waste caddy in Sevenoaks?

A compostable liner or a sheet of newspaper. Plastic bags are not accepted, including bags sold as biodegradable. Compostable liners are stocked by most supermarkets, and Kent County Council is running a pilot that sells caddy liners at 50p a roll, two rolls per person, from 28 outlets across the district.

How much does the garden waste service cost in Sevenoaks?

A 240 litre garden waste bin is £65 a year, a 140 litre bin is £48 a year, and sacks are £29 for a bundle of 25. The service runs 48 weeks a year.

Do bin days change on bank holidays in Sevenoaks?

Yes. There is usually no collection on the bank holiday Monday and the rest of that week’s collections move back by one day. The council posts each year’s exact dates as a service update on its rubbish and recycling pages, so check there before the Christmas and New Year break.

Sources

• Sevenoaks District Council, find your waste collection day
• Sevenoaks District Council, our waste and recycling collection rules
• Sevenoaks District Council, new bins and collections from autumn 2026
• Sevenoaks District Council, changes to your recycling and waste collection service
• Sevenoaks District Council, council gears up for new weekly food waste collections
• Sevenoaks District Council, food waste collections
• Sevenoaks District Council, where to buy food waste bin liners and garden waste sacks
• Sevenoaks District Council, garden waste collection and what goes in your garden waste
• Sevenoaks District Council, bank holiday waste collections
• Sevenoaks District Council, report a missed collection
• GOV.UK rubbish collection day finder for Sevenoaks
• Kent County Council, Sevenoaks Household Waste Recycling Centre

Last updated 16 August 2026: food caddy liner rules, the 50p liner outlets and the 4pm food waste reporting rule added and checked at source on that date; council link paths re-checked. Other figures and dates date from earlier August checks. Figures are from Sevenoaks District Council; the service is mid-change in 2026, so check the council’s own pages for the latest before putting your bins out.

Image: “Wheelie bins on parade in Pepper Lane” by Ian Greig, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wheelie_bins_on_parade_in_Pepper_Lane_-geograph.org.uk-_2724999.jpg).