Bin collection times
An alternate weekly collection for composting is run in St Edmundsbury. The day and times of collections do not change from week to week. Please make sure your bin is at the kerbside by 7am in the Bury St Edmunds area and 6am in the Haverhill area. If you need to know your bin collection day please contact the waste management team on 01284 757320.
Bank Holiday bin collections
Please see our Bank holiday bin collections page for information.
What should go in my brown bin?
Garden waste and green kitchen waste (such as vegetable peelings and tea bags) can be put into your brown bin. Unfortunately cooked food, meat, fish and bones cannot be put in your brown bin due to our composting process. Please see What goes where (PDF 124Kb) for information.
Please note shredded paper can now go in your brown bin.
Can I put shredded paper in my brown bin?
Yes. We recommend that shredded paper is mixed in with your garden waste so that it doesn't fall out during the collection process.
What happens to my compostable waste?
Your brown bin waste goes to a composting plant at Lackford. It is picked for any contamination and then shredded into smaller pieces. Then it is put into a covered chamber where it heats naturally. It then matures outside and is fine screened before onward transportation to County Mulch Ltd in Creeting St Mary. The compost is then sold for use in agriculture and municipal parks and gardens. Bags of this compost can be bought from your local household waste recycling centre. You can see a slide show and video clip of this process on How it is done.
Can I put weeds in my brown bin?
Yes. This is because the temperature at the composting facility is higher than those likely to be achieved through home composting and therefore will kill off any weeds.
Why can't I put cooked food in my brown bin?
Following the Foot and Mouth outbreak, any food that has been in contact with animal by products cannot be composted through our system. Some local councils can accept this material as their composting facility has a different treatment process.
Can the council provide me with a home composter?
The council does not sell compost bins directly however please see the Recycle Now website, or call 0845 076 0223 for more information.
Can I have a larger or an extra brown bin?
It is important that the council encourages the use of home composting and controls the amount of material collected. For this reason we do not provide larger or extra brown bins.
Household waste recycling centres
Any compostable waste that will not fit in your brown bin can be taken to your local Household waste recycling centre free of charge.
My bin is damaged/split
Periodically wheeled bins may split. If this has happened to one of your bins please contact us and report the damage. A replacement bin will be delivered as soon as it can be arranged.
Do you have a question which is not covered above?
If so please email: waste.management@stedsbc.gov.uk or phone 01284 757320
