Non-metropolitan district · East of England, England

Cambridge bin collection day

Find your Cambridge bin collection day, check what goes in each bin and see how bank holidays change collections. Cambridge City Council empties bins in 9 postcode districts, including CB1, CB2, CB3 and CB4, covering places such as Babraham, Balsham and Bar Hill.

Check a postcode in Cambridge

Not sure whether your street is in Cambridge? Postcode districts on council borders can be split, so enter your full postcode to check.

Cambridge at a glance

125,063residents (2020)

41 km²area

9postcode districts

87places listed

About 125,063 people live in Cambridge (mid-2020 estimate) across 41 square kilometres. That makes it a dense urban area, where many homes share communal bins or have bins collected from the back of terraces.

Council: Cambridge City Council
Type: Non-metropolitan district
County council: Cambridgeshire County Council
Region: East of England

Who collects what in Cambridge

Cambridge City Council collects household bins, recycling, garden waste and bulky items. Cambridgeshire County Council is the waste disposal authority, so it runs the household waste recycling centres (the tips) and decides where the waste goes after collection. If you have a question about your bin day, missed bins or new bins, contact Cambridge. For tip opening hours, van permits or booking a tip slot, contact Cambridgeshire County Council.

Bank holidays and Cambridge bin days

When a bank holiday lands on or before your collection day, Cambridge may collect as normal or move collections later in the week. These are the next bank holidays in England and Wales:

Christmas and New Year cause the biggest changes. See Christmas bin collections for what usually happens.

Recycling rules in England

Under Simpler Recycling, councils in England must collect the same core recycling from every home: paper and card, glass, metal, plastic (including cartons), food waste every week, and garden waste for households that ask and pay any charge. The rules applied from 31 March 2026, with plastic film and bags joining the plastic stream from 31 March 2027. Councils still choose their own bins, colours and rotas.

GOV.UK: Simpler Recycling household guidance

Not sure which bin something goes in? Our which bin A to Z covers everyday items, and bin colours explained covers what each colour usually means. Cambridge has the final say, so check its website if your bin label disagrees.

Postcode districts in Cambridge

Cambridge collects bins in all or part of these postcode districts. Districts marked on more than one council page cross a boundary.

• CB1
• CB2
• CB3
• CB4
• CB5
• CB21
• CB22
• CB23
• CB24

Towns and villages in Cambridge

Bins in these places are collected by Cambridge.

• Babraham (CB2)
• Balsham (CB1)
• Bar Hill (CB3)
• Barrington (CB2)
• Bartlow (CB1)
• Barton (CB3)
• Bottisham (CB5)
• Bourn (CB3)
• Boxworth (CB3)
• Boxworth End (CB4)
• Burwell (CB5)
• Caldecote (CB3)
• Cambridge (CB21, CB22, CB23, CB24, CB5)
• Camps End (CB1)
• Castle Camps (CB1)
• Castle Ward (CB23)
• Caxton (CB3)
• Caxton Gibbet (CB3)
• Cherry Hinton (CB1)
• Chesterton (CB4)
• Chittering (CB5)
• Church End (CB1, CB4)
• Comberton (CB3)
• Commercial End (CB5)
• Conington (CB3)
• Cottenham (CB4)
• Dry Drayton (CB3)
• Duxford (CB2)
• Elsworth (CB3)
• Fen Drayton (CB4)
• Foxton (CB2)
• Frog End (CB3)
• Great Abington (CB1)
• Great Eversden (CB3)
• Great Shelford (CB2)
• Great Wilbraham (CB1)
• Hadstock (CB1)
• Hardwick (CB3)
• Harlton (CB3)
• Harston (CB2)
• Haslingfield (CB3)
• Hauxton (CB2)
• Highfields (CB3)
• Hildersham (CB1)
• Histon (CB4)
• Horningsea (CB5)
• Horseheath (CB1)
• Kingston (CB3)
• Knapwell (CB3)
• Landbeach (CB4)
• Lark Hall (CB1)
• Linton (CB1)
• Little Abington (CB1)
• Little Eversden (CB3)
• Little Shelford (CB2)
• Little Wilbraham (CB1)
• Lode (CB5)
• Lolworth (CB3)
• Longstanton (CB4)
• Longstowe (CB3)
• Madingley (CB3)
• Newton (CB2)
• Oakington (CB4)
• Over (CB4)
• Pampisford (CB2)
• Papworth Everard (CB3)
• Papworth St Agnes (CB3)
• Queen Edith's Ward (CB22)
• Rampton (CB4)
• Reach (CB5)
• Sawston (CB2)
• Shudy Camps (CB1)
• Stapleford (CB2)
• Stow cum Quy (CB5)
• Swaffham Bulbeck (CB5)
• Swaffham Prior (CB5)
• Swavesey (CB4)
• Toft (CB3)
• Trumpington (CB2)
• Waterbeach (CB5)
• West Wickham (CB1)
• West Wratting (CB1)
• Weston Colville (CB1)
• Weston Green (CB1)
• Westwick (CB4)
• Whittlesford (CB2)
• Willingham (CB4)

Councils near Cambridge

• South Cambridgeshire bin collection
• East Cambridgeshire bin collection
• Huntingdonshire bin collection
• Uttlesford bin collection
• West Suffolk bin collection
• North Hertfordshire bin collection

Bin Collection Day is independent and not run by Cambridge City Council. Collection dates and services can change at short notice; the council's website is always the final word.