Home and household
How to stop your bins smelling, especially in summer
Most bin smells come from three things: food, nappies and pet waste. Warm weather and fortnightly general waste collections make them worse. The good news is that a few habits stop almost all of it.
Keep food out of the general waste bin
If your council collects food waste, use the caddy for every scrap, including meat and bones. Food rotting in a wheelie bin for two weeks is the main cause of smells and maggots. See our food caddy guide.
Wrap and bag the smelly things
- Double-bag nappies and cat litter, and tie the bags tightly.
- Wrap meat and fish scraps in newspaper before they go in the caddy.
- Squeeze the air out of bin bags before you tie them.
Keep the lid closed
Flies lay eggs on anything they can reach. A lid that does not close lets them in. Do not overfill, and replace a bin with a broken lid; many councils repair or replace damaged bins.
Keep it cool and dry
Stand bins in the shade if you can. Drill no holes. Put a layer of newspaper in the bottom to soak up liquid, and change it after each collection.
Clean it regularly
Wash the bin every few weeks in summer. Our guide to cleaning a wheelie bin shows how to do it without flooding the drains.
Natural deodorisers
- Bicarbonate of soda. Sprinkle a handful in the bottom of a clean dry bin.
- White vinegar. Wipe the inside of the lid with diluted vinegar.
- Cat litter. A layer of clean litter in the bottom absorbs moisture.
Put it out every time
Even if the bin is only half full, put it out on collection day in hot weather. A half-full bin left another fortnight smells far worse than a full one emptied on time.