Bin Collections Are Changing Across England — How to Keep Track

If your bin collection schedule feels different lately, you are not imagining it. Since 31 March 2026, England's Simpler Recycling rules have started rolling out — and they are changing what gets collected, when, and how often for millions of households.

What is Simpler Recycling?

Simpler Recycling is a government initiative to standardise kerbside bin collections across England. The idea is to end the so-called “postcode lottery” of recycling — where what you can put in your recycling bin depends entirely on which council area you live in.

From 31 March 2026, all councils in England are expected to offer:

• Weekly food waste collections — the biggest change for most households. A small caddy for peelings, leftovers, and plate scrapings, collected every week.
• Standardised dry recycling — aluminium foil, yoghurt pots, Tetra Pak cartons, and other items that were previously hit-and-miss depending on your area.
• Garden waste — councils must offer a garden waste collection, though many will charge for it (as they already do).

On top of that, many councils are moving general waste to fortnightly or even three-weekly collections to encourage recycling. That means fewer general waste pickups and more sorting at home.

The problem: a quarter of councils are not ready

The deadline was 31 March, but a BBC investigation found that at least 71 councils will not be ready on time. The reasons are practical — not enough specialist collection vehicles, funding gaps for the weekly food waste rounds, and unresolved issues with flats above shops where there is no space for extra bins.

The government has provided over £340 million in grants for vehicles, bins, and initial setup. But many councils say the ongoing running costs are not covered, and the competition for specialist trucks is fierce when every council in the country needs them at the same time.

What this means in practice: your schedule might have already changed, or it might change in the coming weeks and months as your council catches up. Either way, the days and frequencies you are used to may no longer be right.

How to stay on top of it

The old-fashioned approach is to check your council's website, find the bin collection page, type in your postcode, and hope the schedule is up to date. Some councils are better at this than others.

But if you want something that just tells you what to put out and when — automatically — that is exactly what Kepthouse's bin day reminders are built for.

How it works

1. Add your property in Kepthouse (or open one you have already saved).
2. Toggle on bin day reminders.
3. The app detects your council from your address, fetches your collection schedule, and shows it on your dashboard.
4. You get a push notification the evening before each collection telling you exactly which bins to put out.

The schedule refreshes automatically in the background, so when your council updates its dates — whether that is a Simpler Recycling rollout, a bank holiday adjustment, or a one-off change — Kepthouse picks it up without you having to do anything.

Works with over 90% of UK councils

Bin day reminders cover over 90% of UK councils across England, Scotland, and Wales. Your council is detected automatically. If yours is not yet supported, the app lets you know — and new councils are being added regularly.

Completely free

Bin day reminders are not locked behind a paywall. They are free for everyone, for every property. I built this feature because knowing which bin to put out should not require a spreadsheet or a council website that was last updated in 2019.

What else Kepthouse tracks

If you are already managing a household, bins are just one piece. Kepthouse also tracks:

• Maintenance tasks with due dates, recurrence, and reminders
• Warranties with expiry dates and receipt scanning
• Subscriptions with renewal dates and cost totals — useful when everything is going up this April
• Vehicles with MOT, tax, and insurance dates auto-filled from the DVLA
• Properties with EPC ratings, gas safety, EICR, and insurance dates
• Service contacts with star ratings and usage history

All data stays on your device. Backups go to your own Google Drive. I never see your information.

Get started

Kepthouse is free to download. Add a property, toggle on bin reminders, and stop worrying about which bin goes out when.