Black bins every three weeks, recycling and food waste weekly, and crews work every bank holiday. Garden waste is £70 a bin, or £17.50 if you qualify.

North Somerset collects on bank holidays. The council’s own instruction is blunt: “We collect on bank holidays so you need to put your bins out on your normal collection day.” The one exception is the fortnight around Christmas and New Year, when rounds move and you have to check your calendar.

That single answer covers the question most people are actually asking in late August and at Easter. The rest of this page covers the things the council splits across nine separate pages: which bin, how often, what the garden waste subscription costs, how long you have to report a missed collection, and which recycling centre is open on the day you want to go.

Last checked 1 September 2026. Every figure below is from North Somerset Council, linked at the point it appears.

Which bin, and how often

North Somerset moved most households to three-weekly black bin collections after a 2024 consultation. Recycling and food waste went the other way, to weekly.

Container What goes in it How often
Black wheelie bin Anything that cannot be recycled Every three weeks
Recycling boxes (green or black) Glass, paper, card, cartons, soft plastic Weekly
Red bag Plastic bottles, pots, tubs, trays, tins, cans, foil, aerosols Weekly
Food waste caddy and container Cooked and raw food, bones, dairy, peelings, pet food Weekly
Green garden waste bin Garden waste only, paid subscription Fortnightly, monthly in winter

Sources: three-weekly waste collections, what goes in your black bin, recycling boxes, red bag, food waste.

Put bins out on the edge of your property the night before, or by 6.30am. Some properties have sacks rather than a wheelie bin. Those get up to four sacks per collection, or two if the collection is weekly.

The council will not empty a bin whose lid will not close, and will not take bags left beside it. If your bin is regularly too small, there is a route to more capacity: you apply, a waste minimisation officer reviews it and contacts you, and households with nappies, medical needs or a lot of people in them may get a bigger bin or an extra sack allowance.

Find your collection dates by postcode

The red bag trap, and the replacement programme

Two things about the red bag catch people out.

The first is what goes in it. The red bag takes rigid plastic and metal: bottles, pots, tubs, trays, tins, cans, foil and aerosols. It does not take plastic bags or soft plastic wrapping. Those go in a recycling box instead, bagged in a carrier bag no bigger than a carrier bag with the top tied. Getting that backwards is one of the more common reasons a bag is left with a card on it. Recycling here is sorted by hand, so one wrong item stops the whole container being emptied.

The soft plastic collection is worth knowing about, because it is unusual. North Somerset says it was the first local authority in the country to offer a kerbside collection for plastic bags and soft plastic wrapping across a whole district. Crisp packets, bread bags, cling film, bubble wrap, frozen food bags and cheese and meat wrapping all go in.

The second is that the original bags fell apart. The council has a replacement programme running now, with new bags delivered by a van following the recycling crews on collection day. It expects that to take until spring 2027 to finish, and red bag orders are closed while it runs. In the meantime you can use existing boxes, carrier bags or any box no larger than a standard recycling box. The Drop and Swap events at The Campus on 20 August and in Portishead on 24 August were cancelled after 400 bags went at Locking Road on 13 August and 800 at Scotch Horn on 18 August. Source: red bag.

Garden waste: £70, or £17.50 if you qualify

Garden waste is a paid subscription. The rate for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 is £70 for each bin, with a maximum of two bins per household. Collections are fortnightly for most of the year and monthly in December, January and February.

The part the council does not put on the front of the page: there is a 75% discount, bringing the bin down to £17.50, for households receiving Council Tax Reduction, student-only households, households with the severe mental impairment discount, and armed forces exemptions. Source: garden waste service.

If you are on Council Tax Reduction, our council tax page covers what changed in that scheme this April, which matters here too.

Missed collection: you have until the end of the next working day

The deadline is tight and specific. If your bins were not emptied, you must tell the council by the end of the following working day. Their own example: a Friday collection has to be reported by 11.59pm on the Monday.

Before you report it, check the council’s daily missed collection report. It goes up around 6.30pm on weeknights, and if your road is on it the collection is already rescheduled and you do not need to do anything. Leave the bins out either way. The council aims to return within 48 hours of a report. Source: report a missed collection.

Bulky waste: the council does not publish a price

Bulky collections are run for the council by the Clevedon charity Changing Lives, and you book through the charity rather than the council.

We are not printing a price here, because North Somerset does not publish one. Its 2026 fees and charges schedule lists the bulky waste collection service as “price on application” (fees and charges, page 52). That is unusual: most councils publish a flat rate for the first three items. Ask Changing Lives for the current charge and the item limit when you book.

They will take:

  • sofas and armchairs
  • tables and chairs
  • mattresses and bed frames
  • white goods, for example fridges and freezers
  • doors, wood only

They will not take household waste or recycling, hazardous waste, garden waste, fencing or decking, paint, construction or DIY waste, or textiles. Those have to go to a recycling centre or a licensed private clearance firm. If you use a private firm, ask to see its waste carrier’s licence and ask where the waste is going. The duty of care stays with you.

Recycling centres: all three need a booking

There are three sites, and you must book a slot before you visit any of them. The council says vehicles without a valid booking may be turned away, and the acceptable arrival window is no more than 30 minutes either side of the booked time.

Weston-super-Mare, Aisecome Way, BS22 8NA. The only one open seven days.

  • Summer, 1 March to 30 September: 8am to 6pm every day, 8am to 4.30pm on bank holidays
  • Winter, 1 October to 28 February: 9am to 4pm Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday; 10am to 4pm Tuesday and Thursday; 9am to 4pm on bank holidays

Portishead, Black Rock Quarry, BS20 8JY. Closed every Tuesday.

  • Summer: 8am to 6pm Monday, Wednesday and Friday; 10am to 6pm Thursday; 9am to 6pm Saturday; 9am to 5pm Sunday; 9am to 5pm on bank holidays
  • Winter: 10am to 4pm Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday; 9am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday; 9am to 4pm on bank holidays

Backwell, Coles Quarry, BS48 3JF. Closed Wednesday and Thursday, and closed on every bank holiday.

  • Summer, 1 April to 30 September: 10am to 4pm Monday, Tuesday and Friday; 9am to 4.30pm Saturday; 9am to 4pm Sunday
  • Winter, 1 October to 31 March: 10am to 3pm Monday, Tuesday and Friday; 9am to 4pm Saturday and Sunday

Note that Backwell’s summer and winter seasons run to different dates from the other two sites, so in March the Weston and Portishead sites are on summer hours while Backwell is still on winter hours. All three close at noon on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve, and shut completely on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Sources: Weston, Portishead, Backwell, booking.

Vans and trailers need a free permit

Cars, SUVs and trailers under 1.8m need nothing. You need a permit for a van up to 3.4 tonnes including campervans, a trailer between 1.8m and 2.4m, a 4x4 or a single cab pick-up. Trailers over 2.4m and anything at or above 3.5 tonnes gross are not accepted at all.

Permits are free, last 12 months, cover all three sites and allow a maximum of 12 visits. Apply at least a month before you need it, because the council runs vehicle checks during the application. Source: recycling centre vehicle permits.

DIY and construction waste is charged

These are the 2026 rates from the council’s fees schedule, page 54:

  • hardcore, rubble, soil or ceramics: £2.50 per 25kg bag, first two bags free
  • plasterboard: £4.60 per bag or sheet
  • asbestos: £11.50 per bag or sheet
  • tyre: £3.50, or £4.20 with the rim
  • gas bottles: £3.00 under 5kg, £5.50 under 10kg, £12.00 for 10 to 35kg, £35.00 above 35kg

Christmas trees and the Christmas rounds

Collection dates over Christmas and New Year change every year and the 2026-27 calendar is not out yet. When it is, it will be on your postcode calendar rather than in a press release, so check there rather than assuming last year’s pattern.

The tree arrangement has been consistent: garden waste subscribers can put a real tree out on their first collection after the second Monday in January, either chopped into the bin or left whole beside it, no more than two metres long, with all decorations and the pot removed. Anyone can take a tree to a recycling centre. Source: Christmas recycling and waste information.

One number the council gives two ways

Worth flagging, because it appears in local argument about the three-weekly switch. The council’s three-weekly page says 45% of what goes in black bins could have been recycled. Its bin collection dates page says 50%. Both are live on the site today. The figure both pages agree on is that food waste makes up around 27% of the average black bin, and that black bin waste costs £130 a tonne to treat and dispose of.

Also on The North Somerset Post