North Yorkshire Bin Collection Days and Recycling: How It Works by Area

Who collects the bins in North Yorkshire?

Since April 2023 the bins, recycling and garden waste across the county have been the responsibility of one unitary authority, North Yorkshire Council. That does not mean every household gets the same service. The council's own bin collection day page says that how and when your rubbish, garden waste or recycling is collected "is different depending on which part of North Yorkshire you live in". The areas it refers to are the former district council areas: Craven (Skipton), Hambleton (Northallerton), Harrogate (including Ripon), Richmondshire, Ryedale (Malton), Scarborough (including Whitby) and Selby.

Because of that, this guide cannot give you a single set of rules. What it can do is show you where the official answer for your address lives and flag what the council says is changing.

How do I check my collection day?

Use the council's bin collection day checker. It looks up your address and shows the dates for household waste, garden waste and recycling. The council's bins, recycling and waste hub is the starting point for everything else: bulky waste, missed collections, new or replacement bins, assisted collections, and a "what goes in your bin?" tool.

The "what goes in your bin?" page is also area-specific. The council's what goes in your bin page says that depending on where you live you might have black, grey, blue, green, brown or red bins, sacks, recycling boxes or recycling bags, and that what you can put in them depends on where you live. Use its town and village lookup rather than assuming the rules from a neighbouring town apply to you.

What is changing with recycling?

The council's Right thing, right bin page says that in due course residents will receive two wheelie bins for recycling: a blue-lidded bin for paper and card, and a red-lidded bin for glass, cans, plastic and cartons. The page says each bin is emptied on alternate fortnights (every four weeks), while rubbish continues to be collected every two weeks, though your collection day or time may change.

The page also says this two-bin model is already used in Selby, Malton and small areas of Harrogate. At the time of writing the council described the rollout as under way in the former Richmondshire area, with first collections under the new service beginning in October. For the other towns it says you will receive a letter when your area is due to get the new wheelie bins, and that until then you should keep using your existing recycling method. If other homes on your street have the new bins and you do not, the page tells you to contact the council.

If you live in a flat with communal bins, the council says it will review the number, type and size of communal bins at each site. If you currently have a sack collection for both rubbish and recycling, it says you stay on sacks.

Town by town: what to check

• Harrogate and Ripon (former Harrogate area). The council's missed collections page says residents in the former Harrogate borough can sign up for bin service text alerts. Small areas of Harrogate already use the two-bin recycling model.
• Scarborough and Whitby (former Scarborough area). Use the collection day checker; the council does not publish one rule for the whole county.
• Skipton (former Craven area). Use the checker and the "what goes in your bin" lookup for your address.
• Northallerton (former Hambleton area). Same: check by address.
• Selby and Malton. The council names both as places where the blue and red two-bin recycling model is already in use.

Garden waste

The garden waste service page says collections are fortnightly and take place between March and early December. A licence covers one 240-litre wheelie bin and costs, as published by the council for the 2026 service, £52, a one-off annual fee regardless of when you pay. Once you have paid, a licence pack should arrive within 14 days, including a sticker that must be displayed on your bin; the service does not start until the licence is displayed. The bin needs to be at the kerbside or collection point from the night before because collections can start from 6am. How garden waste is collected (bin, compostable liners, sacks or bags) depends on where you live.

The page lists what is accepted, for example grass cuttings, hedge clippings, leaves, small branches and windfall fruit, and what is not, including food waste, soil and rubble, wood, plastic bags and pet waste. Pay for a licence through the council's own online form linked from that page.

What if my bin is missed?

The council's missed collections page asks you to check first that your collection day has not changed and whether there are service disruptions such as bad weather. Wait until after 4pm on your collection day before reporting, because crews are still out until then. To avoid a miss, the page says to put the bin out before 6am, make sure it holds the right materials, is not overfilled with the lid closed, and has no extra waste beside it. For garden waste the licence sticker must be on the bin. The garden waste page asks you to report a missed collection within 48 hours.

Where you report depends on your area, so use the lookup on the missed collections page. The council also has pages for broken or damaged bins, ordering a new or replacement bin, requesting a larger or smaller bin, and a free assisted collection if you struggle to put bins out because of disability, illness or infirmity, all reachable from the bins hub.

Where else to look

For tips and bulky items see our household waste recycling centre guide. For anything not covered here, the council's A to Z and contact pages are the authority. We do not list individual collection days, because they change and depend on your address.