Keeping track of which day is recycling day and which is a regular rubbish day often comes down to one simple technique: peering out of the window to see which bin your neighbours have put out! That’s certainly one way to do it, but did you know that many local councils have tools to help make recycling easier to remember? Here’s how to make the most of technology to transform yourself into the neighbourhood ‘binfluencer’!
Making the most of your local council
Many councils give you easy ways to set reminders and keep up to date with recycling information and collections. Your local council’s website is a good place to start, as many have bin day tools you can use to find out what’s being collected and when.
Oxfordshire City Council, for example, has a ‘Find Your Bin Day’ tool that tells you which bin to put out each week. As well as enabling you to download and print a collection calendar, it also allows you to sign up for email alerts. Similarly, Manchester City Council’s bin alert email service is open to anyone with individual wheelie bins in the city, while Exeter City Council’s bin reminder service will even email you the night before reminding you not to put your bin out if there’s a change in collection day (such as on a Bank Holiday).
Brentwood Council is among those offering a free SMS text reminder service, which sends you an automated text message the day before bin day reminding you which bin to put out, as well as alerting you to any changes in collection day.
In Falkirk, a handy calendar subscription service allows you to add bin reminders directly into your phone’s calendar, which automatically reminds you which bin day it is at 6pm the night before (you can adjust the time if you wish). This service is available for both Apple and Android phones, as well as for desktop computers.
Take a look at your local council’s website and you might well find they have a similar service.
Arm yourself with apps
For the more tech-savvy among you, some local councils offer mobile apps that you can download for reminders about bin day, along with lots of other information about your rubbish and recycling services.
For the more tech-savvy among you, some local councils offer mobile apps that you can download for reminders about bin day, along with lots of other information about your rubbish and recycling services.
Belfast City Council and Ards and North Down Borough Council, for example, both use the Bin-Ovation app, which not only gives you bin day reminders, but also has information on your nearest recycling facilities, holiday arrangements and what should go in which bin.
In the East Riding of Yorkshire, residents can download the East Riding App, which sends reminders about bin collection dates, shows you what to put in each bin and tells you about any changes to your bin collection dates – not just during holidays, but also in the event of bad weather or road closures. Meanwhile, Rotherham residents have the Rotherham Bins App, which allows you to set reminders and check collection dates.
If you live in South Norfolk, the South Norfolk Bin Collection app is the one to download. As well as all the usual features, including ‘print your own collection calendar’, it also has a waste sorting game – perfect for getting the kids on board with your household recycling efforts!
Over in Coventry, the Your Rubbish app keeps residents informed with collection reminders, which even tell you when to bring your bins back in and when not to put them out (such as during heavy snow). It’s got everything you need to know about what goes where and how to dispose of individual items, too!
Other ways to remember the recycling
If apps aren’t your cup of tea, there are a few more easy ways to keep track of bin day:
Look out for a leaflet from your council: some councils still provide a collection calendar by post, which you can pin up in the kitchen and refer to throughout the year.
Set reminders: whether you have a smart speaker, tablet or just a smartphone, making use of the ‘reminders’ function is a handy way to remember which bin day it is this week. For example, you can ask your Alexa to give you Bin Reminders to help you remember when to pop your bins out.
Calendar: if you favour a good old wall or desk calendar, you could always take a couple of minutes to mark up bin day each week with a different colour dot representing the colour of bin due to be collected that day.
And if all else fails, there’s still the tried and tested method: looking out to see what the neighbours are doing!
Finally, you can always use our Recycling Locator tool to find out what your local council will recycle if you’re ever not sure.
