Farnham Bin Collection Days: Black Bin, Recycling, Food and Garden Waste

Who collects my bins in Farnham?

Bins in Farnham and the surrounding villages are the responsibility of Waverley Borough Council, not Farnham Town Council or Surrey County Council. The council's bin collection day checker says Biffa collects the bins, and the main bins, garden waste and recycling hub is where you manage everything else, from garden waste subscriptions to reporting problems. The same rules apply whether you live in GU9 or GU10, so Wrecclesham, Hale, Badshot Lea, Rowledge and The Bourne all use the same service.

How do I find my collection day?

Use the council's online checker. As Waverley describes it, you enter your postcode only, click Continue, then choose your address from the list. It shows recycling, rubbish, food waste and garden waste collections (garden waste only for properties that have subscribed).

Rubbish and recycling run on a Week 1 and Week 2 pattern. The council publishes downloadable calendars for each, so once the checker tells you which week you are in, you can download the matching calendar. Garden waste has its own Week 1 and Week 2 calendars. If you live in a block of flats with communal bins, the council also lists weekly collections of electrical items in pink bins on days that vary by postcode area, so check the same page.

What goes in each bin?

The council's guide to recycling, waste and composting sets out the rules. In summary:

• Blue bin (recycling): paper and card such as newspapers, envelopes, junk mail and cereal boxes, plus plastic bottles, glass containers, tins and cardboard packaging. Keep items loose in the bin, with no plastic bags or black sacks. Black plastic and contaminated materials are listed as not accepted.
• Black bin (general rubbish): items that cannot be recycled or composted, such as nappies, sanitary products and broken crockery.
• Food waste: cooked and uncooked leftovers, fruit and vegetable scraps, meat, tea bags and coffee grounds go in the small silver kitchen caddy, collected weekly. Plastic packaging and liquids such as oil or milk are not accepted.
• Brown bin (garden waste): grass cuttings, leaves, small branches, twigs and prunings, collected every two weeks. Soil, stones, turf and plastic bags or liners are not accepted.

The council also notes that a damaged food waste caddy can go in your black bin.

How does the garden waste subscription work?

Garden waste is an optional paid service. On Waverley's garden waste collection page, the cost for a new subscriber is listed as £136.70 per bin, which includes a £49.10 one-off bin loan fee on top of an annual service charge of £87.60. The subscription runs for one year from sign-up and renews annually. Collections are fortnightly (25 across the year) and run year-round apart from a short break over Christmas. You verify your Waverley address, complete the online form, pay securely and, according to the page, receive your brown bin within four weeks.

Accepted: grass cuttings, leaves, hedge trimmings, small branches and twigs, flowers, plants and fallen fruit. Not accepted: soil or turf, stones or rubble, food waste, plastic bags, and large branches or logs. These are the figures as published by Waverley; check the page for the current price before you sign up.

How do I get rid of a sofa or a washing machine?

Bulky waste is collected through the Furniture Helpline rather than by the council directly. Per Waverley's bulky waste page, one to nine items are booked online with the Furniture Helpline form, and ten or more items need an emailed quote. A single item is listed at £49 (£41.65 with eligible benefits), with the price rising with the number of items, and upholstered furniture may carry an extra £10 per item. Items must be safe to lift, dry and placed outside where the crew can reach them by 7am on collection day. Hazardous waste, very large items such as sheds and pianos, and vehicle parts are excluded. If you would rather take things yourself, see our Farnham recycling centre guide.

What if my bin is missed?

Waverley's report waste issues page says you must report a missed collection within three working days of your collection date, using the online form, after checking that your bin was out by 6am with the lid fully closed. The same page covers damaged bins (order a replacement online and contact the council to arrange removal of the old one), overflowing litter and park bins, and fly-tipping. See our report a problem guide for the full list.

Do collections change at Christmas?

Yes. The checker page states that collections change over Christmas and New Year: bins are still collected, but on different days, except garden waste, which has a break over the festive period. Check the checker or the council's festive calendar in December rather than assuming your usual day.

A note on council changes

Waverley's own services page states that new websites are being developed for East and West Surrey councils ahead of their launch in April 2027. Web addresses and where you report things may change, so if a link in this guide stops working, start from the Waverley services page or Surrey County Council's website.