Every Hertsmere collection moves one day later in bank holiday week, so Friday's goes on Saturday. Plus the four bins, garden waste at £55 and the tip ePass.

Monday 31 August is a bank holiday, so every Hertsmere collection that week happens one day later than usual. Monday’s round runs on Tuesday. Friday’s round runs on Saturday 5 September.

That is the borough-wide rule, not a one-off. Hertsmere’s collections and calendar page states that when a public holiday falls in the week, all collections take place one day later, unless you are told otherwise.

Christmas is the exception, and it is the one to watch. The council does not publish the festive changes on its website in advance. It tells you by putting a bin hanger on your black bin during December.

The four bins in Hertsmere

Every household should have four containers. The council lists them as:

  • black bin: household rubbish that cannot be recycled, every two weeks
  • brown bin: mixed recycling, every two weeks
  • silver bin: food waste, every week
  • green bin: garden waste, every two weeks, only if you have paid

Which Hertsmere bin takes what

The rounds run on a two-week cycle, on the same day each week:

  • Week 1: black and silver
  • Week 2: brown, green and silver

Bins must be on your property boundary by 6am on collection day, within arm’s reach of where the drive meets the footpath, side by side rather than one behind the other. Crews collect one bin only per household and will not take extra bags left beside it.

The brown bin takes everything in one go: glass, plastic bottles and tubs, tins and foil, cartons, cardboard and paper. Black plastic meat and fruit trays are accepted, which is unusual. What will get it rejected is crisp packets and soft plastic film, plastic bags, polystyrene, drinking glasses and Pyrex, wrapping paper, kitchen roll, and greasy pizza boxes.

Batteries and vapes are the serious one. They are banned from every bin because they catch fire when crushed in the lorry. Take them to a recycling centre or a supermarket collection point.

Finding your day

Use the council’s own bin round search, which gives your collection day and the correct calendar to download. There are different calendars for different parts of the borough, so the one your neighbour in another street uses may not be yours.

If you live in a flat or share bins, the pattern can differ. The council has a separate page for collections in flats.

If your day changed in spring, this is why. Weekly food waste collections started on Monday 7 April 2025, and the council re-cut the rounds at the same time to make them more efficient. Roughly 39,000 households were given a 23 litre silver bin over the preceding months. In its announcement of the change the council said it would prioritise the black bin during the switchover, so some households had their black bin emptied two weeks running and then waited an extra week for the brown one.

Kitchen caddies are free. You can pick one up from the Civic Offices and 96 Shenley Road in Borehamwood, Wyllyotts Theatre in Potters Bar, Aldenham Parish Council in Radlett, or Bushey Grove Leisure Centre. Compostable liners are sold at those points and at Furzefield and The Venue leisure centres, but you do not have to use them. Any plastic bag except a black one works, because the processing plant strips the bag out at the start.

Garden waste: £55 this year

Garden waste is the only kerbside collection Hertsmere charges for, and the green bin is only emptied if it carries a current sticker.

The council’s garden waste page gives these prices for 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027:

Garden waste Cost
First green bin £55
Concessionary rate, if you get Council Tax Support £35
Each additional bin subscription (maximum three) £65
Buying an extra green bin £44

That is a £5 rise on the £50 charged from April 2025. The price is the same whenever you join, so signing up in September costs what it cost in April. Subscriptions are not refundable, and stickers take up to ten working days to arrive.

Two things catch people out. Food waste in the green bin means it will not be emptied, because garden waste goes for open windrow composting and food goes to a separate plant. And the service stops for two weeks over Christmas and New Year, which is one missed collection.

If you would rather not pay, the council points to home composting through Get Composting, or to taking garden waste to a recycling centre yourself.

Bulky items and missed bins

For furniture and large items the council will collect a maximum of five items at a time. The booking page sets out the cost:

  • £50 minimum for three items, depending on what they are
  • £10 per additional item, or a second £50 collection may be needed
  • £50 per item for TVs and fridges or freezers

Book on 020 8207 7480. Payment is taken in full before the collection. To cancel and get a full refund you must ring by 4pm at least one day before, which for a Monday collection means the Friday. Crews take only the items you listed, will not enter your property, and refuse a long list of things including fence panels, sheds, baths, boilers, doors and windows, rubble and bagged household waste.

Missed collection: you have 48 hours. If your bin has not been emptied by 4pm on collection day, report it within two days and the council will return. Report it later and it waits until the next scheduled collection. That is stated plainly on the missed collections page, along with the reasons a crew will legitimately have left your bin: contamination, overloading, the wrong bin out, or the bin not on the boundary by 6am.

The tip: two sites, and you now need an ePass

Hertsmere has two recycling centres, both run by Hertfordshire County Council rather than the borough. They close on different days, so between them one is open every day of the week.

Recycling centre Address Open Closed
Elstree Radnor Hall, Allum Lane, Elstree, WD6 3NN Mon and Thu to Sun, 9am to 4.30pm Tuesday and Wednesday
Potters Bar Cranborne Industrial Estate, Cranborne Road, EN6 3JE Mon to Wed and Sat to Sun, 10am to 5.30pm Thursday and Friday

Both are open on every bank holiday except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, so the 31 August closure that catches people out at other councils does not apply here.

You now need a free ePass to get in. The county council’s ePass scheme registers your number plate against your address. Key points:

  • it is free, applied for online, and available to use instantly
  • you do not book a slot and there is no limit on visits for cars
  • there is nothing to print or display, because ANPR cameras read the plate
  • a household can hold up to three ePasses
  • turn up without one and staff will register you there and then, but only if you have proof of address with you

Hire cars can be registered, and those passes last seven days. Vans and trailers still need their own ePass and remain limited. The county also says the system will track DIY waste visits so the free allowance cannot be exceeded by touring different sites.

Questions people actually ask

Do bins get collected on the August bank holiday in Hertsmere?

Yes, but not on your usual day. Everything shifts one day later for that whole week, so Monday’s round is emptied on Tuesday and Friday’s on Saturday.

Which bin does food waste go in?

The silver one, every week. It holds 23 litres, against 240 litres for the black, brown and green wheelie bins. Its handle locks the lid when pushed forward, which is what keeps foxes out.

How much is garden waste collection in Hertsmere?

£55 for the first bin for 2026/27, or £35 if you receive Council Tax Support.

Does the council take my green bin away if I do not subscribe?

Only if you ask. Otherwise keep it and use it for storage.

Sources

Every figure above was checked against the council’s own pages on 26 August 2026. Prices and rounds change, so confirm before you pay or travel.

Correction, 24 September 2026: this page previously gave the start of weekly food waste collections as 7 April 2026. The council’s announcement is dated 31 March 2025 and the service began on Monday 7 April 2025.