Contaminated bins

Do you have the wrong items in your bins? If so, this is classed as contamination.

Bins containing incorrect waste should not be placed out for collection until this waste has been removed.

If our crews notice your bin has been contaminated they will not empty it and will place a tag on your bin to let you know what you need to do - see image for example of bin tag.

How can I make sure my bin is emptied?

To ensure your bin is emptied, you will need to remove the contamination before your next normal collection day.

• Find out what rubbish goes in which bin

Failure to do so may result in your property being put under Section 46 notice of the Environmental Protection Act, which means that if you put contaminated bins out in the future, you may face a fine and/or prosecution.

How to deal with bin contamination

If you move into a new property

If you have moved into a property and there is an issue with contamination there are a number of things you can do.

• Remove the items or empty the bins yourself
• If you bag the extra waste perhaps think about taking it to a local waste recycling centre.

If you're a new council tenant

• Your bins should be left empty for you. If this is not the case, please contact us to request that your bins are emptied.

If you're a new private tenant

• Please approach your landlord. It is your landlord’s responsibility to ensure that when you move in to the property all your bins are useable.

If you're a landlord

As a landlord, your contaminated bin is classed as business waste.

You will need to pay a charge of £20 per bin for the council to empty your bins.

You will need to advise how many bins need emptying and ensure that they are left accessible for the crew.

• Pay for your black bin to be emptied
• Pay for your blue bin to be emptied
• Pay for your green bin to be emptied
• Pay for your brown bin to be emptied

As a last resort you can report your contaminated bin

You can report your contaminated bin to Wigan Council and we will empty it on one occasion only. In doing so, we will place the household under Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act, which means that if you put contaminated bins out in the future, you may face a fine and/or prosecution.

There are 2 ways to report a contaminated bin:

• Report a contaminated bin as a Wigan Borough resident through MyAccount
• Report a contaminated bin (unregistered user).