Street litter bins

We have award winning, large capacity smart litter bins utilising sensor technology across the city for our residents to dispose of their litter in.

You can view our smart litter bin locations, their current fill levels and the last, most recent date of emptying on our online forms. You can also report a bin if it is overfilled.

Our systems allow us to identify if a bin is overfilled. This may be due to exceptional usage or an operational issue. Litter bin emptying is carried out Monday to Friday, except for the City Centre which has daily collections. You only need to report an overflowing bin to us if a bin is overfilled for longer than one normal collection day.

Parks and open space litter bins

Before reporting an issue with one of these litter bins, please check who maintains that location. You can find a list of Parks here

If you need to report a problem with a litter bin in one of the listed parks or open spaces please contact Urban Green Newcastle with as much detail as possible regarding the location of the bin, and if it has a unique 4 digit ID number on the bin

• info@urbangreennewcastle.org
• 0191 814 4574

Please note that the Town Moor area is looked after by the Freemen of the City. Please see their website for more details

Newcastle City Council is not responsible for the content of external and third party websites.

Great Park litter bins

The scheme is being delivered by the Great Park Consortium, which includes the house builders Persimmon Homes, and Taylor Wimpey. Parts of the development have also been built by Barratt.

We don’t service the small litter bins in the Great Park. These are managed by the Great Park Consortium and issues need to be reported to them directly via their website.

Newcastle City Council is not responsible for the content of external and third party websites.

Dog foul bins

We do not provide bins just for dog owners to use.  Any dog waste should be bagged and placed in the nearest litter bin or taken home for disposal.

Dog owners are encouraged to train their dogs to foul in their own garden or yard.

Should the dog foul in a public place, the deposit must be cleaned up immediately, using a plastic, or other suitable, bag. The bag should be tied up and may be disposed of in any litter bin or taken home to a wheeled bin. If a litter bin is full, dog owners would be expected to either take the dog's waste home or use the next available litter bin. Leaving the bagged waste on the ground or in a hedge would be a criminal offence. The law says dog owners are responsible for clearing up after their dog, even if they were not with it or did not see it foul.

Smaller bins

Changes to litter bin provision were made across the city back in 2017. The Council took a budget decision to replace small capacity litterbins with large capacity litterbins across all wards in the City in response to significant budget cuts and changes to staffing levels. This was publicised at the time as part of budget consultation work. We had also reviewed our provision of street litter bins across the city which had shown that the current bins were no longer suitable or fit for current operational purposes. 

We replaced the small existing bins with larger capacity bins in locations where we identified they are most needed.  By using these larger litter bins we increased overall bin capacity across the city with fewer bins that can be emptied more quickly and safely by our ward teams. These are located in key sites which are also more accessible, meaning people with mobility issues and wheelchair users are able to use them, and council staff can collect them more easily.

There are still some small bins with no sensors fitted that we empty on behalf of other service areas by special agreement.

Other common questions

Why do people leave black bags near the litter bin on my street?

As part of our Community Litter Pick program, litter picking groups can leave bags of their collected litter near a litter bin so our crews can collect them. These bags should have special labels on.

If you see bags with no labels, or other items by one of our litter bins, please report it as fly tipping

Why isn’t there a bin near me?

Locations of the smart bins were based on a range of factors including closeness to shops, schools and large buildings, as well as high footfall areas. We use the data gathered from the bin sensors to determine how well used bins are, and when they require emptying.

You can find maps of bin locations checking against your postcode at MyNeighbourhood

It is not possible for the Council to place litter bins in every street, bus stop, road or highway, though every effort is made to locate bins where they are most needed and where there is the greatest level of pedestrian footfall.

Please note that not all highways or pavements are adopted, so some areas such as new developments will not have bins. Great Park have their own litter bin arrangements.

Where bins are not available then it is up to everyone to act responsibly and make arrangements to either take their litter home or carry it until a litter bin is available.

Can I get a litter bin on my street?

We review litterbin requests from residents and councillors annually.

The next citywide review will begin in mid-2024 and you can email litterbins@newcastle.gov.uk if you have any concerns, queries or requests regarding litter bins in your area.

We currently have no available stock for new bin requests and relocation of litterbins will only be considered if there is data to show that a bin is being under used and a relocation would increase usage. 

If a bin has been set on fire or vandalised it may be removed without being replaced, should the bin be unrepairable or continue to be a cause of antisocial behaviour