YES:
All the items below are safe to place in your household waste bag.

• General household waste
• Paper, newspaper and cardboard
• Plastics – bottles, tubs, pots and trays
• Food waste
• Food and drink cartons – plastic lined
• Baby and adult diapers (please double bag before placing in your trash bag out of respect for your collection crew)

NO:
All the items below should not be placed in your household waste collections:

• Furniture and large bulky items – old mattresses, sofas, wardrobes, tables, etc.
• Electrical items – unwanted TVs, batteries, computers, cell phones, etc.
• Hazardous wastes – paint, chemicals, acids, cleaning products, etc.
• Clinical wastes – used needles and other associated medical wastes
• Vehicle batteries and oils
• Compact fluorescent lightbulbs and fluorescent tube lights
• Items containing mercury – thermometers, thermostats and switches
• Animal waste – cat and dog faeces, etc.

These items should be taken directly to the Tynes Bay Public Drop Off during opening hours:

Monday - Friday: 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Saturdays: 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Sundays: 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Public Holidays: 9:00 a.m. until noon.
Christmas Day: Closed

Still unsure about the correct way to dispose of your waste?
Open the What Goes Where guide 

Waste is collected once a week per the following schedule:

• Monday: All of Sandys Parish. Southampton Parish west up to and including Lighthouse Road from Middle Road to South Road.
• Tuesday: Southampton Parish east of Lighthouse Road. All of Warwick Parish. Paget west up to and including Chapel Road, S Hill and Southcote Road. 
• Wednesday: Paget Parish east of Chapel Road, from, but not including S Hill and Southcote Road, and up to and including T-Street and Kent Avenue, Devonshire Parish. East Broadway. Cavendish Road. Pembroke Parish west of Blackwatch Pass.
• Thursday: Pembroke Parish east of Blackwatch Pass. Devonshire Parish east of T-Street. All of Smith’s Parish except the area east of Devil’s Hole Hill. 
• Friday: Smith’s Parish east of Devil’s Hole Hill. All of Hamilton and St. George’s parishes except the old towne.

How should I put my waste bags out?

• Use good quality bags to contain your waste to reduce the risk of the bag splitting or leaking when collected
• Ensure that any diapers are double bagged before placing in your waste bag
• Tie a knot in the top your bag so that it can be easily lifted by the collection crew
• Tip - Help prevent rodents, freeze food waste and place out with other garbage on day of collection only!

When should I put my waste bags out?   

Keep it simple, use the 6, 7, 8 Rule:

• 6 p.m. - Put your bins or bags out no earlier than 6 p.m. the night before collection.
• 7 a.m. - Or no later than 7 a.m. on your collection day.
• 8 p.m. - Bins back in by 8 p.m. on your designated collection day.

Where should I put my waste bags out?

Only at your designated waste collection site, which is either curb side, or at a pre-determined collection point in your neighbourhood.

Email the Marsh Folly Collections Department at waste@gov.bm

Email the Marsh Folly Collections Department at waste@gov.bm

1. Do waste collection days change during Public Holidays?

   Yes. Public Holidays may change your regular waste and recycling collection days! Changes are published in the annual Waste and Recycling Schedule. There’s also a rule of thumb to help you remember: Monday holidays push all waste collection to the next day, so, Monday’s waste is collected on Tuesday, Tuesday’s waste is collected on Wednesday, etc. ending the week with Friday’s collection taking place on Saturday; we call this a “roll-over” schedule.  Friday holidays only impact Friday collection, pushing it to Saturday.

2.  I’ve got additional waste or bulky items. What do I do?
   The Tynes Bay Public Drop-Off, located on Palmetto Road, Devonshire, has designated disposal areas for bulky items, hazardous waste items, household waste, e-waste, recyclables and other waste items.  It is free and open to drivers of private cars and LP vehicles only.  Hours of operation are 7a.m. to 7p.m., 7 days a week except public holidays.

   Monday - Friday: 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
   Saturdays: 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
   Sundays: 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
   Public Holidays: 9:00 a.m. until noon.
   Christmas Day: Closed

3. Do overhanging trees present a problem?

   Yes. Overhanging trees can cause injury to Waste Collection team-members and damage to waste collection vehicles.  Please consider the Waste Collection team who do a tough job and deserve to have free and clear access to neighbourhoods.   Damage to waste collection vehicles can result in costly repairs and vehicle down-time, which in turn could result in waste collection delays.

4. If I miss my waste collection day, can I use a bus stop bin, dock or other public area?

   No. There are never any circumstances under which household waste bags may be deposited in a public place including bus stops, public docks or park bins.  These areas are for the use of all, but not as dump sites.   Like your neighbourhood, bins in these areas are serviced once a week and if everyone used them like a public drop off system, imagine the mess, smell and vector problems that would be caused!  If you miss your weekly waste collection you may take your household waste to the Tynes Bay Public Drop-Off which is free and open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m., 7 days a week, from 9 – noon on public holidays. Closed Christmas day only.

5. How do I dispose of animal waste?

   Feces from herbivorous (non-meat-eating) animals such as chickens and Guinea pigs can be composted for use on home gardens. Feces from carnivorous animals such as dogs and cats can be flushed, buried to decompose, or bagged and brought to the Tynes Bay Public Drop Off. Please do not place animal feces of any type in your household waste bin for removal.  

6. What is the best way to manage food waste?

   To avoid over-shopping, a major source of food waste, try to avoid shopping when hungry or without a shopping list. When food waste is unavoidable, make a space in your freezer to store until your collection day.  Your kitchen bin will be cleaner, and your outside bin will not attract pests. For more information on avoiding food waste email waste@gov.bm for a copy of “Rethink Your Lunch Box”, a guide to packing cost effective lunches for the whole family.

7. What Happens to my Waste?

   Once your household waste has been collected by the Marsh Folly team in a compactor truck, your bags are delivered to the tipping hall at the Tynes Bay Waste to Energy Facility where over 60% of Bermuda’s waste is converted into electrical energy.  This energy is used to power the Tynes Bay facility, the North Shore Desalination Plant, which produces 1,000,000 gallons of drinking water a day, with the remaining energy being sent into the power grid for distribution across the island.

   It is important to keep non-burnable items and hazardous materials out of your household waste bags to optimize energy production at Tynes Bay and to minimize pollution from the burn process.

8. What’s in my bin? Bermuda’s household waste audit.

   Results from the last household waste audit undertaken in 2025 shows the following results:

   • Food Waste - 30% (scraps 19%, wasted food 11%)
   • Paper & Cardboard - 23%
   • Plastics & Styrofoam - 17%
   • TAG - 14% (Tin 1.5%, Aluminium 1.6%, Glass 10.5%)
   • Miscellaneous - 10%
   • Clothing & Textiles - 4%
   • Electronics - 1%
   • Yard Debris - 1%
   • Metals Other - 1%
   • Construction - 1%

9. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

   How can I REDUCE the amount of waste I produce?

   • Think before your buy – do you really need it?  Try not to food shop when hungry as this increases impulse purchases.

   • Choose products with less or no packaging.
   • Have your home water tank cleaned regularly and purchase a home water filtration system or a filter style wate bottle. This will help reduce the need to purchase bottled water.
   • Buy in bulk.
   • Look for items that you can re-use or that are packaged in TAG – tin, aluminium or glass recyclable packaging.

   How can I REUSE what I have?

   • Buy a refillable water bottle and use it!
   • Update your computer and other devices rather than throwing them out.
   • Bring your own bags and keep reusable bags with you.

   How can I RECYCLE what I have?

   • Recycling is great for the environment. Recycling an aluminium can uses 90% less energy than is required to make an aluminium can from virgin material.  Bermuda’s recycling programme primarily focuses on TAG – tin cans, aluminium cans and glass bottles.