In an effort to increase efficiency and to take into account new housing, the waste and recycling collection days are changing for 19,000 households in Purbeck including Swanage, Wareham and the surrounding villages.
Those whose bin day is changing should have already received a letter in the post from Dorset Council informing them of their new collection day, which starts from the week beginning Monday 28th September 2026.
Letters to 19,000 households have been sent out by Dorset Council including this one to residents in South Swanage
Moving from Thursday to Tuesday for most of Swanage
In Swanage, for most households, the day is changing from Thursday to Tuesday, which means that bins need to go out by 6 am on Tuesday 29th September 2026.
It affects most households served by Dorset Council’s Wareham waste depot, including homes in:
- Swanage
- Corfe Castle
- Wareham
- Wool
- Bovington
- Lytchett Matravers
- Upton
- Bere Regis
- The surrounding Purbeck villages
Only affected households will have received a letter and if a home does not receive a letter, the collection day remains unchanged.
However, residents can check their bin collection dates on the Dorset Council website, or just keep an eye on when the most reliable neighbour in the road puts their bins out!
Check the correct day and whether is is rubbish or recycling from Monday 28th September 2026
Extra collections
The weekly collection continues to alternate between recycling and rubbish.
For some residents the sequence is swapping, so weeks that were due to be a rubbish collection are now recycling and this information has been detailed in the letter for those affected.
For those who it does concern, Dorset Council says due to the gap between rubbish collections and to minimise disruption, it will take a maximum of one additional rubbish sack on a household’s first rubbish collection day.
For this purpose the rubbish does not need to be in authorised Dorset Council blue sacks.
It is understood that during the early introductory period, Dorset Council may do extra collections on a Saturday to ensure a smooth transition to the changes.
Dorset Council says it has tested the new routes to reflect real conditions, including road layout, access issues and the time each street typically takes to service. Similar changes were introduced in Weymouth earlier in 2026.
Further information
- Check your correct bin day online
