Check your new bin day immediately
Collection day is set by street, not just by council, so your old address's day doesn't transfer — search your new address as soon as you know it, ideally before moving day, so you're not caught out during the first week when you'll likely have the most rubbish.
Confirm your bins are actually there
Kerbside bins usually stay with the property rather than following the previous resident, but it's worth a quick visual check on move-in day that all three (or four) expected bins are present and in reasonable condition — a missing or damaged bin is a quick, usually free, request to your new council rather than something to just live without.
What to do with packing waste
Cardboard boxes go in the yellow recycling bin once flattened — a whole unflattened box takes up recycling truck space disproportionate to its actual material, so flattening genuinely helps. Bubble wrap and other soft plastic packing material follows the same rule as any other soft plastic: not the recycling bin (see our soft plastics guide).
If you're disposing of furniture or items you're not taking to the new place, check whether your old or new council's hard rubbish service is the more useful one to book before the move rather than after.