Best bin day reminder apps UK (2026)
I make one of these apps, so take my opinions with that in mind. But I've genuinely researched the alternatives because I wanted to know what else was out there when I started building Binformation. Here's what I found.
The UK bin day app market is small. Most people either check their council website, rely on a printed calendar, or just know which bin goes out because they've lived in the same house for fifteen years. But if you want a phone notification the evening before telling you which bins to put out, these are your options.
The apps
Binformation
Mine. 334 UK councils. Android only. Enter your postcode, pick your address, get evening-before notifications with the specific bins listed. Calendar view and list view. Snooze reminders. Doze-proof exact-time alarms. Free with a single banner ad; £3.99 one-off removes it (£1.99 during the launch offer until 30 June 2026). Server-side data with daily refresh and six-hour cache.
The main weakness: no iOS version. If you need an iPhone app, stop here and look at BinDays or BinsOut below.
BinDays
Probably the most established dedicated bin day app. Covers 80+ councils with server-side data fetching. Available on both Android and iOS. Completely free, no ads, no IAP. Open source on GitHub. Offers a Home Assistant integration, which is a unique feature in this space. 4.1 stars on Google Play.
The main limitation is coverage. 80+ councils is less than a quarter of what Binformation covers. If your council is in their list, it's a good app. If it's not, it can't help you.
BinsOut
An email-first reminder service covering about 80 councils. You sign up with your postcode and email address, and BinsOut sends you an email at 6pm the evening before each collection. They also have an iOS app with push notifications and widgets. No Android app, though they've listed an Android beta on their website.
The email approach is clever. No app to install, works on any phone, and the delivery is reliable. If you just want a simple email reminder and your council is covered, BinsOut is a straightforward choice. Privacy-conscious too, with explicit GDPR/PECR compliance messaging.
Bintime
Different approach entirely. Bintime does not sync with council data. You manually set up your own bins, choose colours, and configure the collection frequency (weekly, fortnightly, custom pattern). It's a generic reminder tool that you configure yourself.
This means it works for any council because it doesn't need council data. But it also means you have to know your own schedule and enter it correctly. When bank holidays shift your collection day, Bintime doesn't know. You have to adjust it manually. Freemium pricing with in-app purchases. Android only.
If your council isn't covered by any of the data-syncing apps, Bintime is a fallback that at least gives you regular reminders on a pattern you set up.
MyBins
MyBins takes a B2B approach. Councils pay for the service, and residents of those councils get the app for free. It offers push notifications, a missed bin reporting feature, and a recycling education section. Available on both Android and iOS.
The catch is that your council has to have signed up and be paying for it. Coverage is patchy and depends entirely on council procurement decisions. If your council uses MyBins, it's polished and well-featured. If they don't, the app is useless to you.
BinMinder
Not an app at all, strictly speaking. BinMinder sends reminders via SMS, WhatsApp, push notification or email. You enter your postcode on their website, pick your council, and choose your delivery channel. No app download required.
This is good for people who don't want another app on their phone. The multi-channel delivery (particularly WhatsApp and SMS) reaches people where they already are. Coverage and council count aren't prominently listed on their site, so it's hard to compare directly.
Honourable mentions
My Bin Day (my-bin-day.co.uk) is a web tool, not an app. It covers 375+ councils but works as a directory: you enter your postcode and it redirects you to your council's collection page. No reminders, no notifications. Useful as a one-off lookup though.
Bin Reminder (by retfunsoft) is a basic manual-setup reminder on Android. Similar concept to Bintime but more stripped back.
Council-specific apps exist for some boroughs (Rotherham, East Herts, and others). They work for their specific council only and are typically white-labelled from waste platform companies.
Comparison table
| App | Syncs with council? | Coverage | Platform | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binformation | Yes (server-side) | 334 councils | Android | Free + £3.99 ad removal |
| BinDays | Yes (on-device) | 80+ councils | Android + iOS | Free |
| BinsOut | Yes (server-side) | ~80 councils | Email + iOS | Free |
| Bintime | No (manual setup) | N/A (any) | Android | Freemium |
| MyBins | Yes (council opt-in) | Varies | Android + iOS | Free (B2B) |
| BinMinder | Yes | Not listed | SMS/WhatsApp/email | Free |
What about council-syncing vs manual setup?
This is the biggest difference between the apps and it matters more than most feature comparisons.
Apps that sync with council data (Binformation, BinDays, BinsOut, MyBins) automatically update when your schedule changes. Bank holidays, Christmas shifts, route reorganisations, Simpler Recycling rollouts: the app picks up the new dates from the council's published data. You don't do anything.
Manual-setup apps (Bintime, Bin Reminder) remind you on a pattern you configure yourself. Weekly, fortnightly, whatever you set. But when a bank holiday pushes your collection day forward, the app has no way of knowing. You have to go in and adjust it manually. For eight bank holidays a year, plus Christmas, that is a lot of manual maintenance for an app that's supposed to save you effort.
If your council is covered by a syncing app, use a syncing app. The manual approach is a reasonable fallback if nothing else works, but it's a worse experience for something as schedule-dependent as bin collections.
Which should you pick?
If you're on Android and want the widest coverage: Binformation.
If you're on iOS: BinDays (app) or BinsOut (email + app), depending on whether your council is covered by either.
If your council isn't covered by any data-syncing app: Bintime for manual reminders, or BinMinder for multi-channel delivery without an app.
If your council specifically uses MyBins: use that. It's well-built and your council is paying for it.
If you just want a one-off lookup of your bin day without installing anything: My Bin Day (my-bin-day.co.uk) or your council's own website via the GOV.UK postcode tool.
None of these apps are bad. They all exist because the UK has no centralised bin schedule system, and someone had to build the bridge between council websites and phone notifications. The fact that there are several options is a good thing for users.
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