Household Waste
There are different ways in which trash is taken care of. The municipality collects trash from the containers outside your home, or picks it up from communal containers. There are also designated trash collection areas where you can deliver your trash.
Leiden
The municipality picks up trash every week. In the city centre of Leiden you can get rid of your rubbish at any time in one of the underground containers. To use these, a container card is required. You can get these at the municipality. These underground containers are meant for domestic trash. There are separate containers to hand in paper, glass, plastic or bulky waste. If you live in the city centre, visit the website of the Leiden municipality to find out more about the containers.
Outside of the city centre, there are containers you get for your personal use. Each week, you put a designated container by the road to be emptied by the municipality. There are two kinds of containers: the green container is meant for vegetable/fruit/garden waste. The grey container is meant for domestic waste. You can find more information about these containers and when they will be emptied in each area on the Leiden municipality website.
Leiderdorp
In the municipality of Leiderdorp, different types of containers are used. To be as environmentally friendly as possible, you will receive two different types of containers to separate your waste. These containers are emptied weekly, so each one is emptied every other week. The green container is meant for vegetable/fruit/garden wasste. The grey container is meant for domestic waste. There are also extra containers in each neighbourhood where you can recycle glass and paper. If you live in an apartment building you can make use of underground containers, to access these you need an Afval Pas. You can find more information about the collection of waste on the official Leiderdorp website.
Voorschoten
In Voorschoten you have three containers at your home. One contianer is for old paper. You will also have a green container for vegetable/fruit/garden waste and a grey container for domestic waste. If you live in a highrise area, you can use big containers placed outside. To use these, you will need an Afval Pas. You can find more information about trash in Voorschoten on the municipality website.
Zoeterwoude
In Zoeterwoude the municipality empties a container every week. You get two containers for your home, a green container for vegetable/fruit/garden waste and a grey container for plastic, metal and drink cartons. For all remaining waste you can make use of underground containers in your neighbourhood. To use these, you will need an Afval Pas. Every time you throw a bag in the underground container you will pay a fee. You can find more information about this on Zoeterwoude's municipality website.
Ways to recycle electronic appliances
There are other items that must be recycled rather than be put in your household waste, but that are not collected by the municipality as part of the regular collection.
If you are planning to replace them, you can give broken electronic appliances such as washing machines to the shop where you are buying a new one. When you buy an appliance in the Netherlands, you pay a small ‘disposal tax’. The shop must then take your old appliance. If you’re not buying a new appliance, go to a milieustraat or throw it out as bulky waste (grofvuil).
Smaller electronic items, such as light bulb or batteries, but also tablets or printers, can be handed in at special boxes in supermarkets, garden centres or
Bulky and Chemical Waste
Bulky and chemical waste can be brought to the official waste collection depots (milieuparken), where it has to be divided into clearly defined waste categories. In addition to paper, glass and plastic, these categories also encompass iron, cardboard, plasterboard, chemical waste and more. Please note that these waste collection depots have restricted opening times. In addition, these locations are only for individual use; the staff may require a letter with your address and name on it to prove you are not disposing of commercial waste illegally. You can hand in some types of waste for free, while others require a fee. This all depends on the municipality you live in.
Go to the waste page of your local municipality to find out about the opening hours, and what kind of waste you can drop off.
