Keeping our city centre clean and safe

Street cleansing in Belfast city centre

During the Fleadh, our staff, together with our statutory partners, will be making the city look its best.

• Our teams will be operating 24 hours a day across the Fleadh week, to keep Belfast city centre clean and tidy.
• During the day, rapid response teams will empty street bins and pick up litter across the pedestrian zone.
• Overnight, our staff will work from late in the evening until the early hours to power wash streets and get the city ready again for the following day.

You can report any cleansing requests to us online.

Disposing of litter and recycling

There will be extra bins provided to deal with additional litter.

Instead of our usual street bins, look out for bespoke recycling stations across the pedestrian zone.

These include three bins for different types of waste.

• Green for mixed dry recycling – cans, plastic bottles and cardboard.
• Brown for food waste – leftover food scraps.
• Black and white for general waste – any other non-recyclable litter. This includes glass (you are not permitted to have glasses and glass bottles on the street).

Volunteers will be near these stations to help you separate your waste and use the bins.

We will also have additional general waste bins in place across the pedestrian zone. 

If you can’t find a street bin, please hold onto your waste until you reach the next one.

Commercial waste collections

With road closures in place, businesses inside the pedestrian zone will need to manage their commercial waste collections and deliveries carefully. 

There are also changes to commercial waste collections that we operate, for those customers inside the pedestrian zone. 

Read more about this on our information for businesses page.

All our other commercial waste collections will be operating as normal. 

Keeping business premises clean and tidy

If you’re inside or outside the pedestrian zone, keep your premises tidy. 

Deliveries and waste collections for businesses inside the pedestrian zone are being co-ordinated, alongside our own overnight cleansing work, to minimise any spills and to make sure the city is as tidy as possible for the next day. 

You can help by co-operating with our staff and making sure you put plans in place in good time.

• Secure waste bins properly.
• Dispose of liquids and oils properly.
• Speak with your waste collection provider to put extra bins in place if needed. 

If you need advice, get in touch with our team by emailing [email protected] 

If you’re concerned about drug litter outside your property, read our information on disposing of this waste safely. Our teams can also provide advice on this.

If you’re thinking of sprucing up your shopfront or premises with flowers, our Belfast in Bloom competition is open until 31 July 2026, with categories for Belfast businesses.

Household bin collections

Most household bin collections will continue as normal. You should continue to leave your bin out on its usual day. Find your bin collection day.

A small number of residents living within the pedestrian zone in Belfast city centre will be impacted. You can read more about this in our information for residents.

Neighbourhood cleansing

You can report any street cleansing issues, including fly-tipping, to us online.

Due to the expected visitor numbers across the city, we will be prioritising requests for support during this time. 

You can help us by following these steps. 

• Follow our advice for leaving your bin out for collection and bring it back into again afterwards.
• Don’t dump extra bags beside your bin. 
• Bin your litter and pick up after your dog. If you can’t find a bin, or the nearest one is full, bring it home with you to dispose of it. 
• Organise a community clean-up and we will provide the equipment needed.

Support for vulnerable people

Our Safer Neighbourhood Officers will be working across the Fleadh and other city events this summer, supporting our statutory partners and other organisations working in the city centre. 

There will be:

• increased co-ordination between our teams and partners
• regular foot patrols continuing across the pedestrian zone, and
• support available for visitors, residents and businesses.  

This partnership approach will also make sure vulnerable people continue to receive the support they need, including signposting towards services like the Complex Lives programme, which works to help individuals break the cycle of chronic homelessness.