Clean and safe
Waste in Maastricht: waste calendar, collection days, the red bag and waste pass
Where to find the waste calendar, when to put your bags out and what the red bag costs. How waste collection in Maastricht works, the waste pass and what SAB thinks about it.
The Maastricht waste collections calendar is in the council’s MilieuApp and online at mijnafval.maastricht.nl/kalender: enter your postcode and house number to see your collection days. Household (residual) waste goes in the red and white Maastricht bag and is collected on Tuesday once every two weeks, or every week in the city centre. Food and garden waste is collected every week for free.
Where do I find the waste calendar for my street?
The waste collections calendar of the municipality of Maastricht shows the collection days for your own address. There are three ways to check it.
- Online: at mijnafval.maastricht.nl/kalender, with your postcode and house number.
- MilieuApp: the free council app for iPhone (App Store) and Android (Google Play). The current app has a blue-green icon with three arrows; older apps are no longer updated.
- On paper: once a year a printed calendar arrives in your letterbox.
The MilieuApp can also send you a reminder when it is time to put your waste out: go to ‘Meer’ (more) and then ‘Ophaalalarm instellen’ (set collection alarm). Collection days can shift around public holidays or in extreme weather, and the app notifications tell you in time. Need help installing the app? The Digicafé in Centre Céramique helps every Wednesday from 10:00 to 12:00, no appointment needed.
How often is waste collected in Maastricht?
In Maastricht, food and garden waste is collected every week, and household waste and PMD (plastic and metal packaging and drink cartons) once every two weeks. The city centre has its own rhythm: household waste and food and garden waste are collected every Tuesday evening, and you take PMD to a street recycling point yourself.
| Waste | Collection |
|---|---|
| Household waste (red bag) | once every 2 weeks, on Tuesday; in the city centre every week, Tuesday evening |
| Food and garden waste (green bin) | every week; in the city centre on Tuesday evening |
| PMD | once every 2 weeks; in the city centre you take it to a recycling point |
Since 1 January 2026, PMD is also collected from the door in Wyckerpoort, Heugemerveld, Wyck, Jekerkwartier, Kommelkwartier, Statenkwartier, Boschstraatkwartier and Sint Maartenspoort. Only in the central shopping area do you take PMD to a recycling point. There is no collection on public holidays; the calendar shows the replacement day.
What time do I put my bags out?
Outside the city centre, you put your waste out in Maastricht from 19:00 on the evening before collection day and no later than 6:00 on collection day itself, because collection starts at 6:00. This applies to household waste, PMD, food and garden waste, paper and cardboard and textiles.
| Waste | Put it out |
|---|---|
| City centre: household waste, food and garden waste | on collection day between 17:00 and 19:00 |
| City centre: paper and cardboard, textiles | from 19:00 the evening before until 6:00 on collection day |
| Rest of Maastricht: all types | from 19:00 the evening before until 6:00 on collection day |
Place your waste on the pavement in front of your home, close to the street, or at the central collection point if your address has one. Tie bags closed. Take your green bin back inside on the day it has been emptied.
The red bag: what does it cost and where do I buy it?
Household waste in Maastricht is only collected in the red and white Maastricht residual waste bag, known locally as the red bag (rode zak). Waste in any other bag is left behind and can lead to a fine. Just moved to Maastricht? Buy a roll before your first collection day.
| Bag | Price 2026 | Max. weight |
|---|---|---|
| 25 litres | €13.80 per roll of 20 bags | 3.5 kg |
| 50 litres | €11.90 per roll of 10 bags | 7 kg |
You can buy red bags at supermarkets and shops in Maastricht, including Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Plus, Jan Linders, Spar City and Gamma. If you qualify for relief from municipal taxes with BsGW (kwijtschelding), the council also pays you an allowance: €23.40 if you live alone and €35.10 if you live with others. You receive a letter about this and do not need to apply separately. See money worries and tax relief for more.
Are underground containers replacing the red bag?
Between 2026 and 2030, many neighbourhoods in Maastricht get waste points with underground containers for household waste. Some high-rise blocks already have one. You open an underground container with your waste pass (milieupas) and pay per opening; BsGW sends the bill once a year. If the lid does not open fully, you pay nothing.
For people in small homes or with limited mobility, a container is precisely the problem, says SAB (Sociaal Actieve Burgerpartij). SAB wants to keep the red bag for everyone who has nowhere to put a container.
PMD and food waste: free to separate
PMD packaging and food and garden waste cost nothing to hand in in Maastricht. The more you separate, the fewer red bags you need to buy.
- PMD bags (about 60 litres, yellow or white) are free at the same shops that sell the red bag, and at Lidl and Aldi. Only empty plastic and metal packaging and drink cartons from your household go in; rinsing is not needed. Deposit bottles up to 1 litre and cans go back to the shop.
- Food and garden waste (gft+e) goes in a green caddy of 25 litres (up to 7 kg) or a wheelie bin of 140 or 240 litres (up to 75 kg). Each household can request up to two green bins, online with DigiD via the council e-loket or by calling 14 043.
What is the waste pass (milieupas) for?
The Maastricht waste pass, called the milieupas, gives access to the recycling centres and opens the underground household waste containers. With the milieupas you can also open the locked container for nappies and incontinence material at many street recycling points for free, once you have registered via the council website or on 14 043. Each address has one waste pass.
- On your phone: add the pass in the MilieuApp via the pass icon or under ‘Meer’, with your address and pass number. Everyone living at the address can add it to their own app.
- Lost, broken or stolen: request a new pass or pass number free of charge with the council’s request form. The old pass is then blocked.
- Moving house: your old pass is blocked, so you can leave it behind. If you move within Maastricht or to places such as Heerlen, Kerkrade, Meerssen, Vaals or Valkenburg aan de Geul, a new pass arrives in your letterbox at your new address.
Which recycling centres there are, when they are open and what you can bring for free is explained on recycling centres in Maastricht.
My waste was not collected. What now?
If your red bag, PMD bag or green bin in Maastricht was not collected, report it to the council through the BuitenBeter app or by calling 14 043. The same goes for a full container at a street recycling point. Cannot sort it out with the council? Send the form of the free SAB help desk and we will work it out together.
Recycling points and bulky waste
Glass, paper and cardboard and nappies go to a street recycling point (milieuperron) in your area for free. Bulky waste goes to one of the three recycling centres, or you have it collected. On a low income or with a Wmo referral, collection is free once a year: see free bulky waste collection.
Taking bulky waste away is simply not doable for many older people, and you can see the result in the neighbourhood: rubbish dumped next to the recycling points. Seen dumped waste? Report it through the fly-tipping report form of SAB and we pass it on to the council. For other problems in your street, see reporting nuisance in Maastricht.
Source: Municipality of Maastricht, pages on the waste calendar, residual waste bags, PMD, food and garden waste, the MilieuApp and the waste pass (gemeentemaastricht.nl), checked on 19 October 2026.
Frequently asked questions
The Maastricht waste collections calendar is in the council's MilieuApp and online at mijnafval.maastricht.nl/kalender. Enter your postcode and house number to see your collection days. A printed calendar is also delivered to your letterbox once a year.
Household waste in Maastricht is collected on Tuesday once every two weeks. In the city centre it is collected every Tuesday evening. The calendar shows which week applies to your street. SAB wants weekly collection back.
Outside the city centre, put your waste out from 19:00 on the evening before collection day and no later than 6:00 on collection day. In the city centre, household waste and food and garden waste go out on collection day between 17:00 and 19:00.
Household waste must go in the red and white Maastricht bag, sold at supermarkets such as Albert Heijn, Jumbo, Plus and Jan Linders and at Gamma. In 2026 a roll of 20 bags of 25 litres costs €13.80 and a roll of 10 bags of 50 litres €11.90. PMD bags are free.
Between 2026 and 2030 many neighbourhoods in Maastricht get waste points with underground containers for household waste, which you open with your waste pass and pay per opening. SAB wants to keep the red bag for everyone who has nowhere to put a container.
Request a new waste pass (milieupas) or pass number free of charge on the council's waste website, mijnafval.maastricht.nl. The old pass is then blocked. There is one pass per address, and everyone living there can add it to their own MilieuApp.
Report a bag or bin that was not collected to the municipality of Maastricht through the BuitenBeter app or by calling 14 043. Cannot work it out? Send the SAB help desk form and we will report it together.
Take bulky waste to one of the three recycling centres in Maastricht, or have it collected. On a low income or with a Wmo referral, collection is free once a year. SAB wants collection to be free for over-65s.
Cannot work it out?
The help desk helps you free of charge, including with reports and applications. Fill in the form and we will get in touch.
Go to the help desk