Never Forget the Bin Again

Waste bin at the curb in front of a residential house in the evening

We’ve all been there: you hear the garbage truck in the morning and realize the bin is still in the garage. With a waste calendar workflow and Controller Hub in Controller for HomeKit, that’s a thing of the past. This workflow reminds you automatically the evening before – via push notification, a colored light, and a spoken announcement on your HomePod. Since Apple Home doesn’t natively support calendar-based automations, Controller is the only HomeKit app that can do this.

Prepare Your Calendar

For the workflow to know when each bin is collected, you need a calendar with your collection dates. Most waste disposal companies offer an ICS file on their website. Open the URL on your iPhone – the Calendar app will automatically offer to subscribe.

Then open Controller for HomeKit and go to Settings > Integrations > Calendar & Reminders. Tap "Grant Access" and confirm the iOS prompt. On the same screen you will see your calendars listed. Tap "Edit" and enable the calendar that contains your collection dates.

Calendar settings in Controller for HomeKit with waste calendar enabled

Apple TV as Hub

If your Controller Hub runs on an Apple TV, there’s a catch: tvOS has no calendar access. Instead, you use a calendar subscription via URL. Go to Settings > Integrations > Calendar & Reminders > Calendar Subscriptions in Controller and tap "Add Calendar URL". Enter a name (e.g. "Waste Calendar") and paste the URL.

The easiest option is to use an ICS URL provided by your waste disposal company – you can paste it directly. If your collection dates are in an iCloud calendar instead, you can share it publicly: open the Calendar app on your iPhone, tap "Calendars" at the bottom, then tap the info button (i) next to the calendar. Enable "Public Calendar" and tap "Share Link". Paste the generated URL into the Calendar Subscriptions in Controller.

Create Start Events

Create a new workflow and tap "Add Start Event". Under Calendar, select "Event starts". Choose your waste calendar and set the match type to "Contains". Enter the name of your first bin type as the event title, e.g. "General waste" – this way the start event only reacts to general waste dates. Enable "Include all-day events" if your collection dates are stored as all-day events. Set the timing to e.g. 5 hours before the event so the workflow triggers the evening before at around 7:00 PM. Repeat this step for each additional bin type: add a separate start event with the matching title filter, e.g. "Organic waste", "Recycling" and "Paper".

Multiple calendar start events with title filter per bin type

Steps

Add an "If/Else" Step

Tap "Add Step" and select "If/Else" under Logic. As the condition, choose the start event condition and check which start event triggered the workflow. Select the general waste start event. The three actions for general waste go inside the "Then" block: notification, light, and speech (see below). For each additional bin type, add an "Else if" branch and select the corresponding start event as the condition.

If/Else control structure with start event condition

Add a "Notification" Step

Inside the "Then" block, tap "Add Step" and select "Notification". Set the title to something like "Waste collection tomorrow" and the message to "The general waste bin is being collected tomorrow." This way you have the reminder at hand even when you’re out.

Notification step with title and message

Add a "Control Accessory" Step

Tap "Add Step" again and select "Control Accessory". Choose a smart RGB light – ideally in your hallway or entrance where you’ll see it on your way out. Set the power state to "On" and use the color picker to choose a color matching the bin type, for example white for general waste or yellow for recycling.

Control accessory step with color picker for an RGB light

Add a "Speech output" Step

Tap "Add Step" once more and select "Speech output". Set the text to something like "General waste is being collected tomorrow. Please put the bin out." The announcement is played on the device running the workflow – typically your Controller Hub.

Speech output step with announcement text

All Bin Types in One Workflow

In each "Else if" branch, add the same three steps – notification, light, and speech – and adapt them to the bin type. For organic waste, choose green or brown as the light color and update the texts accordingly. For recycling use yellow, for paper use blue.

This way, a single workflow covers all your waste types. Each bin type has its own start event with a title filter, and the "If/Else" branching automatically picks the right color, text, and announcement.