Post, parcels and rubbish
Ordering online and separating your rubbish both run into rules that are more local than they look, a parcel held for a limited time at a pickup point, and a waste system that can differ street to street. What a Dutch address looks like, what a PostNL point asks for, and why there is no single national answer for the bins.
Last checked Aug 21, 2026
Post, parcels and rubbish
A Dutch address is street, house number, postcode and city, written with your own name on it so a courier and your host family both know a parcel is yours. Waste is stricter and more local: most towns split rubbish into several streams, and your gemeente sets the exact rules for how.
Writing a Dutch address, and what happens if nobody is home
A Dutch address is written as street and house number, then the postcode (four digits, a space, two letters) and the city, for example "Dorpsstraat 12, 1234 AB Utrecht". Add your own name to any order, even one delivered to your host family's address, so the courier and the household both know it is yours. If nobody answers the door, the courier usually leaves the parcel with a neighbour and a card in the letterbox, or takes it to a PostNL point, often a supermarket, tobacconist or DIY store, or to a parcel locker nearby.
Collecting a parcel at a PostNL point or locker
At a PostNL point you need the notification or track-and-trace code plus valid identification to collect a parcel, and a parcel locker sends you a one-time code by app or email instead. A parcel is not held indefinitely: a locker in particular holds it for a shorter time than a shop-based point does, so collect it quickly rather than leaving it for later. Exactly how long a point keeps a parcel, and which identification a specific point accepts for someone without a Dutch passport, both vary and can change, so check the current answer through the PostNL locatiewijzer or with the point itself rather than assuming either detail from this article.
Sending letters and stamps
PostNL letterboxes on the street are orange. Stamps are sold in supermarkets, at HEMA and at PostNL points. Ask your host family whether you may use their address for your own personal orders, and where the letterbox key is kept if the building has one.
Separating your rubbish the Dutch way
Dutch households separate waste into several streams, restafval for whatever is left, gft for vegetable, fruit and garden waste plus food scraps, papier en karton for paper and cardboard, pmd for plastic packaging, metal and drink cartons, and glas for packaging glass only, and your gemeente decides which of these it collects and how. Some municipalities skip a separate pmd collection entirely because a sorting machine pulls it out of the general waste afterwards, which is exactly why following the local rule matters more than following a general guide. A few things surprise newcomers: drinking glasses, mirrors and window glass do not go in the glasbak, and nappies, cat litter and "compostable" plastic go in restafval, not gft. Old clothes go in a textile container, batteries, medicines and paint go back to a shop or to the milieustraat, and large items like furniture, grofvuil, are collected on an appointment day or taken to the milieustraat yourself. Many cities need a personal afvalpas to open an underground container, and leaving a bag beside a full one can get the household fined. Ask your host family for the local rules, the collection days, where the afvalpas is kept, and which waste app or calendar they use.