What goes in your bins | Household waste and recycling

Your coloured household wheeled bins take different kinds of waste.

Each household has 3 bins:

your blue bin is for recyclable waste
your brown bin is for garden waste
your green or grey bin is for non-recyclable waste and food waste

Putting the right rubbish in the right bin helps us to recycle properly. We won't collect bins with the wrong types of rubbish in them.

Side waste and excess bags or sacks will not be collected. Bulky waste is collected separately.

What to put in your 3 bins

Blue	Brown	Green or Grey
paper – newspapers, magazines, junk mail, loose shredded paper, envelopes phone directories and catalogues cardboard aerosols food tins drink cans and cartons plastic bottles plastic food trays and yoghurt pots Tetra Pak packaging glass bottles and jars, but no other types of glass	no compostable bags, bio-degradable bags or any kind of bag or sack grass cuttings prunings leaves cut flowers clean straw or hay branches under 10cm in diameter	general refuse and pet waste plastic bags polystyrene light bulbs, but not fluorescent bulbs glassware such as Pyrex and mirrors sanitary products nappies cooked and uncooked food vegetable peelings meat and bones egg shells plate scrapings teabags and coffee grounds food waste may be wrapped in newspaper or kitchen paper towels

What must not go in your 3 bins

Putting waste in the wrong bin can contaminate the recycling process and increase the cost of waste disposal. Here's a list of items of items most commonly put into the wrong bin by mistake.

Blue	Brown	Green or Grey
plastic bags plastic wrap or film polystyrene light bulbs Pyrex and Vision cookware mirrors children's toys textiles or shoes garden waste food waste liquids	bags or sacks of any kind, including compostable or bio-degradable bags plastic of any kind soil or mud, even small amounts plant pots pet waste liquids metal food or drink cans glass bottles or jars textiles or shoes sanitary products nappies general refuse	electrical items such as microwaves, toasters and hairdryers fluorescent light bulbs recyclable waste textiles, including duvets and pillows garden waste soil or mud liquids DIY waste, such as rubble, bricks, plaster or tiles

Where to dispose of items

Our A to Z of recyclable waste can help you check which bin to put your waste in, as well as suggesting other ways to dispose of unwanted items.