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.