What goes in your bin

Find out about the household rubbish you can and can't put in your grey and recycling bins.

Please make sure the correct items go in each bin, as these are sent to different processing mills. By getting it right first time, more items can be recycled.

Grey bin - general waste

What you can put in

  • Food waste
  • Plastic wrap and film - can be recycled at some local supermarkets
  • Polystyrene packaging
  • Paper with glitter and foil
  • Sanitary wear, personal hygiene items and nappies
  • Empty paint containers - containers with paint in can be taken to household waste recycling centre
  • Animal waste
  • Pet bedding including cat litter - bag it to avoid smells
  • Other household waste that can't be recycled

What you can't put in

  • Batteries (these can be disposed of at most supermarkets)
  • Electrical items (these contain precious metals which should be recycled to help protect our environment)
  • Soil, rubble or DIY waste
  • Textiles
  • Toys (donate to charity or bring to household waste recycling centre if they can be reused)
  • Carpets
  • Furniture
  • Asbestos
  • Chemicals

All of these items can be taken to your local household waste recycling centre for reuse or recycling. Asbestos is hazardous and requires an appointment for specialist disposal.

More information

Please remove any batteries or flammable liquids from items before you put them in your bin. Many stores that sell batteries have containers to dispose of old ones. There are also separate areas for them at our recycling centres.

If you have too much rubbish to fit in your grey bin, you can apply for an extra grey bin as long as:

  • there are five or more people living permanently in your home; and
  • you’re already making full use of all your recycling bins

Brown bin - mixed recycling

What you can put in

  • Plastic bottles
  • Clean kitchen foil
  • Clean foil trays and lids
  • Glass bottles
  • Glass jars
  • Food/drink cans and tins
  • Biscuit/sweet tins and tubs
  • Plastic pots, such as yoghurt pots
  • Plastic tubs and trays, such as margarine tubs and sandwich meat trays
  • Empty aerosols
  • Aluminium tubes, such as for tomato puree

What you can't put in

  • Plastic food bags or film (these can be recycled at some local supermarkets)
  • Cartons for liquids, such as juice or milk
  • Carrier bags
  • Plastic toys
  • Broken glass
  • Light bulbs
  • Pyrex
  • Window glass
  • Other metals (metal items other than cans and tins can damage the recycling equipment)
  • Other plastic items (we can only accept plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays)

More information

Remember to rinse out food containers before you recycle, remove any film lids and squash your recycling to make more space.

Any extra plastic bottles, pots, tubs, trays, tins, cans and foil trays that won't fit into your brown bin can be placed into a clear bag at the side of your bin on your collection day. For safety, please don't place glass items in a bag - these must go into your bin.

If you'd like an extra brown bin, or have a small brown bin and want to replace it with a large one, you can order a bin online (delivery charge applies).

Blue bin - paper and card

What you can put in

  • Paper - plain and coloured
  • Wrapping paper - no paper with glitter or foil
  • Cardboard - large pieces should be collapsed or broken up so they fit in your bin
  • Junk mail
  • Catalogues and brochures
  • Phone directories
  • Newspapers
  • Magazines
  • Envelopes (please remove the plastic window)

What you can't put in

  • Tissue paper
  • Gift bags
  • Books (these could be donated to schools, charity or a book club)
  • Wet cardboard (this affects the quality of recycling)
  • Cardboard with food residue, such as pizza/takeaway boxes
  • Greaseproof paper
  • Food waste
  • Greeting cards with glitter, foil or embellishments
  • Nappies
  • Disposable coffee cups (these contain a layer of plastic film)
  • Cartons for liquids, such as juice or milk
  • Wet wipes

More information

Please tear cardboard into smaller pieces to stop it becoming wedged in your bin. Our crews can't put their hands inside bins to loosen large contents and you may find that your bin hasn't been fully emptied.

Please don't place wet or food-stained cardboard into your blue bin, as this may lead to large volumes of recycling being rejected at the sorting mill due to the load being contaminated.

What to do if you have extra cardboard

If your blue bin is full, on a dry day you can place extra recycling alongside your blue bin for collection. Please cut up any large cardboard boxes into smaller pieces and put them back inside one small or medium sized cardboard box. Please make sure any extra recycling will fit into your blue bin so we can refill your bin and re-empty it. Please don’t put extra cardboard out in the rain as we can't pick it up when wet. It may also leave a mess outside your home.

If you'd like an extra blue bin, or have a small blue bin and want to replace it with a large one, you can order a bin online (delivery charge applies). You can also take your recyclable waste to a household waste recycling centre.

Green bin - garden waste

What you can put in

  • Grass cuttings
  • Leaves
  • Weeds
  • Flowers
  • Plants
  • Bark and wood shavings
  • Hedge clippings
  • Twigs

What you can't put in

  • Large pieces of wood
  • Turf
  • Hardcore (stones, rocks, concrete or gravel)
  • Sand
  • Soil
  • Food waste
  • Tea bags and coffee grinds
  • Black sacks

More information

Garden waste collections take place from March to November only. There are no collections in December, January and February.

We'll attach a contamination tag to your bin if it contains items that can't be recycled or the wrong type of rubbish. You'll need to remove these items and put your bin back out to be emptied on your next scheduled collection day. If you aren't sure if an item is recyclable, check our A to Z guide.

If you need to dispose of business waste (produced from any commercial, industrial, trade or business activity) see our business waste pages.