How Should You Organise Your Recycling?

One of the common complaints about recycling is that it’s confusing. There are all the bags, boxes, and bins you need to get your head around. Then there’s the fact that the rules and provisions vary widely depending on where you are in the UK. So how should you organise your recycling? Let’s look.

Please Note: This information was correct at the time of writing and was checked against the local authorities information. We apologise if any of this information was incorrect or has since been changed. For more updated information regarding recycling in these or any other councils please double-check against that particular councils recycling information.

A Recycling Journey Around UK Councils

Let’s take a look at how the recycling set-up varies across different councils in the UK.

Scotland: Edinburgh

Bins, Boxes, and Bags:

In Edinburgh, there’s a:

Green wheelie bin for mixed recycling in which you can put:

• paper and unwanted mail
• cardboard, drinks cartons
• clean plastic bottles with tops, pots, tubs, and trays
• clean cans, tins, foil and empty aerosols
• envelopes

Blue box for glass and small electricals in which you can put:

• glass bottles and jars
• small electrical items placed on top or next to the box, for example, hairdryers and toasters
• household batteries (placed inside a clear bag and on top of the box)
• clothing, towels, clean sheets, and pairs of shoes ( placed inside a plastic bag)

Grey food caddy for cooked and uncooked food* including:

• beans, pasta, rice, and bread
• cakes and bakery items
• dairy items, eggs
• fruit and vegetables including peelings
• meat and fish including bones
• fast food, for example, chips and pizzas
• tea bags and coffee grounds

*Food must be bagged in a small plastic bag or compostable liner. You can also wrap it in newspaper.

Brown wheelie bin for gardening waste in which you can put:

• flowers, plants and weeds
• grass cuttings and leaves
• hedge clippings, twigs, and small branches

Grey household waste bin for non-recyclable household waste only.

What Else Is There to Know About Recycling In Edinburgh?

When you organise your recycling, there’s no need to worry about food waste and a stinky bin. Almost every household in Edinburgh has access to a weekly food waste collection. You can also order a kerbside food bin or kitchen caddy free of charge.

The North: Liverpool

Bins, Boxes, and Bags:

In Liverpool there’s a:

Blue bin or bag for recycling in which you can put:

• Glass
• Cans
• Paper, magazines, newspapers, junk mail, catalogues, phone directories and wrapping paper (non-plastic/metallic)
• Envelopes (including plastic windows)
• Cardboard food boxes and egg cartons (flattened)
• Cereal, cardboard packages (remove plastic padding) and food boxes
• Toilet or kitchen roll inner cardboard
• Plastic drinks bottles (keep lids on, do not flatten)
• Plastic shampoo and cleaning bottles

Green bin for garden waste in which you can put:

• Grass cuttings, hedge clippings, dead plants and weeds.
• Cut flower and shrub prunings
• Bark, leaves and small twigs
• Branches no larger than 7.5cm or 3 inches in diameter.

What Else is There to Know About Recycling In Liverpool?

Still, got your real Christmas tree cluttering up the garden? You recycle it at one of the council’s many drop-off points for free until 31st January 2023.

The Midlands: Birmingham City Council

In Birmingham, there’s a:

Bin with a blue lid for recycling (for properties not suitable for wheelie bins, there’s a recycling box).

You can put the following in your recycling bin:

In the removable plastic pod, you can recycle cardboard and paper.

In the main part of the bin, you can recycle:

• Plastic
• Household and toiletry bottles- take the lids off and put them in separately
• Drink bottles, like milk bottles and pop bottles- take the lids off and put them in separately
• Pots, tubs and trays, including yoghurt pots and meat trays (no black trays)
• Lids
• Metal
• Metal lids
• Aerosols
• Clean foil and foil trays
• Food and drink cans
• Glass
• Clear and different coloured glass bottles and jars — take the lid, bottle top or screw cap off and put them in separately

Recycling boxes

If you have a recycling box, you need to pay attention to how you organise your recycling.

Residents get two boxes;

• Blue box for paper,
• Green box for plastic, metal, and glass.

What Else is There to Know About Recycling in Birmingham?

Been doing some building work? The council offers a free asbestos collection service. You can have up to 6 bags of wrapped asbestos collected from your home. Check the council’s website and create an account to book this service.

London: Camden Council

Bins, Bags, or Boxes:

In Camden, there’s a:

Recycling bin or bag in which you can put:

• plastic – including bottles, pots, tubs, cartons and carrier bags (empty and untied)
• paper – including newspapers, magazines and letters
• cardboard – including cereal and egg boxes
• metal – including tins, cans, aerosols, aluminium foil and bottle tops
• glass – including bottles and jars

Food waste bin or caddy in which you can put:

• fruit and vegetables
• meat, fish and bones
• tea bags and coffee grounds
• bread and pastries
• dairy products
• rice, pasta and beans
• eggs and eggshells
• cooked and leftover food

What Else is There to Know About Recycling in Camden?

Need to get rid of bulky waste, white goods, or furniture? Forget about putting them out as recycling. You need to arrange separate collections for these items. The same goes for DIY rubbish like rubble and plasterboard.

The South East: Maidstone Borough Council

In Maidstone, there’s a:

Green bin or black box for recycling in which you can put:

• Glass bottles & jars
• Plastic meat trays
• Fruit & vegetable punnets
• Plastic bottles
• Yoghurt pots & plastic tubs
• Newspaper & magazines
• Leaflets, envelopes & junk mail
• Phone books
• Cardboard packaging
• Flattened cardboard
• Cans & tins
• Sweet & biscuit tins
• Metal bottle tops & jar lids
• Kitchen foil & foil trays
• Empty aerosol cans

Black and orange food bin for food waste in which you can put:

• All dairy products
• Bread, cakes & pastries
• Eggs
• Fruit & vegetables - raw & cooked
• Meat & fish - raw & cooked including bones
• Rice, pasta & beans
• Tea bags & coffee grounds
• Takeaway leftovers
• Uneaten food from your plates & dishes

Brown bin for garden waste in which you can put:

• Flowers & Plants
• Grass cuttings
• Hedge trimmings and prunings
• Leaves & small branches
• Weeds and a small number of leaves

What Else Is There To Know About Recycling In Maidstone?

If you live in Maidstone, did you know that the council offers textiles, electrical, and battery collections? Check out the collection rules here. Knowing what you can and can’t put in your bins makes it far easier to organise your recycling.

The South West: Cheltenham Borough Council

In Cheltenham, there are Two green boxes for recycling in which you can put:

Box 1 - Cans and plastics such as:

• plastic bottles
• tubs
• trays and pots
• metal tins, cans,
• foil
• empty aerosols.

Box 2 - Paper and any glass bottles and jars.

• Paper on the bottom,
• Glass on top.

Blue bag for recycling brown corrugated cardboard or light card.

Green caddy for food waste in which you can put:

• All uneaten food and plate scrapings
• Tea bags and coffee grounds
• Out-of-date or mouldy food
• Raw and cooked meat, including bones
• Dairy products such as cheese
• Eggs and eggshell
• Baked goods such as bread, cakes and pastries
• Fruit and vegetables including raw and cooked vegetables and peelings
• Rice, pasta, beans

Got an extra recycling box?

Cheltenham residents can recycle household batteries, small electrical appliances, textiles, and shoes by putting them inside a closed recycling box in separate tied carrier bags.

What Else Is There To Know About Recycling In Cheltenham?

Stumped when it comes to recycling coffee pods? Now there’s an easier way to recycle them. Podback is a new coffee pod recycling scheme, and Cheltenham Borough Council is one of the first in the UK to offer the initiative to residents. If residents want to recycle their coffee pods, they can do so as part of their normal curbside recycling collections. Live in the Cheltenham area? Check if you can recycle your brand of pods here.

Wales: Swansea Council

In Swansea, there are:

Green bags for recycling cans, glass, paper, and cardboard including:

Bag 1:

• bottles and jars
• cans and tins
• empty aerosol cans
• aluminium foil wrap and trays
• small items of metal kitchenware e.g. pots and pans, baking trays etc
• metal lids

Organise your recycling by keeping paper and cardboard in a separate green bag.

Bag 2:

• card
• catalogues
• envelopes and junk mail
• magazines and newspapers
• shredded paper
• greetings cards (plain card only)
• corrugated cardboard (please empty and flatten boxes)

Pink bag for plastics in which you can put:

• plastic bottles
• clean plastic food trays
• loose plastic bottle tops and caps
• plastic margarine/ice cream tubs
• plastic yoghurt pots

Green bin for food waste in which you can put:

• fruit and vegetable peelings
• leftover cooked food (eg rice, pasta, vegetables)
• tea bags and coffee grounds
• eggshells
• gone off/mouldy food
• meat and fish (raw or cooked)
• dairy products
• small bones up to and including chicken carcass

White bag for garden waste in which you can put:

• grass cuttings
• hedge cuttings
• leaves and plant matter
• sticks and twigs
• flowers and weeds
• sawdust, woodchip and hay animal bedding (plant-eating animals only)
• real Christmas trees (broken up)

What else is there to know about Recycling in Swansea?

Every flat in Swansea is given a food waste caddy and free liners. You can empty the caddy into your communal or individual food waste bin whenever you want.

So there you have it, recycling rules, procedures, and provisions vary considerably depending on where you live. It can confuse it, but if you want to organise your recycling right, your best bet is to check out the rules on your local authority's website. For more articles on recycling, bins, and bin storage solutions, check out the rest of our blog.