What waste to put in what bin: guidance for different property types
Street-level properties
If you live in a street-level property with a front garden, you should have:
- A green recycling bin with an orange lid
- A green household rubbish bin
- A food waste bin (if the service has started in your area)
If you're unsure which items go in each bin, please read:
- What you can put in your recycling bin
- What you cannot put in your recycling bin
- How to use the food waste recycling service
Households that do not have space for a recycling bin and receive the orange bag collection service are provided with orange recycling bags every six months.
Block of flats and estates
If you live in a block of flats or on a housing estate, you can recycle using the shared recycling bins provided. These bins are green with orange lids and are usually located near the shared rubbish bins.
Please place your recycling in the bins loose. Do not use black sacks, as these cannot be recycled.
To prevent contamination, some recycling bins have locked lids. You can still use them by placing your recycling through the flaps or openings provided.
Please do not leave recycling on top of or next to the bins.
We have introduced food waste recycling to some block of flats and housing estate. If the service is available where you live, please place your food waste in the food waste bin provided. You can find out more about the food waste recycling here.
Flats above shops
For residents or businesses who live in flats above shops on busy roads who have no space to store a bin on their property, have to use a bag service for their recycling and waste. Living on a timed waste collection road means that you will only be able to place your bags out for collection within your set times each day.
You will have to use a bag service for your recycling and waste and put your orange (for recycling) and purple (for household rubbish) bags out at the set collection times only, which you can find here. You can read more about timed waste collections on this page.
Please, do not put in your household bins:
- Materials which may be harmful to health, such as chemicals, some paints, poisons. Find out more about what counts as hazardous waste.
- Clinical waste such as syringes and dressings – we provide a clinical waste collection service for this.
- Large items of waste – book a bulky waste collection for these items or take them to the Jenkins Lane Re-use and Recycling Centre. Please have a look at our recycling banks page here.
