What can I put in my yellow lidded recycling bins and boxes?

You should use your red lidded bins and boxes to recycle certain plastic, glass and metal items.

A list of items which can and can't be recycled in your yellow lidded bins and boxes are listed below.

For a useful reminder of what you can and can't put in our recycling bins why not print out our recycling bins information leaflet (PDF) [487KB] .

To find out how to recycle a specific item see our A-Z of recycling.

What can I put in my yellow lidded recycling bins and boxes?

• Plastic bottles (e.g. detergent, bleach, shampoo, milk, pop, yoghurt, medicine)
• Car oil and antifreeze bottles (must be empty with lids tightly on)
• Plastic lids (either on or off the bottles)
• Plastic tubs (e.g. margarine, ice cream, Christmas chocolates) - no film lids
• Plastic pots (e.g. yoghurt, soup) - no film lids
• Plastic trays /punnets (e.g. ready meals, meat trays,  fruit /veg punnets) - no film lids or polystyrene trays
• Plastic items with numbers ♻ 1(PET), ♻ 2 (HDPE) or ♻ 5 (PP)*
• Makeup containers
• Plastic plant pots
• Hand gel bottles (must be rinsed as contents are flammable)
• Glass bottles
• Glass jars
• Food tins
• Drinks cans
• Biscuit and sweet tins (metal and plastic)
• Empty aerosol cans
• Co2 cartridges (laughing gas canisters)
• Clean foil
• Foil pie cases
• Foil takeaway containers
• Pet food tins
• Metal bottle caps/lids (off the jars)
• Aluminium tubes e.g tomato puree tubes (remove cap)

* You should not place hard plastics labelled with these symbols, such as plastic boxes or garden furniture, in your kerbside recycling. These can instead be taken to the Household Waste and Recycling Centres, where there is a skip solely for hard plastics. Anything which is mixed with another material, such as metal, fabric or insulating foam is unsuitable to go in the container.

What you can't put in your yellow lidded recycling bin

• Plastic bags / carrier bags (loose items only)
• Film lids from plastic pots and trays
• Plastic wrappers / cellophane
• Absorbent pads (from the bottom of plastic trays)
• Crisp and sweet packets
• Polystyrene
• Cartons/Tetra Paks
• Drinking glasses, plates or other ceramic items
• Pots and pans or other scrap metal
• Electrical items
• Toys
• Batteries (this can cause fires when compacted in the wagons)
• Lighter fluid containers (or other flammable liquid containers)
• Nappies
• Paper / cardboard
• Textiles / shoes*
• Disposable coffee or takeaway drink cups
• Hard plastics

* We no longer collect textiles or shoes on the kerbside. Textiles can be brought for recycling to:

• A local charity shop
• Household Waste and Recycling Centre
• Local textile shops who purchase textiles by weight

How to leave your items for collection

Please do not leave items in carrier bags when you put them in your recycling bin as this is classed as contamination.

Food containers must be clean. Remove any film lids and absorbent pads in the bottom of trays, and put these in your general rubbish.

Please note: recycling boxes may only be used for households with no storage facilities for bins and need prior approval from the Waste Management Department.

Other ways of recycling items we don't accept

 There are also lots of other ways to recycle items we do not currently accept at kerbside. For more information see our alternative recycling options.