What goes in your bins?

What goes in which bin? What can I recycle? How do I dispose of this unusual waste? Find the answers to these and more questions below.

If you're still not sure about how to dispose of an item, visit our A-Z guide to waste and recycling. 

What goes in my (red lid) rubbish bin?

  • Household waste, non-compostable food waste (refer to Composting your food waste for further details)
  • Nappies
  • Polystyrene or foam trays
  • Broken glassware and crockery
  • Broken mirrors, incandescent light bulbs and glass

What DOESN'T go in my (red lid) rubbish bin?

  • Garden clippings, lawn clippings or weeds (please refer to composting and green waste page for more details)
  • Syringes
  • Gas bottles
  • Paints (for drop off locations check out Paintback) or solvents
  • Bricks, rubble, timber or tiles
  • Pesticides or chemicals

What goes in my (yellow lid) recycle bin?

  • Steel cans including aerosol cans, aluminium cans and aluminium foil
  • Milk, juice and egg cartons (NOT long-life cartons such as Tetra Pak, UHT, aseptic packaging)
  • Cardboard and paper
  • Glass bottles and jars
  • Rigid plastic containers and bottles like those in the kitchen, bathroom and laundry

Tip: Give your recyclables a quick scrape or rinse before they go in the bin, to remove excess food.

What DOESN'T go in the (yellow lid) recycle bin?

  • Plastic wrap, bags or packaging
  • Syringes
  • Food waste (please refer to Composting your food waste for more details)
  • Clothing and material
  • Polystyrene
  • Household waste
  • Green waste - garden or lawn clippings (please refer to Composting and green waste for more details) 
  • Broken glass, mirror or ceramics
  • Light globes
  • Nappies
  • Long life cartons i.e. Tetra Pak, UHT, aseptic packaging
  • E-waste. That's any item with a plug, battery or power cord such as keyboards, laptops, or power tools
  • Gas bottles

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