Sorting the bins and reading green labels in the UK

Households sort their rubbish into a few different bins. Each council sets some of the details, so the answer for one item can differ from one area to the next. A postcode check shows what your own council takes.

Start with your postcode

Recycle Now is run by the charity WRAP. On its Recycling Locator, you type in a postcode and it shows what your council collects for recycling, and which bin or bag each item goes in. It also shows whether you have a food or garden waste collection, with your council's contact details.

Some things cannot go in any bin at home. For those, the Locator lists the nearest places that take them, with a map.

The GOV.UK council finder does a similar check for postcodes in England and Wales. People in Wales can also search for an item on Wales Recycles. In Scotland, Zero Waste Scotland is the public body that works on recycling, and your council's website sets out its collections. In Northern Ireland, nidirect has the government's pages on bins and recycling.

What goes in each bin in England

Since 31 March 2026, councils and other collectors in England must, by default, collect four kinds of waste separately from every household, including flats:

A council can collect paper and card together with the other dry recycling, where collecting them apart isn't practical. Plastic film and plastic bags are due to join the plastic recycling from 31 March 2027. Some councils have a later start date for food waste.

Things to keep out of the recycling

Recycle Now names a few common mistakes. Used tissues, wet wipes and cotton buds go in the general rubbish. So do nappies, unless your council runs a separate collection for them.

Broken drinking glasses and ovenware melt at a different heat from bottles and jars. Wrap them in paper and put them in the general rubbish.

Energy-saving light bulbs can be recycled at special drop-off points, which the Locator lists. Batteries are a fire risk to the crews who collect the bins. Some councils take them at the kerb, and they always need keeping apart from the other recycling.

The government's guidance also lets collectors leave out any plastic labelled "compostable" or "biodegradable", including coffee pods.

Food waste

Recycle Now says almost any food can go in the food caddy, mouldy or not, once it is out of its packaging. Liquids such as milk and cooking oil stay out. Your council will say which caddy liners it accepts.

Where there is no food collection, vegetable peelings, egg shells, tea bags and coffee grounds can go on a home compost heap. If you compost at home, put plate scrapings, meat, fish and bones in the general rubbish instead.

Green labels, and what to do about a doubtful one

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) wrote the Green Claims Code for businesses in 2021. The CMA says words like "green", "sustainable" or "eco-friendly", used without explanation, are likely to suggest that a whole product does the environment good, or at least no harm. A business that uses them needs to be able to prove that.

The CMA asks businesses for up-to-date, credible evidence behind each claim, with any conditions set out clearly. Shoppers can ask the same questions of any label they read.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) takes complaints from anyone about most adverts. It asks where and when the advert appeared, with a photo or screenshot if possible. In England, people who think a business has broken the law can report it to Trading Standards, through the Citizens Advice consumer service.

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