Food and garden bin

Put these items in your food and garden bin:

• Garden waste
• Meat, bones, fat and gristle
• Fish and fish bones
• Cooked and uncooked food waste
• Shredded paper
• House plants without plastic pots

Keep your green bin clean by lining the bin in:

• Newspaper
• Kitchen roll
• Paper bags
• Cardboard – large amounts of cardboard will result in the bin not being collected
• Compostable bags – only use compostable bags with the registered compostable seedling logo

Do not use black plastic sacks or our clear recycling sacks, this will lead to your waste not being collected.

Blue box

Put these items in your blue box:

• Glass bottles – lids can be kept on
• Glass jars – lids can be kept on

If you have a blue-lidded recycling bin put your glass into the bin. Do not use the blue box.

Recycling sacks

Put these items in your recycling sacks:

• Aerosol cans
• Plastic containers, bottles and lids
• Clean paper, card and shredded paper
• Aluminium foil and foil containers
• Tetra Paks™ and other food cartons
• Food tins and drink cans

Remember to empty and rinse out all food containers.

If you have cardboard that is too large to fit in your recycling sack, flat pack it and place it next to your recycling sacks. No polystyrene or plastic packaging should be in these boxes when packed flat.

Do not use the recycling sacks for any other waste. If these are found in your black bin this may be classed as contamination and may cause refusal of your waste collection.

Black bin

Put these non-recyclable items in your black bin:

• Plastic plant pots
• Expanded polystyrene *
• Food and drink pouches and crisp bags
• Cat and dog waste and pet hutch waste
• Disposable nappies
• Incandescent light bulbs
• Crockery
• Plastic and wooden toys
• Plastic coat hangers
• Plastic plates
• Laminated paper
• Mugs and cups and drinking glasses
• Tupperware containers
• Used toothbrushes
• Sweet wrappers
• Old dishcloths
• Used tissues
• Toilet brushes
• Empty make-up containers
• Contents of vacuum cleaners

* Expanded Polystyrene is the only waste acceptable as side waste. If you put it in a bag clearly mark it as polystyrene.

Small electrical items, batteries and textiles (WEEE)

We collect the following items every week:

• Small waste electrical items
• Low-energy light bulbs
• Small household batteries
• Vapes
• Textiles
• Paired shoes

Put the above in separate small carrier bags and leave them on top of your food and garden bin to be collected every week.

Compost bin

If you have a compost bin at home, you can reduce the amount of waste needed to be processed elsewhere. Composting is a natural process that turns your food and garden waste into soil improver for your garden.

Love Essex – Find out about home composting