The Household Reuse and Recycling Centres operated by Bristol Waste Company can only be used by residents living within the Bristol City Council area to dispose of their waste. Bordering councils have their own facilities, which their residents should be using.

Your proof of address will be checked before you can enter the recycling centre. You will need photo identification (ID) and a proof your a Bristol resident (council tax/utility bill).

Anyone that arrives on site and does not have proof of address will be turned away. To keep queuing to a minimum, please help us by having your documents ready.

Bristol residents can dispose of some household DIY waste for free at one of our recycling centres.

You can bring up to one load per week over a four-week period of the following:

• up to 100 litres of loose waste, such as rubble or soil. This must be contained within two 50-litre rubble bags (or bags of equivalent size).

OR

• any bulky or fitted item, like a sink or pedestal, no larger than 2m x 0.75m x 0.7m.

Any waste exceeding these allowances will be charged at the following rates:

• £2.90 per sack of loose waste such as rubble or soil (full details)
• £4.50 per sheet or bag of clean plasterboard
• £9.50 for a bag of plasterboard with other materials attached
• £11 per bag/sheet of asbestos

You can pay at the time of booking on the Bristol City Council website. 

The Hartcliffe Way Household Reuse and Recycling Centre has a footpath for pedestrians and is the only Bristol recycling centre that you can visit on foot.

You cannot arrive at the Avonmouth or St Philip’s recycling centres on foot, as large lorries and other vehicles are active on site and unfortunately it is not possible to provide safe access routes or pavements for pedestrians.

You can ride a bike into Bristol’s recycling centres. You will need to bring photo identification (ID) and proof of your Bristol address. If there is a queue, please join behind the other vehicles.

Please email us – general@bristolwastecompany.co.uk

Bristol’s food waste is collected by our recycling crews and taken to GENeco in Avonmouth. The plastic and compostable bags you use to line your caddy are removed and used to produce energy. The food waste is put into an ‘anaerobic digester’ – a bit of kit which acts like a giant stomach – and turned into methane-rich biogas. This biogas is used to generate more energy and the solid by-product of the anaerobic process is used as fertiliser for farms. In total, recycled food waste creates enough energy for around 9000 homes in Bristol each year!

1. Keep your smaller caddy in an accessible place in the kitchen (the cupboard under the sink is ideal)
2. Line the caddy with newspaper, a compostable liner or a plastic bag to keep it clean.
3. Put all your food waste into the caddy.
4. When it’s full, or just before collection day, empty the caddy into the larger food waste bin that you can keep outdoors.
5. Place the large food waste bin out for collection every week at the kerbside with your black and green boxes. By doing this you are helping to generate gas and electricity for Bristol residents, as well as saving money for the city.

The food caddy is smaller and can be kept in your kitchen for easy access, it’s ideal for collecting food waste as it happens – pop all those peelings, scraps and leftovers straight in! When the caddy is full up you can transfer the contents to the larger food bin. The food bin is designed to be kept outside and is the one you put out for collection day.

It’s up to you whether you use both the food caddy and the food bin, or just the bin. The important thing is that your food waste doesn’t end up in the general wheelie bin.

Using the smaller kitchen caddy means that some food waste is kept inside your home, it’s more hygienic than putting food waste in a general-purpose kitchen bin, but if you’re worried about smells you could skip the food caddy and put all your food waste to the larger outdoor food bin.

If you choose to do this, be sure to use the locking handle and keep the bin in a place where animals will have a hard time getting to it.

There are lots of things you can use to line your caddy to keep it a bit cleaner. You can buy special compostable bags for this purpose but a folded newspaper, empty cereal box liner, a bread bag (plastic or paper) or an old plastic carrier bag will work just as well.

The bags will be removed by the sorting system before the food waste is recycled, but please don’t include any food packaging, compostable or otherwise.

It’s always a good idea to give the caddy a quick clean after emptying it and rinse the bin after collections, especially if you choose not to use a liner.

Compostable bags are not required in order to recycle your food. GENeco (the company that recycles Bristol’s food waste) separates any plastic from the food before it enters the anaerobic digester, including compostable bags.

All kinds of food waste! This includes all cooked or uncooked food, unavoidable food waste such as coffee grounds or eggshells, plate scrapings, meat and dairy products. For full details on what can go into the food waste bin, download our guide to recycling at home.

As far as possible, please only use the food bin for food waste and tea bags. Please remove all packaging, whether paper, plastic, cardboard or compostable materials, before putting food into your brown caddy or bin. Small amounts of kitchen roll or napkin tissue are acceptable but the correct way to dispose of these is in the refuse bin.

It’s fine to add tea bags into your food waste because the plastic used to seal teabags is such a low amount that it does not have an impact on the anaerobic digestion process. It’s even better if you can use loose leaf tea or plastic-free tea bags.

General household waste, compostable packaging, cardboard and garden waste are examples of what shouldn’t go into your food waste bin.

We love the fact that more and more Bristolians are getting into composting. It’s a great alternative and will help create a nutrient-rich fertiliser for your garden. You can purchase a home composter from Bristol City Council and start turning all your uncooked food scraps (such as eggshells, coffee grinds and vegetable peelings) into compost for your plants!

Most compost bins are not suitable for meat and dairy products and some cooked foods, but all of this can be put into your food waste caddy. If you already compost, see your food waste bin as a supplement rather than a replacement to your composting.

Bristol Waste does not collect compost from residential properties, so it’s a good idea to know what you’ll do with it before you start composting.

It’s really important to recycle all our unavoidable food waste. Bristol’s food waste is processed by an ‘anaerobic digester’ at GENeco in Avonmouth. The food waste is broken down to produce methane which is then burnt to produce electricity and gas for the area. Recycling is taken to our transfer station to be baled up and sent on to reprocessors within the UK. General waste, on the other hand, is either sent for further processing or to landfill.

Wildlife can be attracted to food waste bins due to the smell. The handle of the large food bin can be locked by pulling straight upwards. By locking the food bin, animals should not be able to get to the food.

There is no getting around it – food waste can get smelly sometimes. Using your brown food waste bin should help keep any smells to a minimum since it is collected each week, and is actually more hygienic than putting it in your general waste bin.

Smells happen when food is left too long and it starts to decompose (rot). This is more likely to happen to food in the general waste bin which is collected fortnightly. By recycling, you get rid of the food waste faster so there is less chance of it developing a smell. (We can’t help you with the garlic or stinky cheese, though, sorry!)

There is no doubt that children like to enjoy their food with all their senses, and sometimes that means more food ends up on the floor than in their mouths. All that matters is that when that slice of toast gets thrown from their highchair, or a half-eaten apple is abandoned it gets put into your brown food bin rather than the general waste.

Recycling food waste is important because when food or any other biodegradable waste breaks down it produces methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. The methane produced from waste rotting in a landfill is released straight into the atmosphere, where it contributes to climate change causing gases in the atmosphere.

Food sent for recycling breaks down in an anaerobic digester, which is a piece of kit that acts like a giant stomach. The methane released is captured and burnt to produce electricity. Recycling your food not only stops the methane from entering the atmosphere, but it also becomes a source of energy for the city.

Compostable liners aren’t required, you can use your spare plastic bags or even an empty bread bag. Out of bags? Newspaper is a great alternative, or go liner-free and give your caddie a quick rinse once it’s emptied.

Not all blocks of flats and properties with a mini recycling centre currently have food waste bins. We will be working with landlords and management companies to review this in the near future with the aim to provide all Bristol residents access to a food waste recycling service.

Absolutely! Our business team would be more than happy to chat with you about your food waste and recycling needs, give us a call on 0800 061 4321.

We have handy collection calendars for the full year that tenants can download or print off. Tenants can self-serve and download their collection calendar easily from our website.

We have small stickers to go on boxes stating what should go in each one. We also have stickers to write flat numbers or property numbers on to help identify containers and stop them from getting mixed up. Request these from the email address below. If you let us know how many you would like and a delivery address we can post them to you.

Bins and boxes that are left on streets cause an obstruction to pavement users, especially those with pushchairs or wheelchairs, or those who are visually impaired.

Please ensure there is sufficient off-street storage for your tenants’ waste and recycling or get in touch with us if you think there is a different collection solution which would suit the property.

In Bristol, we have a kerbside sorting system where residents sort recyclable materials into designated recycling boxes. This helps our crews complete their rounds faster and more efficiently. Not sure what goes where or need a refresher? Download our handy recycling leaflet for an overview of how to sort your recycling.

Residents can have as many recycling boxes as they need and we encourage properties to also use our box lids to keep materials contained on windy days. Bins, boxes and lids can be ordered for free and we’ll deliver them straight to you.

Bin and recycling container deliveries are currently paused due to the impact of coronavirus.

Charity organisations collect some large, fit-for-purpose items for free so they can be reused. Some of the organisations in Bristol you could contact are: SOFA Project, Emmaus Bristol, Happytat, Sue Ryder or British Heart Foundation.

A Bulky Waste collection can be arranged for a fee where larger items such as mattresses, electrical items, fridges and freezers are collected from the kerbside.

We operate two Household Waste Recycling Centres where your tenants can bring their waste, recycling and larger bulky items to dispose of or recycle for free. Waste disposed of by a landlord is trade waste & must be taken to a commercial facility as it is illegal to dispose of such waste at an HWRC.

Please be advised that leaving items out on the kerbside or street can be considered illegal fly-tipping and you could be prosecuted.

In the month following the 2018 Slim My Waste campaign, we saw a 16% increase in food waste being recycled and a reduction in general waste. The benefits continued beyond the initial campaign period, with an incredible 23% increase in food waste collected since it began. It also received three marketing campaign awards and inspired other local authorities to follow suit.

Although Slim My Waste saw dramatic increases in food waste recycling, analysis shows that nearly 25% of the average black bin in Bristol is still made up of food waste.

Recycling your food waste is better for the environment, and saves the city money and produces a useful resource – energy! Find out more about why reducing food waste is important on the Stop Bin-digestion campaign page.

A cross-section of households will receive a leaflet with more information on how to prevent bin-digestion and fun stickers for the whole family to help make your bin a happy one. The stickers are not only a great activity, but also a gentle reminder to save your bin from bin-digestion.

You don’t have to be one of the households that received a leaflet to join in. Everyone can get involved by reducing food waste and ensuring no food goes in the black wheelie bin. Check out our Food Waste Reduction Tips to find ideas and bin-spiration!

If you did receive a leaflet, then all the advice you need to follow is in there. You also get fun stickers to give your bin the happy face it deserves when you save it from bin-digestion.

Use the food stickers on your bin to help remind the city not to place food waste into the general waste bin. Feel free to remove any of the last campaign’s tape from around the bin. Share a photo of your food waste friend and tag us on social media using #StopBinDigestion

If you haven’t received a leaflet and stickers by the end of July, but want to get involved, contact us on 0117 304 9023.

The stickers are provided to help raise awareness and get people thinking about their food waste, the benefits of recycling it, and how to recycle it properly. If you’d rather not use your stickers you could offer them to a friend or neighbour.

We’ll be sending out stop bin-digestion leaflets to a cross-section of homes, so not every household in Bristol will receive them. If your neighbours have received something and you think we have missed your property, or if you haven’t received anything by the end of July 2020 but would like to be involved, please get in touch with us on 0117 304 9023.

The campaign targets black wheelie bins, so flats with mini recycling centres will not be receiving the leaflets or stickers. All bins can get bin-digestion though, so you can still be involved by reducing food waste to keep your communal bins happy, and by looking out for the hints and tips we’ll be sharing on the campaign webpage and social channels.

During the Coronavirus outbreak our bin delivery service has been suspended to enable us to continue to deliver essential waste and recycling services. However, due to the importance of the ‘Stop Bin-Digestion’ campaign, which aims to reduce the amount of food in black bins, we have set aside specific resource to enable us to deliver food waste caddies and bins to those households who need them.

We see this campaign, and the delivery of the caddies and bins, as essential work to support our day to day waste and recycling services. As a company, we are committed to helping all communities recycle more, throw away less and waste nothing, and this campaign is an essential part of working towards this.

Until we are able to resume the delivery of all bins and boxes, we advise you to follow the guidance below:

Black wheelie bin – any residual waste should be presented in tied bin bags and presented on your usual collection day.

Green box, black box and blue bag – please continue to separate your items (cans & plastics, card, paper, glass) and place in untied bags. We are not able to collect mixed bags of recycling.

The prize draw (the ‘Prize Draw’) is open to any resident of Bristol who shares a #StopBinDigestion photo on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram. Employees of Bristol Waste Company or anyone else connected with the Prize Draw may not enter the Prize Draw. Entrants into the Prize Draw shall be deemed to have accepted these Terms and Conditions. If you have any questions in connection with the Prize Draw, please email campaigns@bristolwastecompany.co.uk. Each person will be entered once into the Prize Draw, regardless of the number of photos shared. A prize will be given weekly between July and August. One winner will be chosen at random from all the individuals who share a #StopBinDigestion photo in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. The winner will receive either a reusable cup or sandwich box and will be notified via social media. The items will be delivered to a Bristol address.

Your bins and boxes must be put out for collection by 6am on your collection day and removed as soon as possible following collection.

If you’re not sure what day we come by you can put your postcode into the ‘collection day finder’ on the Bristol Council website. Look for the code (for example, Monday B’ or ‘Wednesday A’) and then find the collection calendar that matches that code on our website.

• Collection day finder
• Collection calendars

In Bristol, we have an effective kerbside sorting system where residents sort recyclable materials into different recycling boxes. This helps our crews complete their rounds faster, efficiently and means we gather great quality recycling. Not sure what goes where or need a refresher? Download our recycling guide or visit the Get It Sorted page.

You should write your flat or property number on your bins and boxes so you know which ones are yours and stop them getting mixed up in the street.

If you don’t want to write or paint your bin number straight onto the bin, you can request a blank sticker to write on by emailing hello@bristolwastecompany.co.uk

We can also provide small stickers for your recycling boxes to remind you should put in each one.

Bins and boxes that are left on streets can make it difficult or impossible for people to use the pavement safely, especially those with pushchairs or wheelchairs, or those who are visually impaired.

Please make sure that bins and boxes are removed from the pavement as soon as possible after collection and kept off the pavement between collections.

If you don’t bring your bin off the street you may get a note on your bin reminding you to do so, or a visit from our community engagement team.

Residents can have as many recycling boxes as they need and we encourage properties to also use our lids to keep materials contained on windy days. Bins, boxes and lids can be ordered for free and we’ll deliver them straight to you.

You can order bins and recycling containers to be delivered on the Bristol City Council website.

Charity organisations collect some large, fit-for-purpose items for free so they can be reused. Some of the organisations in Bristol you could contact are SOFA Project, Emmaus Bristol, Happytat, Sue Ryder or British Heart Foundation.

A Bulky Waste collection can be arranged for a fee where larger items such as mattresses, electrical items, fridges and freezers are collected from the kerbside. We operate two Household Waste Recycling Centres where your tenants can bring their waste, recycling and larger bulky items to dispose of or recycle for free.

Waste disposed of by a landlord is trade waste and must be taken to a commercial facility as it is illegal to dispose of such waste at an HWRC. Please be advised that leaving items out on the kerbside or street can be considered illegal fly-tipping and you could be prosecuted.

In the citywide project, the Big Tidy brought a serious sparkle back to all 34 wards of Bristol. Here’s what we got done from September 2019 to March 2023.

• 1,800+ streets, footpaths and bridges sparkling again
• Over 11,000 tags cleared walls, bridges, benches and bollards
• More than 750 tonnes of litter, fly-tip and detritus collected
• 800+ fly-tips cleared and investigated
• 7,000+ residents and businesses engaged by our community engagement team
• 1,196 volunteers completed 90 community litter picks
• 41 Big Tidy community events

Since April 2023, the crews have cleansed over 400 streets, cleared 175 fly-tips and removed over 6,000 graffiti tags in priority areas.

From April 2024, the Big Tidy teams have been visiting priority streets in wards across Bristol. Look out for our lamppost wraps to know when our crews will be in the area!

Specific locations within each ward are chosen for based on data including the local environmental quality survey, quality of life survey, fly-tips removed, litter tonnages, and reporting. We also work with Bristol City Council housing officers to identify gardens and areas that need a deep clean.

Keep an eye on our social media channels to find out where the Big Tidy crew are currently working. We also post about upcoming community litter picks and events that you can get involved in. 

If the Big Tidy is coming to your street, you may receive a letter from our friendly community engagement officer telling you the location-specific work we’ll be carrying out in your area.

The Big Tidy is currently working in priority areas, with a focus on council-owned land.

• If you live in a council property and are experiencing an issue relating to litter, fly-tipping, graffiti or overgrown vegetation in your area, please let us know at bigtidy@bristolwastecompany.co.uk and we’ll direct you to the relevant team.
• If you do not live in a council property, you can report lots of different street issues on the Bristol City Council website.
• If you live in a council property and are unable to take care of your garden due to age or disability, please contact your housing officer about organising a Big Tidy visit. Please be aware that there are many properties on the Big Tidy’s list, so an urgent visit may not be possible.

We’re inviting everyone to join in with the Big Tidy by making a Big Tidy pledge to help bring the sparkle back to their street. Pledges can be as simple as picking up the next piece of litter you see and putting it in the bin (or even better, take it home with you to be recycled).

Children can also get involved with our Little Big Tidiers scheme! Litter picking is a great way to get outside with the family, and as a Little Big Tidier your child completes 6 litter picks (with a special prize at the end!) Register your child here and our team will send you a loyalty card to record your picks.

There are loads of ways for you community group to join in the Big Tidy: invite our community engagement officers to speak at your next meeting, organise a Big Tidy litter pick, tell us about the issues in your area, teach your community how to report issues such as flytipping and flyposting, tagging, litter, and streets that need cleaning; tell your network about the campaign on social media, and finally – make a Big Tidy pledge! Don’t forget to use the Big Tidy hashtags on social media: #BristolCleanStreets and #BigTidy

We’d love for your school to join in the Big Tidy! Here are just some ideas for taking part: Invite our community engagement officers to speak at a school assembly, organise a litter pick in the area around your school, let us know what the issues are in your area, tell your network about the campaign on social media, and finally – make a Big Tidy pledge! Don’t forget to use the Big Tidy hashtags on social media: #BristolCleanStreets and #BigTidy

Start by making a Big Tidy pledge! Tell us about the issues in your area, speak to our community engagement officers about your legal obligations for managing commercial waste, and report litter, tagging, fly-tipping and fly-posting to Bristol City Council. 

Litter picking is another great way to improve your business’s green credentials, get the team out in the fresh air, and build a strong relationship with local communities. We also encourage Big Tidy businesses to organise their own team litter picks, clean up local streets, or just ask other businesses to bring their bins in.

Want to get involved? Drop us an email at bigtidy@bristolwastecompany.co.uk and our friendly team can get you started. We can also work with you to connect you with local community groups and hold an even bigger litter pick.

To stop batteries from being placed into landfill, where they cause damage to the environment when they should be recycled, and to test if a simple nudge technique will increase awareness about kerbside battery collection.

6 recycling rounds which equate to about 4000 households in parts of Lawrence Weston and Westbury-Upon-Trym.

There has been no change to the way we collect batteries and residents can still put batteries in clear plastic bags or loose in their boxes. The paper bags provided aim to raise awareness and to make collection and presentation of batteries easier.

We will continue to weigh the batteries collected from the 6 trial rounds for the foreseeable future to establish whether the campaign has had an impact.

As the bags are only as a reminder about our battery collection service, once the bags provided with the roll out are gone we will not be sending any more out – residents can resume presenting batteries in clear plastic bags.

Batteries should be placed in a small, clear plastic bag and put in the black recycling box.

Yes. They are made from recycled stock and can be recycled in the green box with your cardboard. Why not reuse the treasury tag by putting a hole in your waste paper, putting the tag through it and creating a shopping list for your fridge?

Bristol Waste have partnered up with Ecosurety, a leading Bristol compliance scheme who are committed to making a positive impact on UK recycling in the key areas of education, collaboration, innovation and infrastructure

Residents are encouraged to look at the webpage: www.bristolwastecompany.co.uk/getitsorted where there are downloadable leaflets and a short animation which shows what goes in each container, or they can call 0117 922 2100 for more help. Details are on the box and bag hanger.

Anyone can request a translation of the box and bag hanger into any language should they need. A translation offering this service is in Polish and Somali is on the handle of the hanger.

The hanger left on your box should have more information about what the problem was. Simply follow the advice on there to help ensure you get it right next time. It’s good to check that you have the right items in the correct container and remove any non-recyclable items.

If you would like to find out more about how to sort your recycling, please visit www.bristolwastecompany.co.uk/getitsorted.

Please remove the item and put the box or bag out for collection the following week and it will be collected. To avoid passers-by putting unwanted items in your containers keep them off the street between collections.

The crews will have taken a photo of the container so we will be able to see it. Contact Bristol City Council 0117 922 2100 to discuss what the issue is.

You can order the boxes online at www.bristol.gov.uk/recycle or for boxes and bags call 0117 922 2100.

The box and bag hangers have been made from recycled material and can be recycled in your black box as paper.

Once you have received a hanger with information on how to improve your recycling, we’ll keep an eye on how you are getting on. By simply following the information given, there should be no reason your recycling isn’t collected next time. However, if after four weeks we do not see any improvement, it may be that we will no longer be able to collect your recycling until you get it sorted correctly. To find out more about how to do this visit www.bristolwastecompany.co.uk/getitsorted.

It’s important to us and the health of the city that we recycle as much as possible. When recycling isn’t sorted properly, and the wrong items are placed in a container, it can make it hard to recycle and in the worst case, result in our reprocessors rejecting a whole bale of materials.

Items such as used tissues or PPE put in the recycling can also put our crews at risk. We believe this will help residents understand any mistakes they might be making and help them to correct it, ensuring we recycle more and waste less.