Get it sorted
Household recycling
Find out how to sort your recycling in Bristol and what happens to your recycling after collection.
Let's get it sorted!
Find out how to sort your waste and recycling in Bristol. General waste and recycling is collected from the kerbside for most homes in the city, but if you live in a flat you might have a mini recycling centre instead.
On this page you can find out what to put in each of your kerbside waste and recycling containers. Most Bristol households have four recycling containers and one general waste wheelie bin. You can also order a small kitchen caddy to collect your food waste before taking it outside, and some households subscribe to garden waste collections. In total, Bristol has 7 bins and boxes, including the optional containers.
As well as the bins and boxes, you can put car batteries and engine oil (in a sealed container) next to your black recycling box.
Black box: glass and paper
- glass
- paper
- magazines
In separate, untied bags inside the box: batteries, shoes tied in pairs, spectacles, usable and dry textiles, small electric items such as toasters, electric toothbrushes, mobile phones, e-cigarettes (vapes) and remote controls.
Next to the box: engine oil in a sealed container, car batteries.
Please remove any batteries from electrical items when possible. Never put batteries in the general waste bin.
Green box: plastic and metal
- cans
- plastic bottles
- lids and caps
- plastic packaging (no black plastic or plastic film)
- aerosols (empty with the lids removed)
- foil
Give these items a quick rinse and squash them if you can. Please take gas canisters to a recycling centre.
Check your address to find a supermarket that accepts soft plastic recycling near you.
Blue bag: cardboard and brown paper
- boxes (remove tape)
- cartons (rinsed and squashed)
- greetings cards (no glitter)
- cardboard tubes
- brown paper
All your clean cardboard recycling should go in the blue bag. Remember, it all needs to fit inside the bag with the lid closed in order to be collected so you will need to flatten, fold or cut up any boxes.
Brown bin: food
- fruit and vegetables
- cheese and dairy
- meat, fish and bones
- eggshells
- bread, pasta, rice and cereal
- coffee grounds and tea bags
- leftovers and plate scrapings
You can use newspaper, a compostable liner or an old plastic bag to line your food waste caddy.
Need to replace your recycling container?
There is a small fee of £2.50 to help pay for the processing and delivery of recycling containers.
You can also exchange broken recycling containers for free from any of the three recycling centres. To do this, make a booking for a recycling centre and head to the DIY bay on site. A staff member will be on hand to assist you.
New and replacement refuse wheelie bins are charged at £28 per bin, or £14 for those receiving benefits. The charge for garden waste bins is £21 for new subscriptions, £28 for replacement bins or £10 for those receiving benefits.
Get it sorted
Still not sure what to put in each box or bin? Learn how to sort your kerbside recycling with this short video – don't get in a flap, get it sorted!
Bristol's kerbside recycling containers:
Click on each type of container to find out what it should be used for.
Please note, bins and recycling containers are not a safe place to leave deliveries and we are not responsible for any items that are incorrectly placed in them.
In the box:
- Glass
- Paper
- Magazines
In separate, untied bags:
- Usable and dry textiles
- Batteries
- Shoes (tied in pairs)
- Small electric items such as toasters, mobile phones, e-cigarettes and remote controls
- Spectacles
Please remove any batteries from electrical items when possible. Never put batteries in the general waste bin.
Next to the box:
- Engine oil (in a sealed container)
- Car batteries
Give these items a quick rinse, squash them if they’re squashable and place in the green box:
- Cans
- Plastic bottles
- Lids and caps
- Plastic packaging (no black plastic or plastic film)
- Aerosols (empty with the lids removed)
- Foil
All your clean cardboard recycling should go in the blue bag. Remember, it all needs to fit inside the bag with the lid closed in order to be collected so you will need to flatten, fold or cut up any boxes.
- Boxes (remove tape)
- Cartons (rinsed and squashed)
- Greetings cards (no glitter)
- Brown paper
- Cardboard tubes
All your leftover cooked and uncooked food should go in the brown food bin, including:
- Fruit and vegetables
- Cheese and dairy
- Meat, fish and bones
- Plate scrapings
- Eggshells
- Bread, pasta, rice and cereal
- Coffee grounds and tea bags
You can use newspaper, a compostable liner or an old plastic bag to line your food waste caddy.
Anything that can’t be recycled should be put into your wheelie bin. If it doesn’t fit in the wheelie bin you might need to book a bulky waste collection.
Never put batteries in the general waste bin.
Download a guide
Do you have your own recycling boxes and bins? This is the guide for you.
Kerbside recycling guide
(2 MB)
Do you share recycling bins with your neighbours? This handy guide for mini recycling centres (MRC) will tell you everything you need to know.
Mini recycling centre (MRC) guide
(2 MB)
What happens to your recycling?
Cardboard
Once your cardboard has been collected it is transported to the local reprocessing plant. It is then flat packed and baled before being soaked, pulped and repurposed back into new cardboard packaging.
Plastic
After your plastic is collected, the crews transport it to our waste transfer station to be compacted into bales. The bales of plastic go to the local processing plant where the plastic is broken down and cleaned. These smaller pieces of plastic can then be melted and moulded into new plastic items.
Glass
Glass can be melted down and turned into new items over and over again, so it’s important to always recycle it correctly either in your black box or by taking it to a recycling centre. Collected glass is then transported to the local reprocessing plant where it is separated into different colours and types of glass ready to be melted down and moulded into brand new items.
Metal
Recyclable metal is taken it the local processing plant to be separated. The metal elements are then melted and treated to make new raw materials. Once completed, the recycled metal can be used in the production of a new product.
Food waste
Bristol’s food waste is taken to GENeco in Avonmouth where it is processed by an ‘anaerobic digester’. This is a bit of kit which acts like a giant stomach and turns the food waste into methane-rich biogas which is used to generate electricity and gas for 6,500 homes in Bristol.
Garden waste
Bristol’s green and garden waste is composted and used by local farmers as fertiliser. You can also buy the compost from our Reuse shop at the Avonmouth Recycling Centre.
Learn more about recycling in Bristol
