Check what you can put in your bins
Use our Waste Wizard to find out where you can recycle, reuse or repair household items and what bins to use.
To view the Waste Wizard on this page you must accept additional cookies, which enables postcode preferences. If you still can’t see the waste wizard:
- go to the settings on your browser
- clear your cookies
- refresh this page and agree to the cookies
Refer to our cookie policy for more information.
If bins contain incorrect items
We won’t empty your recycling bins, bags or boxes if they contain the wrong type of material. For example, when there is plastic in a paper recycling bin. This is because it ‘contaminates’ the load so we can’t take that load to the recycling facility.
Help us recycle more by checking what you can put in each bin.
Check what to put in each bin
Select a type of bin, box or bag to find out what you can dispose of in it.
Only use this bin for items that can’t be recycled, reused or repaired, check the Waste Wizard if you are not sure.
What can be put into your general waste
You can use the general household waste bin for items like:
- broken glass, pyrex or china
- broken toys
- crisps, sweet and biscuit wrappers
- empty paint tins
- nappies and sanitary products
- pet bedding and litter
- plant pots
- plastic bags and wrappers
- polystyrene trays, cups and packaging
- toothpaste tubes
What you can't put in your general household waste bin
Do not put these items in the bin as they can be dangerous:
- batteries - put these in a tied clear bag on top of your bin
- gas bottles - take these to a recycling centre
- electrical appliances - these can be recycled
- car batteries - take these to a recycling centre
- sharps, needles or syringes - use our clinical waste service
Check what you can take to a household recycling centre.
You can recycle your food scraps and leftover food waste using your food recycling bin.
To make it easier to clean, you can line the food caddy with:
- compostable bags
- clear plastic bags or freezer bags
- carrier bags
- pedal bin liners
- salad, bread and cereal wrapping
- newspaper or kitchen roll
We cannot accept black bin liners, rubble sacks, or hard plastic packaging.
What you can put in your food waste caddy
You can dispose of:
- all uneaten food and plate scrapings
- mouldy or out of date food
- raw and cooked meat or fish, including bones
- dairy products such as cheese
- fruit and vegetables - raw, cooked or peelings
- eggs and eggshells
- tea bags and coffee grounds
- rice, pasta and beans
- baked goods such as cakes, bread and pastries
- pet food
What you can't put in your food waste caddy
You can't dispose of:
- non-food products including nappies
- packaging of any kind
- liquids such as milk - these may leak causing spillages when transporting food
- any material that is not food waste
Clean items for recycling before you put them in the bin. Remove food waste from plastic containers, cartons or tins. If newspaper or card has been used for greasy food, put it in your general waste bin.
Tips for recycling
You should:
- use your washing up water to rinse items such as glass jars and plastic bottles
- if there’s lots of grease on your pizza box, tear off the greasy sections (or only recycle the lid)
- replace the lids on bottles and jars before recycling them
- remove any polystyrene or bubble wrap before putting cardboard boxes out for recycling
- make sure that all recycling is loose
What you can put in your mixed recycling
You can recycle:
- plastic bottles
- plastic pots, tubs and trays (including black plastic trays)
- glass bottles and jars
- tins, cans
- tin foil, foil trays
- aerosols
- milk, juice and soup cartons
We can’t accept broken glass bottles or jars in recycling sacks. If you have a recycling sack, safely wrap any broken glass bottles or jars and place these in your general waste.
What you can't put in your mixed recycling
You can't put the following in your mixed recycling:
- paper and cardboard - use paper box (except Aylesbury Vale)
- plastic bags or liners - you can recycle these at most supermarkets
- cling film
- sweet or biscuit wrappers
- plant pots
- toys
- china
- household glassware
- polystyrene, pet food pouches
- electrical items - take these to a Household Recycling Centre
- takeaway cups
- coat hangers
- general waste
- vapes
If you live in Aylesbury Vale
You can use your blue lidded wheelie bin or communal recycling bin for all recycling, including:
- mixed recycling (listed above)
- newspaper, magazines and books
- envelopes and greeting cards
- cardboard and wrapping paper (without foil or glitter)
If you live in Wycombe, Chiltern or South Bucks, we provide boxes and bags to help you sort paper and cardboard for recycling.
What you can put in your paper and cardboard recycling
You can put the following in your paper and cardboard box:
- paper – magazines, newspapers, envelopes and junk mail
- shredded paper – must be put in an envelope
- cardboard – greeting cards, cardboard packaging, corrugated cardboard, toilet and kitchen rolls
- mixed card and paper – books, directories and catalogues
What you can't put in your paper and cardboard recycling
You can't put the following your paper and card recycling:
- plastic packaging, film or carrier bags
- cartons - put in mixed recycling
- waxed or laminated paper and cardboard, such as crisp tubes and ice cream cartons
- takeaway cups, as these are usually lined with a thin plastic film
We offer a collection service for most garden waste.
Check what you can put in your garden waste bin on our garden waste pages.
How to dispose of other items
Find out how to dispose of small household electricals, batteries and textiles.
You can recycle small electrical items on top of your household recycling bins.
We can collect any small electrical items such as hairdryers, toys and mobile devices. Small household electricals will have one of the below:
- plug
- battery
- charger
Leave any unwanted small electrical items on top of your recycling bin, in a standard carrier bag, on your collection day. Do not put electrical items in the bin. The crews will collect your items at the same time as they empty your bins.
If you live in the Aylesbury Vale area, you can only recycle electrical items smaller than a shoebox. You can place these items on your bin lid on either waste or recycling collection. The collection vehicles have limited space which means we can only collect smaller electrical items.
You can take larger electrical items, such as TVs and microwaves to your nearest household recycling centre or you can arrange a bulky waste collection. There is a fee for this service.
Do not put batteries in your bins.
You can use our kerbside service to recycle most household batteries but they must be kept separate from your other waste and recycling.
Place batteries loose in small clear bags and put the bags on top of any bin on collection day. You can use any type of clear bag.
Batteries we can collect
We can collect:
- household batteries
- mobile phone batteries
- laptop batteries
- power tool batteries
Batteries we can't collect
We can't collect:
- damaged or leaking batteries
- car batteries - take these to a household recycling centre
- industrial batteries
All clothes and home textiles can be recycled as long as they are clean and dry.
Textiles can be disposed of at household recycling centres or textile banks.
Use the Waste Wizard to find out where to recycle textiles.
If you live in the Chiltern or Wycombe areas, you can order textile sacks which we will collect on your recycling collection day.
If you live in South Bucks use a standard carrier bag and place this alongside your bins on your recycling collection day. Avoid using bin liners because our crews might mistake them for general waste.
If you live in the Aylesbury area, textile kerbside collections are not available.
Extra waste and recycling
We will only collect general waste that fits in your bin with the bin lid closed.
We can collect a reasonable amount of extra recycling that doesn’t fit in your box or bin. To help us collect extra recycling:
- put it in a reusable container, such as a plastic box, so that we can tip it out - we will not collect recyclables in plastic bags
- leave it neatly beside your usual recycling box, bag or bin
- cut down and flatten cardboard boxes to a manageable size and remove all other packaging (such as polystyrene, plastic inserts)
Take any extra recycling or waste to your nearest household recycling centre.
Images showing how extra recycling should be presented to be collected by waste crews
Bin collection days
View our policy
For more information about types of bin, our policy for replacements and missed collections, view the Household Waste Collection Policy for Southern Buckinghamshire.