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Your green recycling bin

When you put it in your green bin, your recycling should be clean, dry and loose.

If using a sack please make sure it is clear and not black or coloured. Please make sure you rinse your recycling before putting it in your green bin. Food waste, black bags, nappies and textiles are not recyclable inside your green bin and can mean a whole streets’ worth of recycling gets rejected by our recycling facility.

Here’s a list of the things you can put in your green recycling wheelie bin or sack.

*If you’re looking to get rid of items that could go to a new home rather than the bin see our Reduce and Reuse page.

Plastics

  • Cleaning product and beauty product bottles
  • Drinks bottles with the tops on
  • Food and drink cartons (like soup or juice cartons)
  • Food trays (including black trays)
  • Ice cream tubs
  • Large sweet tubs
  • Margarine tubs
  • Plastic milk cartons and bottles
  • Yoghurt pots
  • Carrier bags

Other plastics we cannot recycle

  • Black bags
  • Hard plastic items such as coat hangers, lunch boxes and children’s toys – if these are in good condition, consider taking them to a charity shop
  • Polystyrene

When possible, please squash the bottle to make more space in your bin.

We cannot recycle soft plastics including
  • Plastic bags such as breakfast cereal liners, bread bags and delivery bags
  • Fruit, veg and salad bags
  • Frozen food bags
  • Plastic film lids
  • Cling film used to wrap meat, fish and cheese
  • Crisp packets and sweet wrappers
  • Plastic pouches for pet food, baby food and detergent
  • Bubble wrap
  • Magazine and newspaper wrappers
  • Multi-pack wrapping
  • Toilet roll wrapping

Please take your soft plastics to supermarkets who collect them for recycling. More details on our soft plastics page.

Paper and cardboard

  • Books (can also be donated to charity shops etc.)
  • Catalogues
  • Phone directories
  • Cereal boxes
  • Cardboard and cardboard boxes
  • Envelopes (including envelopes with plastic windows)
  • Greeting cards (no glitter)
  • Junk mail
  • Magazines and newspapers
  • Shredded paper
  • Tissue boxes
  • Toilet roll tubes
  • Writing paper

Glass

  • Bottles – any colour – with the lids on
  • Jars – any colour

Metal

  • Aerosols
  • Clean foil
  • Food tins and cans including pet food
  • Steel and aluminium food and drink cans (please wash them first)
  • Metal lids (bottle and jar lids)

What happens to your recycling

Your recycling is taken to a Material Recovery Facility in London and separated into different materials. These are then processed and sold on to companies to be made into brand new products. If the recycling has too many non-recyclable things in it the facility will not accept it so please make sure you recycle correctly.

You can watch a video from Oxfordshire Recycles showing what happens to your recycling.

Contact us - Biffa

03000 610610
(Text phone users add 18001 before dialing)

c/o Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House
Abbey Close
Abingdon
OX14 3JE