Every household is entitled to a 240-litre blue lidded bin for recyclables.

To help you recycle as much as possible, soft plastics such as bread bags, salad bags and film lids can now be added to your bin. If you have additional household recycling this can also be left next to your bin in cardboard boxes or clear plastic bags. Please note the box will be recycled as well.

Please wash and squash your recycling

Collections happen every two weeks. 

Use our collection day calendar to find out your next collection day

Extra recycling

If you’ve run out of room in your recycling bin you can leave the extra next to your recycling bin on collection day. Use a clear bag or an open cardboard box, so the collection crew can tell its recycling. Extra recycling in black bags won’t be taken.

If you are regularly running out of room, you can ask for an extra recycling bin free of charge. 

This service is for domestic household waste only, commercial waste must be disposed of through a paid-for collection service.

request an additional recycling bin.

What we collect

You can now add soft plastics to your blue lidded bin. These are things like bread bags, salad bags and film lids. There are a few exceptions like crisp packets and pet food pouches because they are usually made from a plastic and foil mix. We won’t take cling film either because it can get tangled in the sorting machinery. Please carry on recycling these items at your local supermarket.

Yes please:

• paper, newspaper, magazines, and envelopes
• plastic bags (shopping bags, bread bags)
• greeting cards and wrapping paper (no glitter, no metallic)
• cardboard
• cartons (for example, Tetra Pak)
• plastic bottles, pots, tubs, and trays, including plastic film lids
• plastic plant pots (other than black and/or not bigger than an A3 paper or 30cm)
• food and drinks cans
• aerosols and roll on deodorants
• toothpaste tubes
• tin foil and foil trays
• biscuit and sweet tins - both plastic and metal
• glass jars and bottles 

Please make sure containers are washed and squashed, and only put clean, dry paper and card in your bin. Please put lids, tops, sprays, and pumps back on. Shredded paper should be put in an old envelope or paper bag, before recycling, to prevent littering during bin empty.

No thanks:

• food (please rinse containers out)
• greasy cardboard, or cardboard with food residue on (tip: cut out the greasy part of pizza boxes. That goes in your black bin. The rest can be recycled as long as it’s clean) 
• liquids
• nappies and sanitary items
• clothes, textiles, or shoes (take to charity shops or clothing banks)
• polystyrene
• cling film 
• electrical equipment – some large shops have collection point or take this to the Recycling Centre
• batteries – many high street shops have battery collection point or visit www.takecharge.org.uk to find a location
• vapes – many high street shops, including vape shops, have vape collection points
• wet wipes
• kitchen paper and tissues (put in black bin)
• garden waste (please use your green lidded bin)
• dirty packaging
• pet food pouches
• crisp packets
• black plant pots and trays
• compostable plastic

The lists above are not exhaustive, so if you are not sure whether an item is suitable, please see our waste and recycling look up:

Waste and recycling look up

Find out more about

Why we ask you to clean your recycling

The materials we collect for recycling are used to make new products and packaging. That raw material needs to be as good as possible, so the quality of the new things you buy is high.

Plastic and metal used for food packaging needs to be very high quality, whereas materials used for garden furniture or building materials isn’t quite as good. If the quality is too low then it is sent for disposal, which is costly.

Good recycling habits promote a circular economy, which reduces costs, is better for the environment and might help to create jobs. Recycling is a very sustainable activity, and huge benefits come from giving your recycling a quick wash.

Remember the following

• your bin must be ready for collection by 6.30am on your collection day and not before 6pm on the evening before
• your bin must be on the property boundary closest to the road and visible to the collection crew
• if your property is accessed by a private track or road, your collection point will be where this meets the public highway
• extra recycling can be left beside the bin in cardboard boxes or clear plastic bags (please tie them up). Large boxes can be flattened and leant against your bin.
• an additional recycling bin can be requested free of charge if you frequently have extra recycling
• wheeled bins remain the property of East Cambridgeshire District Council and must be left at your property if you move out