Recycling

Did you know that incorrectly-sorted waste costs four times as much to recycle? By following some simple rules you can quickly and easily sort your waste for recycling and help both the community and the environment.

What can be recycled?

Plastics

Ice cream containers
Margarine tubs
Milk bottles
Plastic containers from kitchen (rinsed and empty) i.e. sauce bottles
Plastic containers from laundry (rinsed and empty) i.e. detergent bottles
Plastic containers from bathroom (rinsed and empty) i.e. shampoo bottles
Take-away food containers (rinsed, not polystyrene)
Soft drink bottles (lids removed)
Water bottles (lids removed)
Yoghurt containers.

Aluminium

All aluminium cans including:

Beer cans
Soft drink cans
Coffee and milo tins.

Paper

Computer paper (not shredded)
Envelopes
Fruit juice cartons (not silver lined)
Glossy magazines / brochures
Junk mail
Milk cartons (not silver lined)
Newspapers
Paper (not shredded)
Paper bags
Wrapping paper.

Steel

All steel cans and tins including:

Food tins (rinsed)
Pet food tins (rinsed)
Beer bottle tops
Jar lids.

Cardboard

Beer cartons (flattened)
Cardboard boxes (flattened)
Cereal boxes (remove bag)
Egg cartons
Greeting cards
Paper towel rolls (roll only)
Toilet paper (roll only)
Washing powder boxes (empty).

Glass

All glass bottles and jars including:

Beer bottles
Coffee jars
Sauce bottles (rinsed)
Spirit bottles
Wine bottles.

Did you know?

You can no longer recycle empty aerosol cans, polystyrene and soft plastics you can scrunch.

What cannot be recycled?

Material in bags (all recyclable material should be placed loose in the bin)
Plastic bags and light plastic film
Nappies
Clothes or other textiles
Garden waste and food waste
Gas bottles and aerosol cans
Electronic waste or batteries
Asbestos
Ropes, cables and garden hose pipe.

Top tip

Don't bag your recycling! Please place recyclables loose into your recycling bin. The machines at the material recovery facility (MRF) do not have the ability to cut through bags, so recyclables that are bagged will be sent to landfill.

The City's Waste and Recycling Guide

Our handy Waste and Recycling Guide contains all of the information you need. It sticks to your fridge so you can easily refer to it when sorting your waste.

A-Z of waste disposal

Not sure where to dispose of an item? Check out the A-Z disposal guide to find out.