Your coloured bins are used as follows:
- Blue bin: recyclable materials
- Black bin: non-recyclable and non-compostable materials
- Green bin: food and garden waste
We include a cut-out-and-keep guide to what goes in which bin in most editions of Cambridge Matters, the magazine we deliver to all residents every three months.
Search our recycling and rubbish A to Z to find out about how to recycle, reuse or dispose of specific items.
Personal protective equipment (PPE)
Put all medical waste and PPE such as face masks and gloves in your black bin. Use a litter bin if you are outside, or take it home with you.
If you are suffering from coronavirus symptoms, put your medical waste and PPE in a separate bag. Leave it for 72 hours before putting it in your black bin.
Blue bins
Put these in your blue bin:
- Paper, including newspapers, magazines, greetings cards, and envelopes
- Cardboard
- Cartons, such as Tetra Pak
- Plastic bags, bottles, pots, and trays – apart from black plastic, which cannot currently be recycled
- Food and drink tins and cans, including sweet tins
- Empty aerosols
- Wrapping paper (no metallic plastic)
- Tinfoil and foil trays
- Glass jars and bottles
- Batteries, including laptop or phone batteries – attach them to the bin lid in a clear plastic bag
Do not put these in your blue bin:
- Food
- Liquids
- Nappies
- Clothes, textiles or shoes (take to charity shops or clothing banks)
- Expanded polystyrene or Styrofoam
- Foam and sponge
- Non-packaging plastic, including toys and bowls
- Flat glass or mirrors
- Pyrex
- Kitchen paper and tissues – put these in your green bin
- Dirty packaging
- Paint tins
Black bins
Put these in your black bin:
- General household non-recyclable and non-compostable material waste
- Disposable nappies should be put in the black bin
- Used paper tissues and kitchen paper
Do not put these in your black bin:
- Empty or full paint tins
- Rubble
- Bricks
- Soil
- Very heavy items
- Electrical items
Green bins
Put these in your green bin:
- Garden waste, such as grass cuttings and leaves
- Untreated wood
- Straw and sawdust
- Food waste, including meat, fish dairy, and peelings
Do not put these in your green bin:
- Any plastic
- Plastic bags or sacks, including ‘biodegradable’ or compostable bags
- Cat or dog waste
- Soil, stones or turf
- Treated wood
- Rubble
- Extra garden waste cannot be collected
- Kitchen caddy and paper liners can be used for your kitchen food waste and then emptied into your green bin when full
