Right stuff. Right bin

The Council has launched a campaign to encourage residents to put the right item in the right bin in a bid to help them recycle with confidence.

‘Right stuff, right bin’ focuses on reminding people to check which items can be recycled to make sure their recycling efforts do not go to waste.

The aim is just to help make things a bit clearer because we accept that, at times, recycling is more complex than it used to be. That’s because more items can be recycled than in the past.

Some perfectly good recyclable materials are ending up in black bins and then in landfill.

And when some items which should be put in the black bin are put in green bins, more perfectly good recyclable materials end up in landfill as contaminated loads can’t be recycled.

On average, around 325 tonnes of recycling is collected in the borough each week and taken to Casepak, a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) where it is sorted. However, on occasion lorry loads of recycling can be rejected due to it being contaminated by non-recyclable and dirty materials such as food, nappies and textiles.

To see a full list of items which can be recycled in your green bin, visit our what can and cannot be recycled webpage.

We have also put together a handy document below which you can print out and pop on your fridge as a reminder: Right stuff, right bin - Recycling list (PDF Document, 0.42 Mb)

Wheelie top tips

Below are some top tips on ensuring your green wheelie bin is full-up on only things it loves:

Empty, clean and dry items

Empty and rinse items and let them dry before chucking them. This includes items like yoghurt pots, jam jars and tin cans. Leaving food residue can soil other recycling such as paper and cardboard which cannot be cleaned and may spoil your whole bin of recycling.

Leave it loose

Keep it simple. Lift the lid and put it in. Please don’t bag up recycling.

It makes it harder to spot contamination and makes it more difficult for your recycling to be processed at Casepak.

Empty plastic bottles

Empty the liquid before you throw the plastic bottle away. Liquid filled bottles will contaminate your recycling and spoil the load.

Leave the lids on!

Your bin loves lids, screw them back onto glass jars, plastic bottles and cartons so they avoid getting lost during the sorting process at Casepak.

No thank you!

Your green wheelie bin is not a fan of:

• Textiles – pop these to a charity shop or clothing bank instead
• Food – use as much as you can before popping food waste into the black bin
• Black plastic bags - unfortunately these cannot be recycled so please pop them in your black bin
• Nappies - these should be put in the black bin only please
• Greasy pizza boxes - only clean and dry cardboard can be recycled. No grease please!
• Polystyrene - unfortunately this can not be recycled, so please pop it in your black bin

Not sure of how to dispose of an item?

A handy A-Z of how to dispose of items can be found on the Leicestershire County Council website.