What goes in your bins

Get the Right stuff in the Right bin. Recycling saves resources and helps protect the environment.

Purple bin or purple lid: general waste

The purple bin (or communal bin with purple lid) is for general waste that cannot be recycled.

It is collected fortnightly - find your collection day.

Remember:

Put your general waste in bags before you bin it. This will prevent items such as wrappers blowing away during emptying.

Waste should fit in the bin under a closed lid. We will not collect any bags from beside or on top of your bin.

Heavier items such as bricks or turf should go to a recycling centre.

For larger items, arrange a special uplift or take them to a recycling centre.

Plastic bottles and containers, glass, paper, cardboard, and cans go in the grey recycling bin.

Grey bin or grey lid: recycling

The grey recycling bin (or communal bin with grey lid) is collected fortnightly - find your collection day.

The items in your grey bin can only be recycled if they are clean, loose and dry. Do not put items in a plastic bag before you put them in the grey bin.

Rinse away any remnants of food from items you put in the grey bin.

Paper: yes please	newspaper and magazines catalogues and brochures office grade paper and loose shredded paper envelopes paper bags and wrapping paper paper-backed books and posters
Paper: no thanks	paper with food or paint on it used pet bedding plasticised metallic wrapping paper. To check, do the scrunch test - if the wrapping springs back when scrunched up then it's plastic and should go in your purple bin wallpaper
Card: yes please	any type of clean cardboard food and drinks cartons greetings cards
Card: no thanks	card with food or paint on it greetings cards covered in glitter or ribbons
Plastic: yes please	all types of plastic bottles all clean plastic food containers – including yoghurt pots, food trays, ice cream or margarine tubs, fruit punnets plastic bottle lids
Plastic: no thanks	any plastic bags or plastic tubing rigid plastics – such as buckets, pipes, toys polystyrene containers or foam packaging bubble wrap or cling film pet food or juice pouches plastic plant pots plastic sharps bins
Glass: yes please	bottles and jars broken bottles and jars
Glass: no thanks	window glass or mirrors Pyrex, ceramics, tableware
Cans (rinsed): yes please	all food and drinks cans biscuit tins and empty aerosol cans foil food trays metal lids
Cans: no thanks	metal keys, cutlery, padlocks buckets, oil or paint cans

Never put these in the grey bin:

medical waste (see your healthcare provider about proper disposal of sharps)

Take these items to a recycling centre instead of putting them in the grey bin:

metal (any non food and drink)
electrical appliances such as kettles and hairdryers
wood
textiles
batteries

Brown food waste caddy

The food waste caddy is collected weekly - find your collection day. It can be used for all food waste, cooked or uncooked:

dairy
meat
bones
fruit
vegetables
bread
rice and pasta
fish
tea/coffee grounds
egg shells
gravy or soup – please strain first
pet food - tinned or dry

Do not put liquids into the caddies. Please remove all packaging before putting food waste into the caddies.

You can use the indoor caddy in your kitchen to collect food waste before placing in the larger outdoor caddy.

You can use any liner for the indoor caddy. Plastic liners are removed during processing and landfilled.

Lots of tips, tools and recipes to help reduce food waste in your home are available on the Love Food Hate Waste website.

Green garden waste bin

For information on our garden waste subscription service visit our garden waste collection service pages.

The green recycling bin is collected fortnightly - find your collection day. Use it for:

flowers and plants
grass cuttings
leaves
sawdust and wood shavings
shrub prunings
small amounts of shredded paper
twigs and small branches
weeds – not invasive plants such as Japanese knotweed

Real Christmas trees can be cut up and placed inside your bin. We cannot uplift full trees or any waste at the side of the bin.

Please do not put the following items in your green bin:

plastic bags or liners - these should be reused
soil, turf or rubble - take to a recycling centre
plant pots or polystyrene - purple general waste bin
pet faeces - purple general waste bin
large branches or garden furniture - take to a recycling centre
general waste - purple general waste bin
broken garden ornaments - purple general waste bin
food waste - food caddy

Please do not put your garden waste into plastic bags as this will contaminate the green waste.

Free Soil Enhancer is produced from garden waste collected from Angus households. Help yourself using your own bags (three maximum) at the Arbroath, Forfar and Montrose Recycling Centres.

For further information email recycling@angus.gov.uk.

White sack supplies

Some households are issued with white sacks instead of a general waste bin in certain circumstances - for example if there is no room for a bin.

If you use white sacks, we will provide you with a set amount of bags each year which is the equivalent of wheeled bin capacity.

If you feel you need more bags use our enquiry form and your request will be considered in line with our policy on extra bins.

Do not bin: gas cylinders, gas bottles and batteries

Please do not dispose of gas bottles and gas cylinders in your household bins. They may explode under heat or pressure and cause injury.

Some bottles/cylinders are refillable. Alternatively, contact the gas provider or selling agent. They may be able to arrange collection.

Or take them to a recycling centre.

We also ask you to not dispose of batteries in your household bins. These too can be hazardous. You can take batteries to a recycling centre. Most supermarkets and some other retailers also accept them.

To find out what to do with items not listed above visit Zero Waste Scotland.

Households with COVID-19 infection

Store personal waste (such as used tissues) and disposable cleaning cloths securely within disposable rubbish bags. Place these bags into another bag, tie it securely and keep it separate from other waste. Wait at least 72 hours before putting it in your usual external household waste bin.

Other household waste can be disposed of as normal.

For more advice on what to do while you are self-isolating visit the UK government’s website.