Brown Bin

Glass

• Glass bottles (any colour) e.g. wine, beer, spirit
• Glass jars e.g. sauces, jam, baby food
• Other glass bottles e.g. perfume, aftershave, face/body cream

Plastic

• Plastic cleaner and detergent bottles e.g. bathroom cleaners, washing up liquid, bleach
• Toiletries and other plastic bathroom bottles e.g. shampoo, shower gel and toothpaste tubes
• Plastic drinks bottles e.g. juice, squash, milk
• Plastic pots e.g. yoghurt, soup
• Plastic tubs e.g. margarine, ice cream
• Plastic trays/punnets e.g. meat trays, take-away trays, fruit/veg trays, including black plastic)
• Chocolate and biscuit tubs and trays

Metal

• Drinks cans
• Food tins
• Metal lids and tops
• Biscuit/chocolate tins (including lids)
• Aerosol cans
• Aluminium foil
• Foil trays e.g. take-away trays

Cartons

• Drinks cartons e.g. juices and milk NOT disposable coffee cups
• Food cartons e.g. soup

Cardboard and paper

• Cardboard boxes e.g. cereal boxes, delivery boxes
• Corrugated cardboard
• Plain greetings cards (no foil or glitter)
• Cardboard egg boxes
• Cardboard sleeves e.g. ready meal sleeves
• Cardboard tubes e.g. from inside toilet rolls and kitchen roll
• Brown packaging paper and brown envelopes
• Newspapers
• Magazines
• White paper e.g. printer paper and letters
• Brochures, catalogues and directories
• Junk mail including leaflets and flyers
• Envelopes (including windows)
• Shredded paper - please wrap this in a newspaper or envelope.

Please note that this is not an exhaustive list. We cannot include every item that is not permitted in your bin. If an item is not on the 'acceptable' list and you are unsure, it's best to follow the rule: 'If in doubt, leave it out'

You can also check our A to Z of recycling. (opens in new tab)

Unacceptable glass

• Glass cookware e.g. Pyrex dishes
• Drinking glasses
• Vases
• Ceramics
• Mirrors
• Light bulbs and fluorescent tubes
• Window glass

Unacceptable plastic

• Plastic bags
• Crisp packets, sweet wrappers, soft plastics and film
• Film lids from plastic pots and trays
• Laminated plastic food/drink pouches e.g. baby food pouches, cat food pouches or coffee pouches
• Rigid plastics e.g. toys, Tupperware, pipes and hangers
• Medicine pill packets e.g. blister packs
• Polystyrene e.g. cups and packaging materials
• Plastic straws and cutlery
• Plastic flower/plant pots

Unacceptable cartons

• Pringles/Twiglet style tubes
• Single use coffee cups

Unacceptable cardboard and paper

• Greeting cards with foil or glitter decoration
• Paper towels, kitchen roll and tissues
• Gift bags
• Wrapping paper
• Wallpaper
• Padded envelopes e.g. Jiffy bags
• Sandwich boxes
• Dirty and greasy pizza boxes
• Disposable nappies
• Cotton wool/make up pads
• Wet wipes

Unacceptable metal and other items

• Gas cylinders, e.g. soda stream or helium cylinders
• Paint and solvent tins (full or empty)
• General kitchenware e.g. cutlery, pots and pans
• Electrical items such as kettles, irons, pipes, white goods
• Batteries, vapes and e-cigarettes

Whilst we recognise the benefit of reducing single use plastic some of the 'compostable' alternatives are not suited to the technologies used in Hertfordshire. For more information please see:

Biodegradable Plastic - what you need to know.