What Goes In Your Bin?

LET’S SORT IT OUT!

Do you know what goes in which bin?

It can be tricky to sort your waste correctly, but doing so is a key step toward helping the environment.

We want to make it easier for you, so let’s sort it out! We are here to provide advice and guidance on how to separate your waste into the appropriate bins.  

Remember that by sorting your household waste correctly, you are not only contributing to environmental sustainability you are also helping to reduce the number of unnecessary use plastics and other materials going into landfill.

Let’s all do our part! 

Last modified 3rd February 2025 

Proposed changes to household waste collections

Transformational changes to Blackpool’s waste collection service are being considered by the council’s executive.

Find out what this could mean for your collections.

Grey Lidded Bin

For household non-recyclable waste such as:

  • Food waste
  • Juice cartons
  • Paper and card with foil
  • Wallpaper (Tip donate to our Re-use Shop)
  • Pet waste
  • Litter
  • Carrier bags
  • Fast food packaging
  • Broken glass
  • Polystyrene
  • Plastic toys
  • Tetra-style pack

Please do not put any electrical items, paint, asbestos, rubble, soil, plasterboard, or any other hazardous waste inside your grey bin.

Find out more information on our HWRC (Household Waste Recycling Centre) page for what you can take there.

Bags of general waste left at the side of your grey bin will not be collected and they may be considered litter and you could be issued with a fixed penalty notice.

Blue Lidded Bin

For recyclable plastic bottles, pots, tubs, trays, glass jars/bottles and tins such as: 

  • Cans  
  • Food tins (bean tins, biscuit tins) 
  • Aluminum foil/trays 
  • Aerosols including deodorant cans and air fresheners  
  • Glass bottles of any colour 
  • Glass jars of any colour  
  • Plastic bottles 
  • Solid lids on pots tubs and trays 
  • Pots (yoghurt, soup) 
  • Tubs (food, margarine, ice cream) 
  • Trays (raw meat or ham trays, take-away trays, fruit /veg trays) – please remove any plastic film 
  • Plastic plant pots – please remove plants and soil 

Extra recycling waste will be taken if left in an open bag next to your recycling bin.

Please don’t put broken glass, window glass, polystyrene, plastic toys, soil, plants, plastic carrier bags or any other plastics in this bin.

Green Lidded Bin

This is a subscription service for green waste: 

  • Grass
  • Tree and hedge cuttings
  • Twigs
  • Bark
  • Leaves
  • Straw
  • Hay
  • Flowers
  • Plants and small
    tree branches

No side waste will be taken. 

Subscribe to the Green and Go service!

Please don’t put turf, soil, compost, bricks, stone or rubble, wood, fence panels, supports, furniture, or food waste, including fruit, vegetables, and peelings in this bin.

Brown Sack

For cardboard and paper waste:

  • Brochures
  • Clean cardboard;
    shoe boxes and
    eggboxes
  • Packaging
  • Envelopes;
    Windowed and
    none (any colour)
  • Plain greeting
    cards
  • Junk mail
  • Newspapers, magazines and paper

Extra recycling waste will be taken if left in an open bag next to your recycling sack. Please break-down and fold all cardboard boxes before presenting for collection. Please ensure cardboard contains no polystyrene.

Apply for a brown sack!

Please don’t put, wallpaper, tetra style packs, drinks cartons, fast food packaging such as pizza or burger boxes in this sack.

Textile Bag

Blackpool Council offers a textile recycling collection alongside your fortnightly recycling bin collections.

The income generated is shared between local charities and helps support the service.

  • Collections must be pre-booked
  • You can request a collection using the online form
  • Once you received the bag, it is then picked up within 48 hours
  • They will be collected within 48 hours
  • Collections operate Monday to Friday, between 7.30am and 4.00pm
  • Textiles must be presented in a Blackpool Council textile sack, or, in a bag with a note stating “Textiles for Blackpool Council” attached
  • On collection, we will leave you with a textile sack for any future booking

The following items can be recycled in your textile sack:

  • Clothes
  • Belts
  • Handbags/Rucksacks
  • Shoes
  • Hats

Please do not put any bric-a-brac, curtains, or bedding inside your sack. Please donate these items or take them to our HWRC (Household Waste Recycling Centre) on Bristol Avenue.

Request textile sacks! or Request a textile collection

 

The Refuse Sacks 

If your property is not suitable for wheeled bins or our vehicles have difficulty in accessing your street to collect wheeled bins, your waste will be collected weekly.  

You should present your sacks for collection by 7.00am on your scheduled collection date. 

Please do not place sacks out before the collection day as this will be considered littering and you may be subject to a fine or prosecution.

The Seagull Proof Sack 

Properties that cannot accommodate wheeled bins or our vehicles are unable to access, will have a weekly collection of sacks.

To help us prevent litter and scavenging animals, if you do not have wheeled bins, please ensure that you always use a seagull-proof refuse sack when you take out your sacks for collection.

Please bring your seagull-proof sack back inside as soon after your collection as possible. We would advise you to mark your property name or number on the bag to help you identify it.

Items not collected in a ‘seagull sack’

Items that are not collected and should not be placed in your seagull proof bag include:

  • Hardcore and rubble
  • Waste from building/construction work
  • Hazardous waste
  • Electrical items

These items should be taken to the HWRC (Household Waste Recycling Centre) located on Bristol Avenue. Please note: a permit for some items may be required.

Reusable seagull-proof refuse sacks are available free of charge, to properties that are not suitable for wheeled bins. Please email operations@enveconw.co.uk.

Household Battery Collections 

A vast amount of sole use batteries is often discarded in the general waste bin, which sees them end up in landfill or at an energy waste facility.

This can cause long-lasting, damaging effects to the climate, as chemicals including:

  • Lead
  • Cadmium
  • Zinc
  • Lithium
  • Mercury

Batteries can cause fires if you throw them in your normal recycling or waste bin – so it’s really important to recycle them properly. Residents should put their dead batteries in a tied plastic bag and place this on top of their grey-lidded bin for the usual fortnightly collection date.

If you do not have a wheeled bin, and dispose of your waste through bags, you can drop batteries off at the Household Waste Recycling Centre for us to dispose of them correctly.