What goes in your blue bin

Your blue bin is for mixed recycling of paper and card, metal tins and cans, plastic and cartons.

Your blue bin is emptied every 2 weeks

  • Please do not put items into plastic bags, just but loose and unbagged into the bin (apart from residents of Lismore, who put their recycling bags inside their blue bin)
  • Recycling bags are used instead of blue bins on Coll, Colonsay and some streets in Campbeltown. The materials you can recycle in your bags are the same as go in blue bins.

What you can recycle in your blue bin

Paper, card and cardboard (clean, dry and flattened), including:

  • Office and shredded paper,  
  • Newspaper, brochures, magazines
  • Letters and envelopes (including windows)
  • Books
  • Food packaging cardboard / packaging sleeves
  • Cereal boxes
  • Egg boxes
  • Cardboard boxes / packaging
  • Wrapping paper and greeting cards  without glitter or metallic finish
  • Toilet and kitchen roll tubes
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Paper and card recycling

Metal tins, cans, aerosols and foil (empty and rinsed), including:

  • Food, chocolate and biscuit tins 
  • Drinks cans
  • Aerosols cans 
  • Foil containers (takeaway food etc)
  • Aluminium foil
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Metal and foil recycling

Plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays (rinsed and squashed), including:

  • Plastic food, drinks, detergent or cosmetic bottles
  • Yoghurt pots
  • Margarine and ice cream tubs
  • Fruit punnets
  • Microwave food and meat trays 

There is no need to check recycling labels – if it is plastic packaging from your household grocery shop in the  shape of a bottle, pot, tub or tray, we can accept it.

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Plastic recycling

Cartons (rinsed and squashed), including:

  • Fruit juice, milk, soup and sauce drinks cartons / tetrapaks
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Cartons for recycling

Please don't include:

  • oil or paint tins (take to recycling centre)
  • glass bottles or jars (take to recycling point or centre)
  • clothing and other textiles (take to recycling point or centre)
  • plastic bags or liners - check local recycling points for soft plastics - Recycle Now Recycling Locator (often at local supermarkets)
  • other types of plastic packaging including polystyrene - check local recycling points for soft plastics - Recycle Now Recycling Locator (often at local supermarkets)
  • tissues or napkins (put in the green bin)
  • metallic or glitter wrapping paper and cards (put in the green bin)
  • paper and card contaminated with food (put in the green bin)
  • painted paper or card (put in the green bin)
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