Blue Bin Recycling

Important Information

Due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) there have been changes made to this service.   For further advice and guidance please read our dedicated services update page. 

We thank you for your patience during this time.

What is it?

The blue bin recycling service is for the collection of paper, card, plastic bottles and food and drink cans and empty aerosol cans.

When is my blue bin collected?

Your blue bin is collected every two weeks.

Householders that present their blue bin receive a calendar to highlight when they should present their bin on the kerbside for collection.

Blue bins located at flats, tenements and multi-storey properties are collected from communal areas.

What can go into the blue bins?

You can recycle the following items within your blue bin:

• Mixed papers - newspapers, magazines, journals, junk mail, brochures, catalogues, directories, yellow pages, envelopes
• Cardboard - cardboard boxes, card packaging
• Plastic bottles - milk bottles, drinks bottles, sauce bottles, shampoo bottles, cleaning product bottles
• Food and drink cans - steel cans, aluminium cans and food tins.
• Empty aerosol cans

Placing items, other than those noted above, into the blue bin will adversely affect the quality of the material that we send to our re-processing partners which can result in material not being recycled. The quality of items collected is as important as the quantity of items collected.

What should not be placed in the blue bin?

Please do not place the following items into your blue bin:

• General waste/food waste
• Glass bottles
• Yoghurt pots
• Tetra paks
• Elopak
• Cardboard beverage containers 
• Plastic bags
• Margarine/butter tubs
• Cartons
• Foil - Foil can be recycled if it is clean of food and grease
• Books

What happens to the blue bin contents?

After collection the contents of the blue bin are taken to the council's Materials Reclamation Facility at Blochairn.  The dry mixed recyclables are separated prior to dispatch to our re-processing partners to be recycled into new products.