Does glass go in the recycling bin?
It depends on your council. Of the 182 councils we have checked, 118 have a recycling list that takes glass bottles and jars, 22 collect glass in a container of its own, and 1 more names a container that holds glass, shown in its own words in the table. The recycling lists of 8 more councils keep glass out. Pyrex, drinking glasses, light bulbs, ceramics and crockery, window and sheet glass and mirrors are kept out by every council whose recycling or glass lists name them.
Based on councils' published guidance: the lists and containers of the 182 councils we have checked. For 33 of them, where glass goes is not counted: the reading counts an entry only when it is glass bottles and jars alone, so a council whose entry words it inside a longer phrase is not counted, and 7 of them name a glass collection whose list we have not checked. Guidance last checked between May 2026 and November 2026. Each council's page links to its source.
Where glass goes, council by council
One group per answer, each council with what its recycling and glass lists keep out of the glass, in its own words.
| Council | Kept out of the glass, in its words |
|---|---|
| Their recycling list takes glass bottles and jars (118) | |
| Barnsley: You can put the following items in your brown bin: “glass bottles and jars” | “Pyrex”; “light bulbs”; “window glass” |
| Bedford: Orange lid bins - mixed recycling: “Glass bottles and jars” | |
| Birmingham: Glass bottles and jars · Remove lids, put lids in separately | Pyrex and ceramics; Drinking glasses; Light bulbs and mirrors · Instead: Take to recycling centre |
| Blaby: Recycling bin - accepted items: “Glass bottles and jars (no flat glass, mirrors, drinking glasses)” | |
| Bolton: Glass bottles and jars · No lids | |
| Braintree: What can go in your blue-lidded bin: “Glass bottles and jars” | “Pyrex, window glass, mirrors or lightbulbs”; “Paper, hard plastics, polystyrene, ceramics, blister packs and coffee cups” |
| Brent: Glass drinks bottles · Blue bin; all colours | Light bulbs and tubes; Glass panes · Instead: Grey bin; Mirrors |
| Broadland: Glass: “glass bottles - lids on” | “drinking glasses”; “light bulbs”; “window or mirror glass” |
| Bromley: Glass bottles and jars · All colours, including jar and bottle tops | Pyrex · Instead: Wrap carefully and put in your refuse sack; Drinking glasses · Instead: Wrap carefully and put in your refuse sack; Crockery; Window glass |
| Buckinghamshire: Glass bottles and jars · Rinse with your washing-up water | |
| Bury: What you can put in your blue bin: “Glass bottles and jars” | |
| Cambridge: Glass jars and bottles · Blue bin | Pyrex; Flat glass or mirrors |
| Camden: Glass bottles and jars · Remove lids · lids go separately | |
| Canterbury: Yes please: “Glass bottles and jars” | |
| Central Bedfordshire: Glass bottles and jars · Rinsed; leave lids and tops on | Pyrex, heat-resistant glass · Instead: Take to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre; Drinking glasses · Instead: Take to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre; Light bulbs and thermometers · Instead: Take to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre; Ceramics or crockery · Instead: Take to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre; Window or pane glass · Instead: Take to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre; Mirrors · Instead: Take to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre |
| Chelmsford | |
| Cherwell: “Glass bottles and jars of any colour.” | “Pyrex”; “Drinking glasses, tumblers or wine glasses”; “Lightbulbs and strip lights”; “Ceramics including cups, plates, flower pots”; “Window panes or mirrors” |
| Cheshire East: Glass bottles and jars | Glass cookware (Pyrex) · Donate it if in good condition, otherwise black bin · Goes in your general waste bin |
| Cheshire West and Chester: What goes in the red lidded bin? “glass bottles and jars (no broken glass, panes of glass or pyrex)” | “glass bottles and jars (no broken glass, panes of glass or pyrex)” |
| Chorley: Things that should go in your blue bin: “glass bottles and containers - including drinks bottles, condiment bottles, jars (including lids)” | “glass panes, pyrex glass, drinking glass”; “crockery, pans, cutlery” |
| City of London: What can go into the recycling bag? “glass bottles and jars (please rinse)” | “ceramics” |
| Cotswold: “You can recycle glass bottles and jars in one of your recycling boxes.” | “No thanks: Please do not put broken glass, drinking glasses or tumblers, light bulbs or fluorescent tubes, Pyrex, sheet glass or toughened glass in the box. Standard light bulbs can go in your general waste bin, everything else should be taken to a recycling centre.” · Instead: Recycling centre; “No thanks: Please do not leave TVs, monitors, light bulbs, fluorescent tubes or anything large. These can be taken to a recycling centre.” · Instead: Recycling centre |
| County Durham: Glass bottles and jars | Pyrex; Light bulbs; Mirrors |
| Coventry: Glass bottles and jars | Cookware such as pots, pans or Pyrex · Instead: Charity shop if usable, otherwise the tip; Light bulbs · Instead: Household Recycling and Reuse Centre (the tip) |
| Crawley: We will collect: “glass bottles and jars” | “pyrex glass”; “drinking glasses”; “crockery” |
| Derby: Glass bottles and jars · Rinse and remove lids | |
| Dudley: “Recycling - residents will receive a new blue wheeled bin for simple mixed recycling (cans, plastic, glass and cartons).” | |
| Ealing: You can recycle in your blue wheeled bin or communal recycling bin: “glass bottles and jars” | |
| East Devon: “Glass bottles and jars - rinsed with no lids. No other glass items.” | |
| East Dunbartonshire: Brown bin: “Glass jars” | |
| Epping Forest: Put these items in your blue-lidded recycling bin: “Glass bottles and jars – lids can be kept on” | |
| Fenland: Yes please: “Glass bottles and jars” | |
| Fermanagh and Omagh: You must use your blue recycling bin to dispose of recyclable waste including: “Glass bottles and jars.” | |
| Folkestone and Hythe: “Glass jars and bottles” | |
| Greenwich: Glass bottles and jars | Pyrex · Black top general waste bin · Goes in your general waste bin; Drinking glasses · Black top general waste bin · Goes in your general waste bin; Crockery · Black top general waste bin · Goes in your general waste bin; Mirrors · Black top general waste bin · Goes in your general waste bin |
| Guildford: Yes please: “Glass bottles and jars” | “Drinking glasses, crockery or Pyrex” |
| Hackney: What to put in your recycling bin or bags: “glass bottles and jars” | |
| Halton: Blue Bin Wheelie Bin Guide (Recyclables): “Glass bottles and jars” | |
| Haringey: In your recycling bin you can put: “glass bottles and jars” | |
| Harrow: What to put in your Recycling bin: “glass bottles and jars” | “ceramics & Pyrex” |
| Hastings: What you can put in your green bin or pink sack: “Glass bottles (lids off please)” | “Pyrex glassware”; “Wine / drinking glasses”; “Light bulbs”; “Ceramics”; “Window panes”; “Mirrors” |
| Havering: Glass bottles and jars | |
| Hertsmere: “Glass bottles and jars should go in your brown bin.” | “Pyrex is made from treated glass which cannot be recycled so should not be put in the brown bin with other glass bottles and jars.”; “Alternatively they can go in your black bin. Do not put them in your brown bin - mirrors are a different type of glass to bottles and jars.” |
| High Peak: We can only recycle... “Glass bottles and jars” | |
| Hinckley and Bosworth: Use this bin for the following: “Glass bottles and jars” | |
| Islington: Glass bottles and jars · Metal lids can stay on | |
| King's Lynn and West Norfolk: You can put the following into your green recycling bin: “glass bottles and jars (leave the tops on)” | “glass such as drinking glasses, Pyrex ware, and broken window panes” |
| Kingston upon Hull: Only the items listed below go in the blue bin - “empty glass bottles and jars” | |
| Knowsley: Recycling bin (grey): “Glass bottles and jars” | |
| Lambeth: Glass jars and bottles · Rinse; put metal lids in separately | Pyrex; Light bulbs · Instead: Lambeth reuse and recycling centre (Vale Street); Window glass |
| Lancaster: What can go in your red lidded bin or box: “Glass bottles or jars (broken or intact)” | |
| Leeds: Glass · Rinse; or use your nearest bottle bank | Drinking glasses; Light bulbs · Instead: Take to recycling centre |
| Leicester: Glass bottles and jars · Orange bag, or shared recycling bin in flats | Pyrex or ceramics · Instead: Waste bags in your black bin; Drinking glasses · Instead: Waste bags in your black bin; Mirrors · Instead: Waste bags in your black bin |
| Lewisham: Glass bottles and jars · Leave lids on | Pyrex and ceramics; Window glass, broken glass and light bulbs · Instead: Take to recycling centre |
| Lincoln: The brown bin or black box is for dry and clean recycling, that is only accepted by Lincolnshire County Council's recycling plant: “Clean glass bottles and jars” | |
| Liverpool: Glass bottles and jars · Leave lids on | |
| Maidstone: What you can put in: “glass bottles and jars” | |
| Manchester: Glass bottles and jars · Brown bin | Drinking glasses |
| Medway: You can use your white reusable bag for: “glass bottles and jars” | |
| Merton: Glass bottles and jars · Recycling box, purple or blue striped bag | |
| Milton Keynes: Glass bottles · Lids removed, per the A to Z | Drinking glasses and Pyrex · Instead: Broken drinking glasses: black wheelie bin; Light bulbs · Instead: Household Waste Recycling Centre; Mirrors · Instead: Black wheelie bin |
| Newcastle upon Tyne: Glass bottles and jars · Lids on | Pyrex dishes · Not currently recycled · Goes in your general waste bin |
| Newham: Glass jars · Clean and dry, e.g. sauce jars | |
| North Lanarkshire: Glass bottles and jars · Green-lidded bin · plastic and metal lids can go in too | Pyrex · Instead: General waste bin; Drinking glasses · Instead: General waste bin; Light bulbs · Instead: General waste bin; Ceramics · Instead: General waste bin; Window glass · Instead: General waste bin; Mirrors · Instead: General waste bin |
| North Somerset: Glass bottles and jars · Box; lids off, no broken glass | Pyrex; Drinking glasses · Instead: Black bin if broken; Light bulbs |
| North Tyneside: Glass bottles and jars · In the caddy · no window glass, no pyrex | Window glass and Pyrex |
| North Warwickshire: What you can recycle: “Glass bottles and jars” | “Cookware such as pots, pans, Pyrex and drinking glasses”; “Ceramic plant pots” |
| North Yorkshire: The red lidded wheelie bin is for: “glass bottles and jars” | |
| Nottingham: Glass bottles and jars · Including perfume bottles | |
| Nuneaton and Bedworth: What can I put in my recycle bin: “Glass bottles and jars” | |
| Oldham: Brown bin – plastics, glass and metal: “Glass bottles and jars” | |
| Oxford: Food and drink packaging items you can put in your blue bin and clear sacks incude: “glass bottles and jars” | |
| Pendle: Put in your brown bin: “Glass bottles” | |
| Peterborough: Items you can put in your green bin: “Glass - bottles and jars (unbroken) - you can leave tops, lids and caps on” | “Pyrex or ceramics” |
| Plymouth: Glass bottles and jars · Clear, brown, green or blue; rinse first | Lightbulbs · Instead: Brown general waste bin or bags; Sheet glass · Instead: Brown general waste bin or bags; Mirrors · Instead: Brown general waste bin or bags |
| Redbridge: Glass bottles and jars · Box 1 | |
| Renfrewshire: These items can go in your green bin: “glass bottles and jars” | “Pyrex or crockery”; “light bulbs”; “mirrors” |
| Ribble Valley: Things that should go in your blue bin: “glass bottles and jars” | “pyrex”; “window glass” |
| Richmond upon Thames: Glass bottles and jars · Black box; unbroken | Light bulbs · Townmead Reuse and Recycling Centre or B&Q · Needs specialist recycling, not your kerbside bins; Broken crockery · Instead: Dustbin, wheelie bin or refuse sack |
| Rochdale: Glass bottles and jars · Light green bin with blue lid | |
| Rossendale: Things that you can put in the blue bin are: “Glass bottles and jars with lids on” | “Pyrex”; “Window glass” |
| Rother: Recycling (green wheelie bin or pink sacks): “Glass bottles and jars (leave lids off and place in separately as made from another material)” | |
| Salford: You can use your brown bin to recycle the following items: “Glass bottles” | |
| Sandwell: Glass bottles and jars · Blue lid bin | Drinking glasses, pyrex and glass dishes |
| Sevenoaks: You can put all your dry recycling in this bin, including: “Glass bottles and jars” | “Crockery, ceramics and other types of glass, including window glass, perfume bottles, and Pyrex” |
| Sheffield: Glass bottles and jars · Brown bin · rinse; don't break them | Pyrex or other heat-resistant cookware; Drinking glasses, wine glasses or tumblers; Light bulbs or fluorescent tubes; Ceramics, china or pottery; Window glass, mirrors or picture-frame glass |
| Solihull: Yes please: “glass bottles” | “pyrex style glass”; “drinking glasses”; “light bulbs” |
| Somerset: Glass bottles and jars · Box 2 (usually green); rinse, lids back on | Pyrex; Drinking glasses; Light bulbs · Instead: Unbroken low-energy bulbs: any recycling site; Mirrors |
| South Cambridgeshire: Glass jars and bottles · Blue bin | Pyrex; Flat glass or mirrors |
| South Holland: Mixed glass, including: “glass bottles and jars” | “Pyrex and other cooking dishes”; “light bulbs”; “sheet glass (windows, mirrors)” |
| South Norfolk: Glass: “glass bottles - lids on” | “drinking glasses”; “light bulbs”; “window or mirror glass” |
| South Ribble: Things that should go in your blue bin: “glass bottles and containers - including drinks bottles, condiment bottles, jars (including lids)” | “glass panes, pyrex glass, drinking glass”; “crockery, pans, cutlery” |
| South Staffordshire: What you can put in your blue recycling bin: “Glass bottles and jars (lids separate) | Shampoo and bathroom bottles” | “Pyrex/ceramics | Drinking glasses” |
| Southend-on-Sea: Mixed recycling items that can be put in your pink lid bin (or sack) include: “glass jars” | |
| Southwark: Glass bottles and jars · Any colour · take lids off | Pyrex and drinking glasses; Windows and mirrors |
| St Albans: “All glass bottles and jars” | |
| Stafford: Blue Bin - Recycling: “glass bottles and jars” | |
| Sunderland: What to put in your blue recycling bin: “Glass bottles and jars - such as jam jars, perfume bottles and coffee jars” | “Light bulbs” |
| Tameside: Glass bottles and jars | |
| Teignbridge: What you can recycle in your green box: “glass bottles (with or without lids attached)” | “broken glass, flat glass or pyrex - wrap and put in your black bin” · Instead: Wrap and put in your black bin; “light bulbs” |
| Telford and Wrekin: We can take: “glass bottle and jars, including the lids” | “pyrex glass” |
| Three Rivers: Items that can go in your recycling bin: “glass bottles and jars of any colour (note: no drinking glasses or glass tableware)” | “cookware and kitchenware, including drinking glasses and ceramics” |
| Thurrock: What to put in your wheeled bins: “glass bottles and jars, but no other types of glass” | “Pyrex and Vision cookware”; “light bulbs”; “mirrors” |
| Tower Hamlets: Glass bottles and jars · All colours · rinse first | Traditional light bulbs |
| Trafford: What you can put in your black bin: “Glass bottles and jars (no lids)” | |
| Tunbridge Wells: “Glass bottles and jars” | “any other kind of glass (pyrex, drinking glasses, window glass)” |
| Uttlesford: “All glass bottles and jars” | “Pyrex bowls/jugs etc”; “Drinking glasses/vases” |
| Vale of White Horse: Glass: “Bottles – any colour – with the lids on” | |
| Wakefield: Glass bottles and jars · Rinse, then always put the lids back on | Pyrex dishes; Drinking glasses; Broken glass and crockery · Instead: Green household waste bin |
| Walsall: What should go in your green bin: “Glass bottles, all colours (no tops)” | “Pyrex or cooking dishes”; “Drinking glasses”; “Crockery”; “Window glass”; “Mirrors” |
| Warwick: What you can put in your blue-lidded bin: “glass bottles and jars” | |
| Waverley: What goes in (examples): “glass bottles and jars: drinks bottles, sauce and jam jars (lids removed)” | |
| Wealden: Yes please: “Glass bottles and jars” | “Pyrex/ovenproof glassware”; “Drinking glasses and crockery”; “Light bulbs”; “Window panes and mirrors” |
| Welwyn Hatfield: The main part of this bin is for recyclables such as: “Glass bottles and jars” | “Drinking glasses”; “Light bulbs” |
| West Lancashire: Plastics, glass & metals (Blue bin): “Glass bottles” | |
| Wirral: Glass: “glass bottles and jars (tops can be put back on)” | |
| Wolverhampton: Items that can be put into your recycling bin: “glass bottles and jars - empty and rinse out ✔” | “drinking glasses ✖” |
| Wyre: What can go in my red bin? “Mixed clean glass bottles and jars including lids” | “Window, pyrex or drinking glass” |
| In a container of its own (22) | |
| Bridgend: a black caddy for glass | |
| Brighton and Hove: a black box for glass bottles and jars · Or a local communal glass bin; plastic lids go in general waste | Drinking glasses and Pyrex · Instead: Pass on or wrap and put in general waste |
| Bristol: a black box · Paper moved to the blue bag on 28 May 2026 | Pyrex glass · Different melting point to glass · Goes in your general waste bin; Window and drinking glass · Different glass type to bottles · Goes in your general waste bin; Light bulbs · Instead: Take to recycling centre |
| Cardiff: a blue caddy for glass | |
| Cheltenham: a green box for glass bottles and jars (box three) | “Drinking glasses”; “Light bulbs and tubes”; “Ceramics such as crockery, earthenware”; “Mirrors or window panes” |
| City of Edinburgh: a purple bin for glass recycling · Purple lid, communal bins only; kerbside homes use a recycling box whose colour might vary | |
| Dorset: a green box for glass | |
| East Ayrshire: a purple bin for glass (purple-top) | |
| East Hampshire: a blue bin for glass (shared accommodation only) · Most homes use a 38 litre glass box instead | |
| Glasgow: a purple bin for glass bottles and jars | Pyrex glass; Drinking glasses, plates and cups; Light bulbs · Instead: Take to recycling centre |
| Hounslow: a green box for glass bottles and jars | |
| Luton: a black box for glass bottles and jars; a purple bin for glass (availability: flats) | “pyrex dishes”; “light bulbs”; “crockery like cups, mugs and plates”; “mirrors and windows” |
| Merthyr Tydfil: a black box for paper and cardboard, glass bottles and jars · Two boxes: one paper and cardboard, one glass | “Ceramics, drinking glasses and pyrex**”; “Light bulbs**”; “Glass panes**” |
| Monmouthshire: a green box for glass bottles and jars | |
| Na h-Eileanan Siar: a green bin for glass (availability: Lewis and Harris) | “Crockery, ceramics and pyrex”; “Drinking glasses”; “Light bulbs”; “Windows and mirrors” |
| Newark and Sherwood | “oven-proof glass such as Pyrex”; “drinking glasses”; “light bulbs and tubes”; “mirrors” |
| North Devon: a blue box for glass bottles and jars | “Light bulbs, plant pots, cling film, tetra paks and packaging film. This includes cellophane, sweet wrappers and crisp packets” |
| Rushcliffe: a purple bin for glass bottles and jars | |
| Stevenage: a red box for glass bottles and jars | |
| Torridge: a black box for glass jars and bottles | |
| West Oxfordshire: a black box for glass | |
| Wrexham: a black box for glass bottles | |
| A container for glass, in the council's own words (1)Each of these councils names a container for glass, shown as the council states it (what it holds, who has it, its note), with the entry its list takes glass with. | |
| Bexley: a black box for glass bottles and jars · Homes not suitable for wheelie bins; plastics, cans and cartons go in a maroon box. Its list: Glass bottles and jars · Box homes: black box | Glass cookware such as Pyrex · Instead: General waste or the recycling centres; Drinking glasses · Instead: Wrap well and put in general waste; Light bulbs · Light bulb section at the reuse and recycling centres · Needs specialist recycling, not your kerbside bins; Mirrors and sheet glass · Instead: Non-recyclable area at the recycling centres |
| Recycling lists that keep glass out (8)These councils' recycling lists keep glass bottles and jars out, each shown in its own words. | |
| Dumfries and Galloway: “glass” | |
| Fareham: “Glass - Glass shards ruin newspaper if they are put in the recycling bin together.” | |
| Kirklees: “glass” | |
| Northumberland: Glass; Glass bottles and jars · Take to local tip · Needs specialist recycling, not your kerbside bins | |
| Portsmouth: Glass · Instead: Take to a glass recycling bank | |
| Reading: Glass bottles and jars · Instead: Bring sites around the borough | |
| Scottish Borders: “glass bottles and jars – these can be recycled at your nearest recycling point” · Instead: Nearest recycling point | |
| Test Valley: “Glass bottles and jars” · Instead: Local Recycling Centre | |
| Not in the counts above (12)These councils' lists name one of the glass items below, but where their glass goes is not counted: the reading counts an entry only when it is glass bottles and jars alone, so a council whose entry words it inside a longer phrase is not counted, and it leaves out a council that names a glass collection whose list we have not checked. | |
| Blackpool | “Window glass” |
| Cannock Chase | “Mixed glass bottles and jars - any colour (we can't take window panes, glass cookware/pyrex, glasses, broken glasses, light bulbs etc)” |
| Causeway Coast and Glens | “Pyrex, crystal or window glass” |
| Charnwood | “Used light bulbs should not be placed into any of Charnwood’s domestic refuse or recycling bins. Instead they should be taken to the tip to be safely disposed of.” · Instead: Take to the tip |
| Chichester | “Pyrex, drinking glasses and crockery, window or mirror glass, ceramics, glass vases, paperweights and spectacles.” |
| Cornwall | “Pyrex or cookware” |
| East Staffordshire | “Ceramics, ornaments or crockery”; “Mirrors” |
| Harlow | “ceramics, crockery, window glass, drinking glasses or Pyrex”; “light bulbs - take these to Harlow Recycling Centre” · Instead: Harlow Recycling Centre |
| Mid and East Antrim | “no pyrex” |
| Mid Suffolk | “glassware/Pyrex (e.g. drinking glasses, bowls, jugs, or vases)”; “sheet glass (e.g. windows and fish tanks)” |
| Swansea | “pyrex”; “ceramic mugs, bowls and plates”; “mirrors” |
| Westmorland and Furness | “drinking glasses” |
What councils keep out of the glass recycling
Counted from the recycling and glass lists of the 182 councils we have checked: a council counts when its own entry names the item, whole words only. An entry that names an item only to keep it out keeps it out. Each council's words are in its row above.
Pyrex
All 67 councils whose lists say either way keep it out.
The councils: Barnsley, Bexley, Birmingham, Braintree, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Bromley, Cambridge, Cannock Chase, Causeway Coast and Glens, Central Bedfordshire, Cherwell, Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Chichester, Chorley, Cornwall, Cotswold, County Durham, Coventry, Crawley, Glasgow, Greenwich, Guildford, Harlow, Harrow, Hastings, Hertsmere, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Lambeth, Leicester, Lewisham, Luton, Merthyr Tydfil, Mid and East Antrim, Mid Suffolk, Milton Keynes, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Newark and Sherwood, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Lanarkshire, North Somerset, North Tyneside, North Warwickshire, Peterborough, Renfrewshire, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, Sandwell, Sheffield, Solihull, Somerset, South Cambridgeshire, South Holland, South Ribble, South Staffordshire, Southwark, Swansea, Teignbridge, Telford and Wrekin, Thurrock, Tunbridge Wells, Uttlesford, Wakefield, Walsall, Wealden and Wyre.
Drinking glasses
All 46 councils whose lists say either way keep them out.
The councils: Bexley, Birmingham, Brighton and Hove, Bristol, Broadland, Bromley, Central Bedfordshire, Cheltenham, Cherwell, Chichester, Chorley, Cotswold, Crawley, Glasgow, Greenwich, Guildford, Harlow, Hastings, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Leeds, Leicester, Manchester, Merthyr Tydfil, Milton Keynes, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Newark and Sherwood, North Lanarkshire, North Somerset, North Warwickshire, Sandwell, Sheffield, Solihull, Somerset, South Norfolk, South Ribble, Southwark, Three Rivers, Tunbridge Wells, Uttlesford, Wakefield, Walsall, Wealden, Welwyn Hatfield, Westmorland and Furness, Wolverhampton and Wyre.
Light bulbs
All 44 councils whose lists say either way keep them out.
The councils: Barnsley, Bexley, Birmingham, Braintree, Brent, Bristol, Broadland, Cannock Chase, Central Bedfordshire, Charnwood, Cheltenham, Cherwell, Cotswold, County Durham, Coventry, Glasgow, Harlow, Hastings, Lambeth, Leeds, Lewisham, Luton, Merthyr Tydfil, Milton Keynes, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Newark and Sherwood, North Devon, North Lanarkshire, North Somerset, Peterborough, Plymouth, Renfrewshire, Richmond upon Thames, Sheffield, Solihull, Somerset, South Holland, South Norfolk, Sunderland, Teignbridge, Thurrock, Tower Hamlets, Wealden and Welwyn Hatfield.
Ceramics and crockery
All 35 councils whose lists say either way keep them out.
The councils: Birmingham, Braintree, Bromley, Central Bedfordshire, Cheltenham, Cherwell, Chichester, Chorley, City of London, Crawley, East Staffordshire, Greenwich, Guildford, Harlow, Harrow, Hastings, Leicester, Lewisham, Luton, Merthyr Tydfil, Na h-Eileanan Siar, North Lanarkshire, North Warwickshire, Peterborough, Renfrewshire, Richmond upon Thames, Sevenoaks, Sheffield, South Ribble, South Staffordshire, Swansea, Three Rivers, Wakefield, Walsall and Wealden.
Window and sheet glass
All 33 councils whose lists say either way keep it out.
The councils: Barnsley, Bexley, Blackpool, Braintree, Brent, Bromley, Cannock Chase, Causeway Coast and Glens, Central Bedfordshire, Cheltenham, Cherwell, Cheshire West and Chester, Chichester, Chorley, Cotswold, Harlow, Hastings, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Lambeth, Lewisham, Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Suffolk, North Lanarkshire, North Tyneside, Plymouth, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, Sheffield, South Holland, South Ribble, Tunbridge Wells, Walsall and Wealden.
Mirrors
All 32 councils whose lists say either way keep them out.
The councils: Bexley, Birmingham, Braintree, Brent, Broadland, Cambridge, Central Bedfordshire, Cheltenham, Cherwell, County Durham, East Staffordshire, Greenwich, Hastings, Hertsmere, Leicester, Luton, Milton Keynes, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Newark and Sherwood, North Lanarkshire, Plymouth, Renfrewshire, Sheffield, Somerset, South Cambridgeshire, South Holland, South Norfolk, Southwark, Swansea, Thurrock, Walsall and Wealden.
How is glass recycled?
What 2 councils say happens to the glass they collect, in their own words:
- Bristol: “Glass bottles and jars are sent to Harlow in Essex.” “The glass is crushed into cullet and each colour is melted in a separate furnace before being moulded into new glass bottles and jars.”
- Harlow: “Collected recycling is taken to a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) where items such as paper, plastic bottles, glass bottles and jars, cardboard, tins and cans are separated and then turned into new products.”
Check your own council
Where glass goes is set by each council. Enter your postcode to find yours and its full bin rules.
Frequently asked questions
Does glass go in the recycling bin?
It depends on your council. Of the 182 councils we have checked, 118 have a recycling list that takes glass bottles and jars, 22 collect glass in a container of its own, and 1 more names a container that holds glass, shown in its own words in the table. The recycling lists of 8 more councils keep glass out. Find your own council on this page to see which it is.
Can drinking glasses go in the glass recycling?
No. All 46 councils whose lists say either way keep them out.
Can Pyrex go in the glass recycling?
No. All 67 councils whose lists say either way keep it out.
Can light bulbs, ceramics and crockery, window and sheet glass or mirrors go in the glass recycling?
Light bulbs: No. All 44 councils whose lists say either way keep them out. Ceramics and crockery: No. All 35 councils whose lists say either way keep them out. Window and sheet glass: No. All 33 councils whose lists say either way keep it out. Mirrors: No. All 32 councils whose lists say either way keep them out.
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