Recycling rules for Birmingham
Based on Birmingham published guidance · Last verified March 2026
Search what goes in your bins →Recycling
Accepted
Glass
- Glass bottles and jars — Remove lids, put lids in separately
Metals
- Food and drink cans — Rinse
- Aerosol cans
- Clean foil and foil trays — Must be clean
- Metal lids
Plastics
- Plastic bottles — Remove lids, put lids in separately
- Pots, tubs and trays — No black trays
- Plastic lids
Paper & Card
- Cardboard — Flatten — goes in removable pod
- Paper — Goes in removable pod
Not accepted
- Tetra Pak cartons — Not accepted in Birmingham
- Padded envelopes — Mixed materials
- Soiled paper or card — Contaminates clean recyclables
- Greasy pizza boxes — Food grease contaminates paper
- Food waste — Contaminates clean recyclables
- Paint or non-food tins — Hazardous wasteInstead: Take to recycling centre
- Drinking glasses — Different glass type to bottles
- Pyrex and ceramics — Different melting point to glass
- Black food trays — Cannot be detected by sorting
- Carrier bags and black sacks — Jams sorting machinery
- Hard plastics — Not recyclable kerbside
- Light bulbs and mirrors — Contains hazardous materialsInstead: Take to recycling centre
- Plastic film or wrappers — Not recyclable kerbside
- Polystyrene — Not recyclable kerbside
- Batteries — Contains hazardous materialsInstead: Take to battery recycling point
- Corks — Not recyclable kerbside
- Metal coat hangers — Jams sorting machinery
Common mistakes
- Tetra Pak cartons→ goes in General Waste — Not accepted in Birmingham recycling
- Pizza boxes with grease→ goes in General Waste — Food grease contaminates paper
- Batteries — Take to a battery recycling point
- Pyrex and ceramics→ goes in General Waste — Different melting point to glass
- Drinking glasses→ goes in General Waste — Different glass type to bottles
Tips (12)
- • Remove lids from bottles
- • No black food trays
- • Flatten all cardboard
- • Card goes in the pod
- • No plastic bags or sacks
- • No Tetra Pak cartons
- • No greasy pizza boxes
- • Clean foil is recyclable
- • Lids go in separately
- • No polystyrene packaging
- • No plastic film or wrap
- • Rinse cans before recycling
Source: Birmingham council website. Check your council's site for the latest updates.
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