Recycling rules for Dorset
Based on Dorset published guidance · Last verified October 2026
Under Simpler Recycling, councils across England are standardising collections. Here's what currently goes in each bin in Dorset.
Search what goes in your bins →Quick answers for Dorset
Polystyrene: Usually general waste (UK-wide position)UK-wide, not council-specific
Across the UK, polystyrene is rarely collected at the kerbside and usually belongs in general waste. Dorset's published guidance we hold doesn't list it.
Cardboard: Goes in your recycling bin
Including corrugated card.
Glass bottles and jars: Goes in your glass bin
Food waste: Dorset has a separate food waste collection
Takes meat, fish and bones, fruit, nuts and vegetable peelings, cheese and dairy produce and more.
Tins and cans: Goes in your recycling bin
Clothes: Not accepted in Dorset's recycling bin
Take to a recycling centre.
Your bins in Dorset, by colour
Container colours as published by Dorset. Some homes get a different container. See the notes.
Black bin (green lid)
Mixed recycling
Glass goes in the separate glass box
Black bin
Rubbish
Blue sack
Rubbish
Two authorised blue sacks per fortnight
Black bin (brown lid)
Garden waste
Availability: subscription service
Green box
Glass
Green is the glass colour in 5 of the 16 councils with a checked glass colour.
What goes in each bin
Recycling
Accepted
What goes in your recycling bin:
- Newspapers
- Envelopes
- Directories
- Magazines
- Cereal boxes
- Greetings cards · Not with foil or glitter
- Cardboard · Including corrugated card
- Cardboard inner tubes
- Cardboard tube-shaped containers · e.g. curved crisps, hot chocolate, gravy granules
- Cartons · Juice, soup, laundry detergent etc
- Foil and foil trays · Rinsed and scrunched into a tennis ball-sized ball
- Take-away paper cups and lids · Not the compostable ones
- Plastic bottles (including milk, soft drinks, shampoo, shower gel, cleaning products)
- Plastic plant pots · Clean (washed), not black
- Plastic pots · Including yoghurt, cream, soup
- Plastic tubs · Including margarine, butter, ice cream
- Plastic trays · Any colour, including fruit and vegetable punnets
- Plastic lids (they must be placed back on the plastic bottles, pots and tubs)
- Tins and cans
- Aerosols (including deodorant, hairspray, furniture polish)
Not accepted
We do not accept:
- Clothes and textilesInstead: Take to a recycling centre
- Food wasteInstead: Use brown food waste bin
- General rubbish
Food Waste
Accepted
What goes in your food waste bin:
- Meat, fish and bones
- Fruit, nuts and vegetable peelings
- Cheese and dairy produce
- Cakes, bread and pastries
- Leftovers and plate scrapings
- Tea bags and coffee grounds
- Pasta and rice
- Egg shells
Not accepted
We do not accept:
- Garden waste
Garden Waste
Accepted
What goes in your garden waste bin:
- Hedge cuttings
- Grass cuttings
- Twigs and small branches
- Plants
- Cut flowers
- Leaves
- Home-grown fruit and vegetables · Small amounts
Glass
Accepted
What goes in your glass box:
- Glass bottles and jars
- Metal bottle and jar lids · Left on the bottle or jar
- Cosmetic jars
- Perfume bottles (please remove any lids with sprays)
- Room diffuser scent bottles
Not accepted
We do not accept:
- General rubbish and recycling
How Dorset compares
- Dorset collects glass in its own container, as 17 of the 182 councils we have checked do.
Next door
Glass goes in the recycling bin in Somerset and in its own container in Dorset.
Glass goes in the recycling bin in East Devon and in its own container in Dorset.
Neighbouring councils we have checked: Somerset, East Devon.
When are bins collected in Dorset?
This page covers what goes in each bin. Collection days are set by the council and vary by street. See how to find your bin collection day, or browse streets by postcode to see schedules your neighbours have added.
Check with the council over bank holidays. See the council’s page →
No streets in Dorset on BinBosh yet: be the first to add yours, and your neighbours can adopt it instead of setting up their own.
How we checked this page
We read 8 pages of Dorset’s website on 29 October 2026 and checked each of the 52 facts on this page against the council’s own words before publishing it.
One fact on this page names a date; we check it again by 11 January 2027.
Source: Dorset council website. Check your council’s site for the latest updates.
Frequently asked questions
What colour are the bins in Dorset?
In Dorset the glass box is green. Dorset also lists a black bin (green lid) for mixed recycling, a black bin for rubbish, a blue sack for rubbish, a black bin (brown lid) for garden waste (availability: subscription service), and a brown bin for food waste. Green is the glass colour in 5 of the 16 councils with a checked glass colour.
Where does glass go in Dorset?
Dorset collects glass in its own container, as 17 of the 182 councils we have checked do.
What goes in the recycling bin in Dorset?
Dorset’s recycling bin takes “Newspapers”, “Envelopes” and “Directories”, among other things.
See the full recycling listWork for Dorset? See how BinBosh helps councils →
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