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Recycling rules for Dumfries and Galloway

Based on Dumfries and Galloway published guidance · Last verified October 2026

Here's what currently goes in each bin in Dumfries and Galloway.

Search what goes in your bins →

Quick answers for Dumfries and Galloway

Your bins in Dumfries and Galloway, by colour

Container colours as published by Dumfries and Galloway. Some homes get a different container. See the notes.

Blue bin

Paper, card and cardboard

Blue lid; some homes have sacks or shared bins

What goes in the paper & card bin →

Red bin

Plastics, metals and food cartons

Red lid; some homes have sacks or shared bins

What goes in the recycling bin →

Grey or black bin

Non-recyclable waste

Availability: Most houses

Can also be green; flats may use communal bins

What goes in each bin

Recycling

Accepted

Recycling, plastics, rinsed and squashed, that can go in this bin or sack:

  • Food and drink bottles
  • Toiletry bottles
  • Tablet and medicine bottles
  • Pots
  • Tubs
  • Trays
  • Yoghurt pots
  • Butter and margarine tubs
  • Plastic lids and tops

Recycling, metals, empty and rinsed, that can go in this bin or sack:

  • Tins
  • Drink cans
  • Empty aerosol cans
  • Foil trays
  • Clean aluminium foil
  • Chocolate and biscuit tins
  • Metal lids and caps

Recycling, cartons, rinsed and squashed, that can go in this bin or sack:

  • Food cartons
  • Drink cartons

Not accepted

What does not go in your red lid recycling bins or sacks:

  • Plastic plant pots
  • Bin liners
  • Cling film
  • Glass
  • Bubble wrap
  • Polystyrene
  • Biscuit wrappers
  • Sweet wrappers
  • Plastic wrappers
  • Plastic netting
  • Crisp bags
  • Plastic cups
  • Plastic straws
  • Pet food pouches
  • Oil cans
  • Paint cans
  • Electrical items
  • Wire
  • Cutlery
  • Gas bottles
  • Metal pots
  • Metal pans
  • Metal trays
  • Do not put used electronic cigarettes, vapes or batteries in your recycling binInstead: Use the pink battery recycling bag
  • Vapes and e-cigarettesInstead: A5 clear sealable bag on top of your bin
  • Needles and syringes · Council unable to accept them

Food Waste

Accepted

Food waste we collect, you can use this service to recycle:

  • Cooked food
  • Uncooked food
  • Tea bags
  • Coffee grounds
  • Egg shells
  • Bones
  • Pet food

Common mistakes

  • If your address is not covered by this service, you can put your food waste in your rubbish bin (not your recycling bin)→ goes in General Waste
What goes in a food waste caddy

Paper & Card

Accepted

Recycling, paper that can go in this bin or sack:

  • Newspapers
  • Magazines, without plastic covers or envelopes
  • Catalogues
  • Directories
  • Letters
  • Junk mail
  • Envelopes, even if they have a plastic address window
  • Office paper
  • Shredded paper
  • Paperback books, if they cannot be donated to charity

Recycling, card and cardboard that can go in this bin or sack:

  • Cereal boxes
  • Cardboard packaging, with the packing tape removed
  • Corrugated cardboard boxes
  • Glitter-free greetings cards
  • Toilet roll tubes
  • Kitchen roll tubes
  • Cardboard egg boxes

Not accepted

What does not go in your blue lid recycling bins or sacks:

  • Plastic bags
  • Tissues
  • Napkins
  • Kitchen towels
  • Padded envelopes
  • Wet paper
  • Wet cardboard
  • Wallpaper
  • Paper or cardboard contaminated with food, for example, takeaway pizza boxes
  • Disposable coffee cups
  • Hardback books

We don't have checked garden waste guidance for Dumfries and Galloway yet.

See Dumfries and Galloway's own guidance
Recycling symbols explained

How Dumfries and Galloway compares

  • Paper and card have their own container in Dumfries and Galloway, as in 53 of the 182 councils we have checked.

Next door

Plastic bags go in the recycling in Scottish Borders but not in Dumfries and Galloway.

Neighbouring councils we have checked: East Ayrshire, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire.

When are bins collected in Dumfries and Galloway?

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 →

In Dumfries and Galloway’s own words: “We collect your non-recyclable waste every 2 weeks and your recycling bins the other weeks.”

No streets in Dumfries and Galloway 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 9 pages of Dumfries and Galloway’s website on 29 October 2026 and checked each of the 85 facts on this page against the council’s own words before publishing it.

Source: Dumfries and Galloway council website. Check your council’s site for the latest updates.

Frequently asked questions

What goes in the recycling bin in Dumfries and Galloway?

Dumfries and Galloway’s recycling bin takes “Food and drink bottles”, “Toiletry bottles” and “Tablet and medicine bottles”, among other things.

See the full recycling list

Work for Dumfries and Galloway? See how BinBosh helps councils →

Never guess which bin

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