Recycling rules for East Hampshire
Based on East Hampshire published guidance · Last verified September 2026
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us
Here's what currently goes in each bin in East Hampshire.
Search what goes in your bins →Quick answers for East Hampshire
Polystyrene: Not accepted in East Hampshire's recycling bin
Not accepted in the recycling bin. Refuse bin.
Cardboard: Goes in your recycling bin
Remove tape and staples where possible.
Glass bottles and jars: Goes in your glass bin
In the glass box, rinsed, without corks or tops.
Food waste: East Hampshire has a separate food waste collection
Takes uneaten raw and cooked food and plate scrapings, raw and cooked meat and fish, tea bags and coffee grounds and more.
Shredded paper: Not accepted in East Hampshire's recycling bin
Also gift wrap, laminated paper, tissues and wallpaper.
Tins and cans: Goes in your recycling bin
Rinsed; including pet food tins.
Your bins in East Hampshire, by colour
Black bin
Recycling
Black is the recycling colour in 4 of the 91 councils with a checked recycling colour.
Green bin
Refuse
Green is the general rubbish colour in 16 of the 100 councils with a checked general rubbish colour.
Put things in sturdy plastic bags
Brown bin
Garden waste
Brown is the garden waste colour in 77 of the 141 councils with a checked garden waste colour.
Paid subscription; existing sack customers can keep their sacks
Blue bin
Glass (shared accommodation only)
Most homes use a 38 litre glass box instead
What goes in each bin
Recycling
Accepted
Paper & Card
- Paper · Newspapers, magazines, junk mail, envelopes, catalogues
- Cardboard · Remove tape and staples where possible · Symbol guide
Plastics
- Plastic bottles · Food, drink, detergent and toiletry bottles · Symbol guide
Metals
- Tins and cans · Rinsed; including pet food tins · Symbol guide
- Sweet and biscuit tins
- Aerosols · Empty, no lids · UK basics
Not accepted
- Shredded paper · Also gift wrap, laminated paper, tissues and wallpaper · UK basics
- Plastic or foam packaging inside boxes · Not accepted in the recycling binInstead: Refuse bin
- Pizza boxes · Due to food debris · UK basics
- Plastic bottles that still contain liquid · Empty them first
- Pump or spray mechanisms · Not accepted in the recycling binInstead: Refuse bin
- Paint tins and dirty tins · Also other metals or metal packaging
- Aerosol lids and part-full aerosols · Not accepted in the recycling bin
- Plastic pots, tubs and trays · Only until the new Eastleigh recycling facility opensInstead: Refuse bin
- Polystyrene · Not accepted in the recycling bin · UK basicsInstead: Refuse bin
- Carrier bags and bin liners · Not accepted in the recycling bin · UK basicsInstead: Refuse bin
- Cartons · Fruit juice, soup and milk cartons, Tetrapak · Symbol guideInstead: Refuse bin
- Glass bottles or jars · Collected separately · Symbol guideInstead: Glass box
- Foil · Not accepted in the recycling bin · UK basicsInstead: Refuse bin
- Textiles · Clothes, shoes, linen · UK basics
- Garden waste · Not accepted in the recycling binInstead: Garden waste bin
Common mistakes
- Glass bottles and jars → goes in Glass · In the glass box, rinsed, without corks or tops
- Cartons → goes in General Waste · Tetrapaks and cartons go in the refuse bin
- Plastic pots, tubs and trays → goes in General Waste · Until the new Eastleigh facility opens
- Foil → goes in General Waste · Goes in the refuse bin
Tips (9)
- • Clean, dry and loose
- • No plastic bags in the bin
- • Remove tape from cardboard
- • No lids on aerosols
- • Pots and tubs: refuse bin
- • Cartons go in the refuse bin
- • Glass goes in the glass box
- • Contaminated bins are not emptied
- • Foil goes in the refuse bin
Food Waste
Accepted
- Uneaten raw and cooked food and plate scrapings
- Raw and cooked meat and fish · Including bones
- Tea bags and coffee grounds
- Fruit and vegetables · Including peelings, pips, stones and stalks
- Out of date or mouldy food
- Shellfish and seafood shells
- Dairy products · Such as cheese
- Bread, cakes and pastries
- Eggs and eggshells
- Rice, pasta and beans
- Pet food
Not accepted
- Packaging of any kind · Except your caddy liner
- Glass · Not food waste
- Liquids · Milk, liquid fat or gravy
- Oils · Such as used cooking oil
- Cat litter, animal faeces and pet bedding · Not food waste
- Garden waste · Not food wasteInstead: Garden waste bin
Tips (8)
- • Weekly from 5 October 2026
- • 5-litre kitchen caddy provided
- • 23-litre outdoor caddy, weekly
- • Bones and shells accepted
- • Out of date food goes in
- • No liquids or cooking oil
- • No packaging except the liner
- • Communal areas get a shared bin
Garden Waste
Accepted
- Grass cuttings
- Hedge cuttings
- Real Christmas trees · Collected on the first collection of the new year
- Weeds
- Small branches
- Leaves
- Prunings
Not accepted
- Soil, concrete and rubble · Not accepted in the garden waste bin
- Vegetable peelings · Not accepted in the garden waste binInstead: Food waste caddy
- Food scraps · Not accepted in the garden waste binInstead: Food waste caddy
- Coal and ash · Not accepted in the garden waste bin
- Animal waste · Not accepted in the garden waste bin
- Commercial waste · Not accepted in the garden waste bin
- General household waste · Not accepted in the garden waste bin
- Fruit from trees · Not accepted in the garden waste bin
Tips (9)
- • Annual collection subscription
- • No brown bin? Buy one to join
- • 25 fortnightly collections a year
- • No collections over Christmas
- • Trees collected in January
- • No fruit from trees
- • No soil, concrete or rubble
- • No food scraps or peelings
- • Limited capacity on some rounds
How East Hampshire compares
- East Hampshire collects glass in its own container, as 17 of the 182 councils we have checked do.
- East Hampshire’s lists say plastic pots, tubs and trays do not go in its recycling (“Plastic pots, tubs and trays”). Of the 113 councils whose lists say either way, 108 take them.
- East Hampshire’s lists say foil does not go in its recycling (“Foil”). Of the 150 councils whose lists say either way, 143 take it.
- East Hampshire’s lists say food and drink cartons do not go in its recycling (“Cartons”). Of the 146 councils whose lists say either way, 136 take them.
- East Hampshire’s lists say shredded paper does not go in its recycling (“Shredded paper”). Of the 79 councils whose lists say either way, 56 take it.
Food waste in East Hampshire
In East Hampshire’s own words (checked September 2026): “Weekly food waste collections will be rolled out across the district during the week beginning 5 October 2026.”
22 of the 181 councils whose food waste guidance we have checked say it is starting or being rolled out.
The government’s rule for England requires “weekly food waste collections for most homes, unless a transitional arrangement applies”. Read it on gov.uk
Which councils collect food waste weeklyAreas covered by East Hampshire
- Postcode districts all or nearly all in East Hampshire: GU34 and GU35.
- Postcode districts mostly in East Hampshire: GU30, GU31 and GU33 (shared with Chichester); GU32 (shared with Winchester); PO8 (shared with Havant).
- Postcode districts partly in East Hampshire: GU10 (shared with Hart, Guildford, Waverley); GU26 (shared with Waverley); PO9 (shared with Havant); SO24 (shared with Winchester).
Built-up areas (ONS) with the most postcodes in East Hampshire: Alton, Petersfield, Horndean, Bordon, Liphook, Headley Down and Headley, Four Marks, Liss, Whitehill, Lindford, Hindhead, Rowlands Castle.
Shares count each district’s live postcodes; a district is listed where East Hampshire has at least 5% of them or 50. Built-up areas are ONS statistical areas, not a list from the council.
Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2025. Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2025. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Council homepages: GOV.UK, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Next door
In Winchester the recycling bin is green and the general rubbish bin is black; here the recycling bin is black and the general rubbish bin is green.
In Waverley the recycling bin is blue and the general rubbish bin is black; here the recycling bin is black and the general rubbish bin is green. Glass goes in the recycling bin in Waverley and in its own container in East Hampshire. Plastic pots, tubs and trays go in the recycling in Waverley but not in East Hampshire. Foil goes in the recycling in Waverley but not in East Hampshire.
In Chichester the general rubbish bin is black and the garden waste bin is green (availability: Garden recycling service subscribers); here the general rubbish bin is green and the garden waste bin is brown. Foil goes in the recycling in Chichester but not in East Hampshire. Food and drink cartons go in the recycling in Chichester but not in East Hampshire.
Neighbouring councils we have checked: Winchester, Waverley, Chichester.
When are bins collected in East Hampshire?
East Hampshire sets collection days by street: find your bin day, or browse neighbours’ schedules by postcode.
East Hampshire doesn't move bin collections for bank holidays, so your usual day stands. Christmas and New Year weeks can still differ, so check the council's site for those. Your neighbours can vote on the actual day on BinBosh if it changes.
In East Hampshire’s own words: “East Hampshire District Council operates alternate-weekly kerbside recycling (black bin) and waste (green bin) collections.”
Garden waste collections pause over Christmas.
1 street in East Hampshire has a bin schedule on BinBosh, 0 confirmed by neighbours.
Add your street for neighbours to adopt.
How we checked this page
We checked this guidance against East Hampshire’s website in September 2026.
Source: East Hampshire council website, which has the latest updates. Bin colours are as the council publishes them; some homes get a different container.
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us
Every report goes to BinBosh’s owner, who checks it against the council’s own page.
Frequently asked questions
What colour are the bins in East Hampshire?
In East Hampshire the recycling bin is black, the garden waste bin is brown and the general rubbish bin is green. East Hampshire also lists a blue bin for glass (shared accommodation only). Black is the recycling colour in 4 of the 91 councils with a checked recycling colour.
Where does glass go in East Hampshire?
East Hampshire collects glass in its own container, as 17 of the 182 councils we have checked do.
Does East Hampshire collect food waste, and how often?
In East Hampshire’s own words (checked September 2026): “Weekly food waste collections will be rolled out across the district during the week beginning 5 October 2026.”
Is garden waste collected all year in East Hampshire?
Garden waste collections pause over Christmas.
Do bin collections change on bank holidays in East Hampshire?
East Hampshire doesn't move bin collections for bank holidays, so your usual day stands. Christmas and New Year weeks can still differ, so check the council's site for those.
What goes in the recycling bin in East Hampshire?
East Hampshire’s recycling bin takes “Paper”, “Cardboard” and “Plastic bottles”, among other things.
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