Recycling rules for Lewisham
Based on Lewisham published guidance · Last verified September 2026
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us
Here's what currently goes in each bin in Lewisham.
Search what goes in your bins →Quick answers for Lewisham
Polystyrene: Goes in your general waste bin
Rubbish bin, or Landmann Way Reuse and Recycling Centre.
Cardboard: Goes in your recycling bin
Remove plastic padding.
Glass bottles and jars: Goes in your recycling bin
Leave lids on.
Food waste: Lewisham has a separate food waste collection
Takes vegetable and fruit waste, food scraps, cooked and uncooked, bread and more.
Tins and cans: Goes in your recycling bin
Clean out first.
Clothes: Needs specialist recycling, not your kerbside bins
Donate to charity or textile bank.
Your bins in Lewisham, by colour
Green bin
Recycling
Or clear sacks; estates and blocks of flats have communal recycling bins
Grey bin
Food waste
Grey is the food waste colour in 14 of the 58 councils with a checked food waste colour.
Houses and converted flats; food waste is not currently collected from estates
Brown bin
Garden waste
Brown is the garden waste colour in 70 of the 125 councils with a checked garden waste colour.
Paid opt-in garden waste subscription
Black or blue bin
Rubbish that can't be recycled
Black bins for houses; blue communal bins on estates; flats above shops get orange sacks
Orange sack
General household waste
Flats above shops only; delivered quarterly
What goes in each bin
Recycling
Accepted
Paper & Card
- Paper, magazines and newspapers · Symbol guide
- Envelopes and junk mail
- Non-metallic wrapping paper · No plastic or metallic wrapping
- Flattened cardboard and food boxes · Remove plastic padding
- Egg cartons and cereal boxes · Flatten
- Kitchen and toilet roll tubes
Glass
- Glass bottles and jars · Leave lids on · Symbol guide
Metals
- Food tins and drinks cans · Clean out first · Symbol guide
- Aerosols · Deodorant, furniture polish, air fresheners, hair spray · UK basics
Plastics
- Plastic drinks bottles · Keep lids on, do not flatten · Symbol guide
- Plastic shampoo and cleaning bottles
- Cleaned plastic food containers · Yoghurt pots, fruit punnets, tubs
Other
- Cartons · Soft drinks, milk, juice and soup — wash, squash, lids on · Symbol guide
Not accepted
- Black bin bag rubbish · General waste only
- Nappies · General waste only
- Cat litter or dog poo · General waste only
- Food waste · Use grey food waste bin
- Garden waste · Use brown garden waste bin
- Tissues · Contaminated paper product
- Plastic bags, cling film and bubble wrap · Not recyclable kerbside · UK basics
- Wet or dirty paper or cardboard · Contaminates clean recyclables
- Laminated or waxed paper · Not recyclable kerbside
- Crisp packets and sweet wrappers · Not recyclable kerbside · UK basics
- Hard plastics like Tupperware · Not recyclable kerbside
- Soiled food trays or tins · Must be cleaned first
- Soiled pizza boxes · Food contaminates cardboard
- Textiles, clothes and shoes · Not recyclable kerbside · UK basicsInstead: Take to charity shop or textile bank
- Window glass, broken glass and light bulbs · Different glass typesInstead: Take to recycling centre
- Pyrex and ceramics · Not recyclable; Pyrex is heat-treated glass
- Masks and disposable gloves · General waste only
- Coat hangers · Not recyclable kerbside
- Small electrical items and batteries · Contains hazardous parts · UK basicsInstead: Take to recycling bank
- Polystyrene · Not recyclable · UK basicsInstead: Rubbish bin, or Landmann Way Reuse and Recycling Centre
- Black plastic food trays · Optical sorters can't pick up carbon black pigment · UK basics
Common mistakes
- Crisp packets→ goes in General Waste · Foil-like films — they need to go in your rubbish bin
- Plastic bags→ goes in General Waste · Take to supermarket collection point
- Pyrex→ goes in General Waste · Heat-treated glass — wrap broken Pyrex and put it in your rubbish bin; donate dishes in good condition
- Textiles and clothes · Donate to charity or textile bank
- Batteries · Take to a recycling bank
- Ceramics→ goes in General Waste · Broken china in your rubbish bin; tiles to the Waldo centre in Bromley
Tips (12)
- • Leave lids on glass jars
- • Keep lids on bottles
- • Do not flatten bottles
- • Flatten all cardboard
- • No plastic bags at all
- • No food waste in recycling
- • No tissues in recycling
- • Clean containers first
- • No crisp packets
- • No nappies — general waste
- • No broken or window glass
- • No cling film or wrap
Food Waste
Accepted
- Vegetable and fruit waste
- Food scraps, cooked and uncooked
- Bread
- Cheese
- Egg shells
- Tea bags and coffee grounds
Not accepted
- Nappies · General waste only
- Garden waste or soil · Use brown garden waste bin
- Household waste · Use black or blue rubbish bin
- Packaging and food cartons · Use green recycling bin
- Liquids like milk, oil or fat · Not accepted in food bin
- Plastics including bin liners · Not compostable
- Kitchen towel or tissue · Not accepted in food bin
- Cat litter and dog poo · Use general waste bin
Common mistakes
- Kitchen towel→ goes in General Waste · Not accepted in Lewisham food bin
- Bin liners→ goes in General Waste · Use clear bag or newspaper instead
Tips (10)
- • Line caddy with clear bag
- • All cooked food accepted
- • No packaging of any kind
- • Egg shells go in food bin
- • Keep food bin lid locked
- • No liquids in food bin
- • No plastics of any kind
- • Tea bags go in food bin
- • No kitchen towel
- • Tie liner before putting out
Garden Waste
Accepted
- Grass clippings and leaves
- Plants and prunings
- Garden weeds
- Small tree branches · Up to 10cm thick and 50cm long
- Hedge trimmings
- Fallen fruit · Small amounts
- Twigs
- Flowers
- House flowers
Not accepted
- Household waste
- Food waste
- Bricks, stone or rubble
- Soil
- Plastic, including plant and flower pots and bags
- Nappies
- Cat litter
- Ceramics
- Dog poo
- Garden furniture
- Hosepipes
- Timber
- Polystyrene
- Potting mix
- Non-garden waste
- Japanese knotweed · Invasive; disposing of it via garden waste is illegal
Common mistakes
- Polystyrene→ goes in General Waste · Rubbish bin, or Landmann Way Reuse and Recycling Centre
- Garden furniture · Charity shop, the Reuse and Recycling Centre, or a bulky waste collection
- Hosepipes · Charity shop or Landmann Way Reuse and Recycling Centre
- Disposable nappies→ goes in General Waste · Rubbish bin; cloth nappies can go to a textile bank
- Cat litter and dog poo→ goes in General Waste · Rubbish bin
Tips (10)
- • Bin out by 6am
- • Max 20kg per bin
- • Branches under 10cm thick
- • No Japanese knotweed
- • Weekly, all year round
- • Show your permit sticker
- • Don't overfill the bin
- • Bin at property edge
- • Keep bin in good condition
- • Paid annual subscription
Food waste in Lewisham
In Lewisham’s own words (checked September 2026): “We'll collect your food waste weekly.” “We're not currently collecting food waste from estate properties.”
23 of the 182 councils whose food waste guidance we have checked say only some homes have it.
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 Lewisham
- Postcode districts all or nearly all in Lewisham: SE4, SE6, SE13, SE14 and SE23.
- Postcode districts mostly in Lewisham: SE8 and SE12 (shared with Greenwich); SE26 (shared with Bromley).
- Postcode districts partly in Lewisham: BR1 (shared with Bromley); SE3 and SE10 (shared with Greenwich); SE16 (shared with Southwark).
Built-up areas (ONS) with the most postcodes in Lewisham: Lewisham, Greenwich.
Shares count each district’s live postcodes; a district is listed where Lewisham 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.
Neighbouring councils we have checked: Bromley, Greenwich, Southwark.
When are bins collected in Lewisham?
Lewisham sets collection days by street: find your bin day, or browse neighbours’ schedules by postcode.
In Lewisham, a bank holiday pushes that week's collections back by a day: after a Monday holiday, Monday's bins go out on Tuesday, Tuesday's on Wednesday, and so on. BinBosh adjusts your dates automatically, and your neighbours can vote on the actual day if it differs.
In Lewisham’s own words: “we collect recycling, food waste and garden waste every week and general household rubbish every two weeks”
No Lewisham streets on BinBosh yet: add yours for neighbours to adopt.
How we checked this page
We checked this guidance against Lewisham’s website in September 2026.
Source: Lewisham 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 Lewisham?
In Lewisham the food waste bin is grey and the garden waste bin is brown. Lewisham also lists a green bin for recycling, a black or blue bin for rubbish that can't be recycled, and an orange sack for general household waste. Grey is the food waste colour in 14 of the 58 councils with a checked food waste colour.
Where does glass go in Lewisham?
Glass goes in the recycling bin in Lewisham (“Glass bottles and jars”).
Does Lewisham collect food waste, and how often?
In Lewisham’s own words (checked September 2026): “We'll collect your food waste weekly.” “We're not currently collecting food waste from estate properties.”
Do bin collections change on bank holidays in Lewisham?
In Lewisham, a bank holiday pushes that week's collections back by a day: after a Monday holiday, Monday's bins go out on Tuesday, Tuesday's on Wednesday, and so on. BinBosh adjusts your dates automatically, and your neighbours can vote on the actual day if it differs.
What goes in the recycling bin in Lewisham?
Lewisham’s recycling bin takes “Paper, magazines and newspapers”, “Envelopes and junk mail” and “Non-metallic wrapping paper”, among other things.
See the full recycling listWork for Lewisham? See how BinBosh helps councils →
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