Recycling rules for Newham
Based on Newham published guidance · Last verified September 2026
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us
Here's what currently goes in each bin in Newham.
Search what goes in your bins →Quick answers for Newham
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. Newham's published guidance we hold doesn't list it.
Cardboard: Goes in your recycling bin
Remove polystyrene; flatten or tear up.
Glass bottles and jars: Goes in your recycling bin
Clean and dry, e.g. sauce jars.
Food waste: Goes in your food waste bin
Food waste bin, where the service has started.
Shredded paper: Not accepted in Newham's recycling bin
Tins and cans: Goes in your recycling bin
Empty and rinsed.
Your bins in Newham, by colour
Green bin (orange lid)
Recycling
Orange lid; orange bags where there is no space for a bin
Green bin (rubbish)
Household rubbish
Street-level homes; flats above shops on timed-collection streets use purple bags
Orange bag
Recycling
Homes without space for a bin (bags every six months) and flats above shops on timed roads
Purple bag
Household rubbish
Flats above shops on timed-collection streets; street-level homes have a green bin
What goes in each bin
Recycling
Accepted
Paper & Card
- Card sleeves · Flatten or tear into smaller pieces
- Cardboard boxes · Remove polystyrene; flatten or tear up · Symbol guide
- Cereal boxes · Flatten or tear into smaller pieces
- Egg boxes · Flatten or tear into smaller pieces
- Greetings cards · Without glitter
- Cartons · Newly accepted · Symbol guide
- Brochures and leaflets
- Junk mail and envelopes
- Newspapers and magazines
- Telephone directories
- Other white household paper
Plastics
- Fizzy drink and water bottles · Empty, rinsed and squashed
- Plastic detergent and shampoo bottles · Empty, rinsed and squashed
- Cleaning bottles · Empty, rinsed and squashed
- Plastic milk bottles · Empty, rinsed and squashed · Symbol guide
- Yoghurt pots · Empty, rinsed and squashed
- Plastic punnets and trays · Empty, rinsed and squashed
Metals
- Aluminium and steel cans · Empty and rinsed · Symbol guide
- Drink cans and tins · Empty and rinsed
- Food tins and cans · Empty and rinsed
- Metal lids
- Empty aerosol cans · E.g. deodorant sprays · UK basics
- Aluminium tubes · Newly accepted
- Scrunched up tin foil · Rinsed, clean and dry
- Tin foil food trays · Rinsed, clean and dry
Glass
- Glass milk bottles · Clean and dry
- Wine and beer bottles · Clean and dry
- Perfume bottles · Clean and dry
- Glass jars · Clean and dry, e.g. sauce jars · Symbol guide
Not accepted
- Large items such as furniture, fridges or TVsInstead: Book a bulky waste collection or use Jenkins Lane Re-use and Recycling Centre
- Garden wasteInstead: Book a green waste collection
- Chemicals, some paints and poisons
- Clinical waste such as syringes and dressingsInstead: Council clinical waste collection service
- Greasy pizza boxes
- BooksInstead: Jenkins Lane Reuse and Recycling Centre reuses books
- Tissues
- Wet wipes
- Textiles and shoes · UK basicsInstead: Recycling bank, charity shop or a TRAID collection
- Shredded paper · UK basics
- Broken glass
- Black sacksInstead: Place your recycling in the bin loose
Common mistakes
- Food waste → goes in Food Waste · Food waste bin, where the service has started
- Clean pizza box lids → goes in Recycling · Rip the clean lid off a greasy pizza box
- Electrical appliances such as kettles · Jenkins Lane Re-use and Recycling Centre
Tips (20)
- • Flatten or tear up cardboard
- • Remove polystyrene from boxes
- • No glitter greetings cards
- • Cartons now accepted
- • No shredded paper
- • Empty, rinse, squash plastics
- • Empty and rinse tins and cans
- • Aerosols must be empty
- • Aluminium tubes now accepted
- • Glass clean and dry
- • No broken glass
- • Rinse and scrunch up foil
- • Clean pizza box lids are fine
- • No books, tissues or wet wipes
- • No textiles or shoes
- • Put recycling in loose
- • No black sacks
- • Bin at property edge by 6am
- • Tie orange bags properly
- • Keep bins off the pavement
How Newham compares
- Newham’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 Newham
In Newham’s own words (checked September 2026): “This new service will be rolled out in three phases, and you will receive information when collections are due to begin in your area.” “Your food waste bin will be collected weekly.”
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 Newham
- Postcode districts all or nearly all in Newham: E6, E13 and E16.
- Postcode districts mostly in Newham: E7 and E15 (shared with Waltham Forest); E12 (shared with Redbridge); E20 (shared with Hackney).
- Postcode districts partly in Newham: N81 (shared with Haringey).
Built-up area (ONS) with the most postcodes in Newham: Newham.
Shares count each district’s live postcodes; a district is listed where Newham 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: Hackney, Redbridge, Tower Hamlets.
When are bins collected in Newham?
Newham sets collection days by street: find your bin day, or browse neighbours’ schedules by postcode.
In Newham, 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.
Newham does not collect garden waste in November, December, January and February.
BinBosh reminders skip these weeks, and a missed check-in in them does not break your streak.
No Newham streets on BinBosh yet: add yours for neighbours to adopt.
How we checked this page
We checked this guidance against Newham’s website in September 2026.
Source: Newham 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
Where does glass go in Newham?
Glass goes in the recycling bin in Newham (“Glass jars”).
Does Newham collect food waste, and how often?
In Newham’s own words (checked September 2026): “This new service will be rolled out in three phases, and you will receive information when collections are due to begin in your area.” “Your food waste bin will be collected weekly.”
Is garden waste collected all year in Newham?
Newham does not collect garden waste in November, December, January and February.
Do bin collections change on bank holidays in Newham?
In Newham, 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 Newham?
Newham’s recycling bin takes “Card sleeves”, “Cardboard boxes” and “Cereal boxes”, among other things.
See the full recycling listWork for Newham? See how BinBosh helps councils →
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