Recycling rules for North Lanarkshire
Based on North Lanarkshire published guidance · Last verified September 2026
Under Simpler Recycling, councils across England are standardising collections. Here's what currently goes in each bin in North Lanarkshire.
Search what goes in your bins →Quick answers for North Lanarkshire
Polystyrene: Not accepted in North Lanarkshire's recycling bin
Not accepted in the green-lidded bin. General waste bin.
Cardboard: Goes in your paper & card bin
All corrugated cardboard; flatten where possible.
Glass bottles and jars: Goes in your recycling bin
Green-lidded bin — plastic and metal lids can go in too.
Food waste: North Lanarkshire has a separate food waste collection
Takes cooked and uncooked food, fruit and vegetable peelings, tea bags and coffee grounds and more.
Your bins in North Lanarkshire, by colour
Container colours as published by North Lanarkshire. Some homes get a different container — see the notes.
Blue bin
Paper, card and cardboard
High-rise homes use a communal blue-lid bin at a recycling point
Green bin
Glass, metals, plastics and cartons
Green lid; high-rise homes use a communal green-lid bin at a recycling point
Brown bin
Food and garden waste
Garden waste needs a £42 permit; high-rise homes have a communal brown bin for food
What goes in the food waste bin→What goes in the garden waste bin→
Grey bin
Waste that cannot be recycled
What goes in each bin
Recycling
Accepted
Glass
- Glass bottles and jars — Green-lidded bin — plastic and metal lids can go in too
Metals
- Metal cans and tins — Squash if possible; no need to remove labels
- Empty aerosol cans — Such as deodorant, hairspray and furniture polish
- Clean tin foil and aluminium trays — Rinse or wipe, then scrunch into a ball
Other
- Food and drink cartons — Rinse first — juice, smoothie or soup cartons
Plastics
- Plastic bottles — Clean; bottle tops can also be recycled
- Shampoo and shower gel bottles
- Detergent and washing-up liquid bottles
- Plastic food trays and tubs — Clean — including yoghurt and margarine tubs
- Milk cartons — Listed with clean plastic bottles and tubs
- Ready meal containers and meat trays — Must be clean
- Black plastic food trays — Must be clean
- Spray bottles — Remove the trigger — it goes in general waste
Not accepted
- Crisp and sweet wrappers — Most are metallised plastic — do the scrunch testInstead: General waste bin
- Drinking glasses — Melts at a different temperature; can't be recycledInstead: General waste bin
- Pyrex — Melts at a different temperature; can't be recycledInstead: General waste bin
- Mirrors — Melts at a different temperature; can't be recycledInstead: General waste bin
- Ceramics — Melts at a different temperature; can't be recycledInstead: General waste bin
- Window glass — Melts at a different temperature; can't be recycledInstead: General waste bin
- Light bulbs — Melts at a different temperature; can't be recycledInstead: General waste bin
- Plastic bags — Not accepted in the green-lidded bin
- Yoghurt, baby food, sauce, juice and pet food pouches — Not accepted in the green-lidded bin
- Squeezable tubes — Cannot be recycled — e.g. toothpaste, hand creamInstead: Grey general waste bin
- Nappies — Not accepted in the green-lidded binInstead: General waste bin
- Polythene — Not accepted in the green-lidded binInstead: General waste bin
- Polystyrene — Not accepted in the green-lidded binInstead: General waste bin
- Textiles — Not accepted in the green-lidded bin
- Cotton wool and cotton buds — Not accepted in the green-lidded binInstead: General waste bin
- Cling film — Not accepted in the green-lidded bin
- Bubble wrap — Not accepted in the green-lidded bin
- Blister packs for pills — Not accepted in the green-lidded bin
- Thin plastic film covering food trays — Not accepted in the green-lidded bin
Common mistakes
- Spray bottle triggers→ goes in General Waste — Recycle the bottle; put the trigger in general waste
- Foil wrappers that stay scrunched→ goes in Recycling — Scrunch test: if it stays scrunched it is foil
- Fluorescent and low energy light bulbs — Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
- Broken crockery or glasses→ goes in General Waste — Listed for the general waste bin
- Carrier bags→ goes in General Waste — Listed for the general waste bin
Tips (16)
- • Rinse and flatten items
- • Squash cans to save space
- • No need to remove labels
- • Lids can go in with glass
- • Bottle tops can be recycled
- • Black plastic trays accepted
- • Rinse cartons first
- • Scrunch foil into a ball
- • Empty aerosols accepted
- • Remove spray bottle triggers
- • Scrunch test for wrappers
- • No drinking glasses or Pyrex
- • No mirrors or window glass
- • No cling film or bubble wrap
- • No squeezable tubes
- • Collected every three weeks
Food Waste
Accepted
- Cooked and uncooked food
- Fruit and vegetable peelings
- Tea bags and coffee grounds
- Egg shells
- Meat, fish and small bones
- Bread, pasta and cakes
- Out of date food — Remove packaging first
Not accepted
- Plastic bags — Only items that can be composted are collectedInstead: Biodegradable bags from local shops and supermarkets
- Packaging — Remove all packaging, even if labelled compostable
- Liquids — Not accepted in the brown bin
- Fats and oils — Not accepted in the brown binInstead: General waste bin
- Soil and rubble — Not accepted in the brown bin
- Plant pots — Not accepted in the brown bin
- Wood fencing — Not accepted in the brown bin
- Compostable take-away containers — Not accepted in the brown bin
- Cat litter, animal faeces and bedding — Not accepted in the brown binInstead: General waste bin
- Nappies — Not accepted in the brown binInstead: General waste bin
Common mistakes
- Cooking oil or fat→ goes in General Waste — Listed for the general waste bin
Tips (13)
- • Food waste needs no permit
- • Use biodegradable bags only
- • Buy bags at local shops
- • Remove all food packaging
- • Cooked and uncooked food OK
- • Small bones are accepted
- • Tea bags go in the brown bin
- • Egg shells are accepted
- • No liquids, fats or oils
- • No compostable containers
- • No nappies or cat litter
- • Collected fortnightly
- • Collected all year round
Garden Waste
Accepted
- Grass cuttings — Valid garden waste permit needed
- Flowers and plants
- Weeds
- Leaves
- Small branches and twigs
Not accepted
- Soil and rubble — Not accepted in the brown bin
- Plant pots — Not accepted in the brown bin
- Wood fencing — Not accepted in the brown bin
- Plastic bags — Not accepted in the brown bin
- Packaging — Remove all packaging, even if labelled compostable
- Excess waste outside the bin — Only waste inside the bin is covered by the permit
- Garden waste without a permit — Bin won't be lifted until the permit is attached
Common mistakes
- Garden materials unsuitable for the brown bin — Free at a household waste recycling centre
Tips (13)
- • Garden waste needs a permit
- • Permit costs £42 a year
- • Permit runs 1 June to 31 May
- • Display permit on brown bin
- • No lift until permit attached
- • Allow 21 days for delivery
- • One permit per bin
- • Council tenants needn't apply
- • Needs a mygovscot myaccount
- • No excess waste collected
- • No soil, rubble or plant pots
- • Collected fortnightly
- • Collected all year round
Paper & Card
Accepted
- Paper — Blue bin — loose, no plastic bags
- Shredded paper
- Newspapers and magazines
- Envelopes — Remove the plastic window first
- Phone books and catalogues
- Greetings cards — Remove any ribbons or decorations
- Cereal boxes and other card products
- Corrugated cardboard — All corrugated cardboard; flatten where possible
- Pizza box lids with no food traces — Tear the clean lid off the box
Not accepted
- Tissues, napkins or kitchen towel — Not accepted in the blue binInstead: General waste bin
- Padded envelopes — Not accepted in the blue bin
- Wallpaper — Not recyclableInstead: Grey household waste bin
- Wrapping paper — Not accepted in the blue bin
- Hardback books — Not accepted in the blue bin
- Disposable and takeaway cups — Not recyclableInstead: Grey household waste bin
- Paper or card contaminated with food — Food and oil stains affect cardboard quality
- Fast food wrappers — Contaminated with food
- Plastic bags — No plastic bags of any type — place items loosely
Common mistakes
- Greasy pizza boxes→ goes in General Waste — Whole box to general waste unless the lid is clean
- Kitchen roll→ goes in General Waste — Not recyclable — grey household waste bin
- Tissue paper→ goes in General Waste — Not recyclable — grey household waste bin
Tips (14)
- • Paper and card only
- • Flatten items where possible
- • Place items in loosely
- • No plastic bags of any type
- • Remove envelope windows
- • Remove ribbons from cards
- • Shredded paper is accepted
- • Phone books are accepted
- • No wrapping paper
- • No hardback books
- • No padded envelopes
- • Tear off clean pizza box lids
- • Wallpaper goes in grey bin
- • Collected every three weeks
When are bins collected in North Lanarkshire?
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.
North Lanarkshire 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.
No streets in North Lanarkshire on BinBosh yet — be the first to add yours, and your neighbours can adopt it instead of setting up their own.
Frequently asked questions
What bin does polystyrene go in North Lanarkshire?
In North Lanarkshire, polystyrene can't go in your recycling bin. Not accepted in the green-lidded bin. General waste bin.
What bin does corrugated cardboard go in North Lanarkshire?
In North Lanarkshire, corrugated cardboard goes in your paper & card bin. All corrugated cardboard; flatten where possible.
What bin do glass bottles and jars go in North Lanarkshire?
In North Lanarkshire, glass bottles and jars go in your recycling bin. Green-lidded bin — plastic and metal lids can go in too.
What goes in the recycling bin in North Lanarkshire?
North Lanarkshire's recycling bin accepts glass bottles and jars, metal cans and tins, empty aerosol cans, clean tin foil and aluminium trays, food and drink cartons, plastic bottles, and more. Green-lidded bin — plastic and metal lids can go in too.
What goes in the food waste bin in North Lanarkshire?
North Lanarkshire's food waste bin accepts cooked and uncooked food, fruit and vegetable peelings, tea bags and coffee grounds, egg shells, meat, fish and small bones, bread, pasta and cakes, and more. Remove packaging first.
What goes in the garden waste bin in North Lanarkshire?
North Lanarkshire's garden waste bin accepts grass cuttings, flowers and plants, weeds, leaves, small branches and twigs, and more. Valid garden waste permit needed.
What goes in the paper & card bin in North Lanarkshire?
North Lanarkshire's paper & card bin accepts paper, shredded paper, newspapers and magazines, envelopes, phone books and catalogues, greetings cards, and more. Blue bin — loose, no plastic bags.
What bin do spray bottle triggers go in North Lanarkshire?
In North Lanarkshire, spray bottle triggers go in your general waste bin. Recycle the bottle; put the trigger in general waste.
Helpful Guides
Source: North Lanarkshire council website. Check your council's site for the latest updates.
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