Recycling rules for Portsmouth
Based on Portsmouth published guidance · Last verified May 2026
Under Simpler Recycling, councils across England are standardising collections. Here's what currently goes in each bin in Portsmouth.
Search what goes in your bins →Recycling
Accepted
Paper & Card
- Paper — Magazines, newspapers, envelopes
- Cardboard — Boxes, cereal boxes, egg boxes
Plastics
- Plastic bottles only — Drinks, cleaning and shampoo bottles
Metals
- Food tins and drinks cans — Including biscuit and sweet tins
- Empty aerosols — Air fresheners, deodorant, hairspray
Not accepted
- Glass — Not collected kerbsideInstead: Take to a glass recycling bank
- Plastic bags and film — Cannot be sorted — not accepted
- Tetra Pak cartons — Not accepted in Portsmouth recycling
- Aluminium foil — Not accepted in the recycling bin
- Shredded paper — Too small to sort
- Tissues — Not recyclable
- Dirty or greasy paper and card — Contaminates the load
- Bottles with liquids still in — Empty them first
Common mistakes
- Plastic pots, tubs and trays→ goes in General Waste — Only bottle-shaped plastics are recycled here
- Food waste→ goes in Food Waste — Use your food waste bin if you have one
- Batteries — Fire risk — use shop bins or a recycling centre
Tips (10)
- • Only plastic bottles, no pots
- • Empty and rinse bottles
- • No glass — use bottle banks
- • No plastic bags or film
- • No Tetra Pak cartons
- • No foil in recycling
- • Keep paper clean and dry
- • Flatten cardboard boxes
- • No tissues or shredded paper
- • Put items in clean and loose
When are bins collected in Portsmouth?
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.
Helpful Guides
Source: Portsmouth council website. Check your council's site for the latest updates.
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