Recycling rules for Sheffield
Based on Sheffield published guidance · Last verified September 2026
Something wrong or out of date? Tell us
Under Simpler Recycling, councils across England are standardising collections. Here's what currently goes in each bin in Sheffield.
Search what goes in your bins →Quick answers for Sheffield
Polystyrene: Not accepted in Sheffield's recycling bin
Not accepted in the brown bin.
Cardboard: Goes in your recycling bin
Blue bin.
Glass bottles and jars: Goes in your recycling bin
Brown bin — rinse; don't break them.
Food waste: Not accepted in Sheffield's garden waste bin
May result in your bin not being collected.
Tins and cans: Goes in your recycling bin
Brown bin — rinse; squash cans; lids inside.
Aerosols: Goes in your recycling bin
Brown bin — completely empty, cap on.
Your bins in Sheffield, by colour
Black bin
General household rubbish
Black is the general rubbish colour in 45 of the 84 councils with a checked general rubbish colour.
What goes in each bin
Recycling
Accepted
Glass
- Glass bottles and jars · Brown bin — rinse; don't break them · Symbol guide
- Empty perfume and aftershave bottles · Brown bin
Metals
- Food tins and drinks cans · Brown bin — rinse; squash cans; lids inside · Symbol guide
- Biscuit and sweet tins · Brown bin
- Aerosols · Brown bin — completely empty, cap on · UK basics
Other
- Cartons · Brown bin — rinse, cap on; juice, milk, soup · Symbol guide
Plastics
- Plastic bottles · Brown bin — rinse, squash, lid back on · Symbol guide
- Plastic pots, tubs and trays · Brown bin — rinse; remove film lids
- Fruit and vegetable punnets · Brown bin
- Plant pots · Brown bin
- Toothpaste and cosmetic tubes · Brown bin — squeeze empty, cap on
Paper & Card
- Paper · Blue bin
- Card and cardboard · Blue bin · Symbol guide
Not accepted
- Mixed recycling in one bin · Recycling cannot be mixed in the same container
- Items in plastic bags · Recycling must be placed loose
- Black plastic trays · Infrared sorting machines can't detect black plastic · UK basics
- Polystyrene or foam trays · Not accepted in the brown bin · UK basics
- Compostable or bioplastic packaging · Not accepted in the brown bin
- Carrier bags, bread bags and crisp packets · Soft plastics · UK basicsInstead: Recycle them at supermarkets
- Drinking glasses, wine glasses or tumblers · Melt at a different temperature to bottles
- Pyrex or other heat-resistant cookware · Made differently to bottles and jars
- Window glass, mirrors or picture-frame glass · Not accepted in the brown bin
- Broken glass of any kind · Whole bottles and jars are safer for crews
- Ceramics, china or pottery · Not accepted in the brown bin
- Light bulbs or fluorescent tubes · Not accepted in the brown bin
- Full or partially full aerosols · Aerosols must be completely empty
- Paint tins or tins containing chemicals · Hazardous materials
- Gas canisters or pressurised containers · Not accepted in the brown bin
- Tins lined with non-removable plastic · Not accepted in the brown bin
- Cartons with food or drink still inside · Rinse cartons first
- Paper cups or takeaway coffee cups · Usually need specialist recycling · UK basics
- Foil-lined tubes · Not accepted in the brown bin
- Extra waste next to black or brown bins · Side waste will not be taken
Common mistakes
- Soft plastics · Carrier bags, bread bags and crisp packets go to supermarket points · UK basics
- Plastic film lids→ goes in General Waste · Peel off cartons and pots and put in your black bin
- Medicines · Return unwanted medicines to any pharmacy
Tips (14)
- • Loose in the bin, no bags
- • Never mix bin contents
- • Paper and card in the blue bin
- • Rinse tins, cans and bottles
- • Squash bottles, lid back on
- • Aerosols empty, cap on
- • Never pierce or crush aerosols
- • Keep glass whole, don't break
- • No black plastic trays
- • Tin lids go inside the tin
- • Out by 7am, back in by 9am
- • Lid must close; not too heavy
- • Extra card tied next to bin
- • Soft plastics to shops
Garden Waste
Accepted
- Grass mowings
- Hedge and plant clippings
- Leaves
- Prunings
- Small branches
- Twigs
- Weeds and cut flowers
- Chipped bark
Not accepted
- Food waste · May result in your bin not being collected
- Household waste
- Japanese knotweed
- Plant pots and garden gnomes
- Plastic bags and packaging
- Soil, stones, rubble and sawdust
- Waste from professional gardeners
- Pond weeds and residues
- Mulch
- Large branches
Tips (10)
- • Paid subscription service
- • 20 collections over 12 months
- • Short break at Christmas
- • No food or household waste
- • No plant pots or gnomes
- • No plastic bags or packaging
- • No soil, stones or rubble
- • No Japanese knotweed
- • No large branches or mulch
- • Free at recycling centres
Areas covered by Sheffield
- Postcode districts all or nearly all in Sheffield: S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S7, S8, S9, S10, S11, S12, S13, S14, S17, S20, S96, S98 and S99.
- Postcode districts mostly in Sheffield: S35 (shared with Barnsley); S95 (shared with Rotherham).
- Postcode districts partly in Sheffield: S36 (shared with Barnsley); S97 (shared with Rotherham).
Built-up areas (ONS) with the most postcodes in Sheffield: Sheffield, Chapeltown and High Green, Ecclesfield and Grenoside, Stocksbridge, Deepcar, Oughtibridge, Wharncliffe Side, Worrall.
Shares count each district’s live postcodes; a district is listed where Sheffield 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 Barnsley the general rubbish bin is grey (black here).
Neighbouring councils we have checked: Derbyshire Dales, High Peak, Barnsley.
When are bins collected in Sheffield?
Sheffield sets collection days by street: find your bin day, or browse neighbours’ schedules by postcode.
In Sheffield, 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 Sheffield’s own words: “One of your bins will be emptied every week.”
Garden waste collections pause over Christmas.
No Sheffield streets on BinBosh yet: add yours for neighbours to adopt.
How we checked this page
We checked this guidance against Sheffield’s website in September 2026.
Source: Sheffield 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 Sheffield?
In Sheffield the general rubbish bin is black. Sheffield also lists a blue bin for paper and card, and a brown bin for glass, cans, plastics, cartons and aerosols. Black is the general rubbish colour in 45 of the 84 councils with a checked general rubbish colour.
Where does glass go in Sheffield?
Glass goes in the recycling bin in Sheffield (“Glass bottles and jars”).
Is garden waste collected all year in Sheffield?
Garden waste collections pause over Christmas.
Do bin collections change on bank holidays in Sheffield?
In Sheffield, 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 Sheffield?
Sheffield’s recycling bin takes “Glass bottles and jars”, “Empty perfume and aftershave bottles” and “Food tins and drinks cans”, among other things.
See the full recycling listWork for Sheffield? See how BinBosh helps councils →
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