What you can and can't put in your black recycling box.
Don't put your recyclable items in a black bag or bin liner as they will not be taken away.
You can put in:
- batteries: including household rechargeable, they must be in a small clear untied bag
- clothes and textiles: put clean, dry textiles in carrier bags, not black bin liners. We can only take usable or wearable textiles, not rags. Label any coloured carrier bags. We do not collect wet textiles
- engine oil: in a sealed container
- glasses: spectacles and cases
- glass bottles and jars: rinsed out, the lids for these go with your cans in the green recycling box
- newspapers, magazines, catalogues, junk mail, yellow pages and telephone directories
- paper and envelopes: not wrapping paper or brown paper, brown paper goes with your cardboard in your blue recycling bag
- shredded paper: put in an untied carrier bag, paper bag or envelope
- shoes: shoes must be wearable, paired, tied together, dry and in a carrier bag. Label any coloured carrier bags
- small electrical items: must be put in an untied plastic bag
Put next to your black recycling box:
- car batteries
You cannot put in:
- aerosol cans: put in your green recycling box
- aluminium foil and containers: put in your green recycling box
- broken glass: this goes in your black wheelie bin, wrapped in paper, bagged, and labelled
- brown paper: put in your blue recycling bag
- cardboard: put in your blue recycling bag
- coffee pods or capsules
- cooking oil: you can take it to a household waste recycling centre
- disposable face masks or face coverings: put them in your black wheelie bin
- foil crisp packets: put in your black wheelie bin
- food and drink cans: put in your green recycling box
- food and drink cartons: put in your blue recycling bag
- food waste: put in your brown food waste bin
- glass: window, drinking, pyrex
- household rubbish: put in your black wheelie bin
- light bulbs: take to your local recycling centre
- pillows, duvets, puffer jackets
- pet food pouches
- plastic bags
- plastic: put in your green recycling box
- rags or textiles that can't be worn or used: take them to a household waste recycling centre
- wallpaper
- wet textiles: clean and dry them for recycling
- wrapping paper, such as Christmas or birthday paper
Using your black recycling box
Separate your items to make it easier for the recycling teams to sort them.
If your box is full put extra recycling in untied carrier bags sorted by material such as a bag for paper, a bag for glass, etc. Don't use black bags or bin liners.
Use the lid to stop the items blowing away and stop passers-by putting non-recyclable items in the box.
Paint or stick your house number on the side of your black recycling box so we can tell which property the box has come from. It may also prevent people from taking a box that is not theirs.
For free plain stickers for you to write your house number on, as well as stickers to remind you what goes in each box, email hello@bristolwastecompany.co.uk
You can have as many recycling boxes as you need. Order extra recycling boxes.