Recycling Rubbish - Location: Cambridge City
Kerbside Collections
Containers
Black Bin - rubbish that cannot be recycled or composted
Black Box - recycling
Blue Box - plastic bottles recycling only
Green wheeled bins or brown sacks - garden, food and cardboard waste for composting.
How do I get a new container?
Your need to speak to Cambridge City Council on: 01223 458282
When are my collections and how often?
Cambridge city operates an alternate weekly collection.
Example: your green bin (or brown sack) and your blue box will be collected one-week and your black bin and black box the following week.
Find out about collections on your street.
What can I recycle?
Black Box
Yes please
- Glass jars and bottles - no lids please and preferably rinsed
- All newspapers
- Magazines and catalogues
- Junk Mail and leaflets including envelopes - please remove any plastic windows and covering
- White paper such as letters
- Food and drink cans - rinsed
- Empty aerosol cans - please do not squash
- Clean foil
No thanks
- Plastic windows and covering on magazines and junk mail
- Envelopes with windows
- Shredded paper - please compost
- Egg Boxes
- Cardboard
- Carrier bags
- Telephone directories or yellow pages (see green bin and brown sack)
- Pyrex dishes (they are made not to melt and therefore cannot be recycled!)
- Earthenware, crockery or ceramics - if not broken take to charity shop
- Light bulbs or tubes - take these to your nearest HWRC
Blue Box
Yes please
- All empty plastic bottles. Please remove lids and squash. This includes drinks, cleaning products and toiletry bottles
No thanks
If it isn't a plastic bottle, don't include it!
- Bottle tops
- Yoghurt pots
- Margarine tubs
- Plastic egg boxes
- Plastic or polystyrene food trays and punnets
- Plastic bags (reuse when you shop and recycled at your local supermarkets)
- Plastic film
- Toys (if not broken take to charity shop)
- Brooms, buckets, bins, washing lines or other plastic household domestic items
- Polystyrene packaging or bubble wrap
Why can't I recycle the above items?
These items of made form a different type of plastic and there isn't the technology or markets available to recycle them.
Green bin or Brown Sack
Yes please
- All cooked and uncooked food waste - wrap in newspaper (Including stale bread, vegetable peelings, meat, fish, bones, cheese and dairy produce, tea bags and coffee)
- Grass and hedge cuttings
- Flowers and weeds
- Bark and untreated wood
- Envelopes - remove plastic windows
- All types of cardboard including cardboard food packaging (no waxy cartons or tetrapaks)
- Phone books and yellow pages
- Straw and sawdust from rabbits and guinea pigs
No thanks
- Plastic bags or sacks of any kind - wrap food waste in paper
- Plant pots and seed trays
- Oil
- Nappies of any kind
- Cat or dog litter
- Coal ash
- Waxy drink cartons or Tetrapaks
- Rubble, stones and bricks (take to HWRC)
- Soil
- Glass, cans or textiles
- Painted or treated wood (take to HWRC)
- Furniture (take to HWRC, charity or community group)
Black wheeled bin
This should be used for everything that cannot be recycled.
- Dog and cat waste
- Plastic packaging (except bottles)
- Sanitary items, such as nappies
- Empty paint cans
- Tetrapaks- waxy juice/ food cartons
Recycling banks and Household Waste Recycling Centres
Find a list of banks or HWRCs (tips!) in your area and what you can recycle at each site.
The City Council provides over 30 'Bring' recycling bank sites that collect:
- plastic bottles
- paper
- glass containers
- cans
- aerosols
- foil
- textiles
- books
Tips for using recycling banks:
- Please put recycling into the right containers
- Do not leave rubbish at the site
- If you see dumped rubbish or people flytipping please call 01223 458 282
Cambridgeshire County Council provides Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRC's) where you can also recycle other household goods.
