Residential Recycling

Please check here for changes to collection days or the service we provide.

Please put your recycling out no later than 8 am on your collection day. If you put out later than this we cannot guarantee we will be able to collect your recycling. We collect every week and on all bank holidays, however, our service does change around Christmas and New Years. Please check the Special Notices box for information on those changes. To check your collection day please see the streets list.

Collections occur between 8am and 4pm Monday to Friday, we cannot guarantee what time your collection will occur, nor are we able to do the routes in the same way each week. Please ensure your recycling is out every week no later than 8am. Factors outside of our control can mean we have to change our route at very short notice, putting it out early each week will ensure you do not miss your collection if we have to do things differently one week.

Check your collection day here:Street list 2023

• METAL: food & drinks cans, empty aerosols, clean aluminium foil. Please rinse these out and flatten them (if possible).
• GLASS: all glass bottles and jars. Please rinse out, especially food jars.
• PAPER: newspapers, magazines, catalogues, junk mail, windowless envelopes (please tear them out), phone directories and scrap paper. Please remove all plastic wrapping and do not include wrapping paper.
• PLASTICS LABELLED PET 1 & HDPE 2 & Polypropylene 5: milk, fizzy drinks, water, shampoo, detergent etc. fruit punnets, and some plastic trays. Yoghurt pots, margarine tubs and trays. Please rinse out and FLATTEN bottles and STACK tubs. No dark plastics can be recycled, regardless of type, and neither can films nor bags.
• CARDBOARD: all clean card (not coated in plastic or contaminated with food) such as cereal boxes, egg boxes, and packing boxes. Please FLATTEN all boxes. Cardboard sheets larger than 80 x 150cm (2’6″ x 5′) will only be collected if they are flattened and secured with tape or string.
• FOOD & BEVERAGE Cartons: Please ensure they are washed and squashed. If not squashed they will NOT be collected.
• GARDEN WASTE: grass clippings, dry leaves etc. Please leave it in a bag next to the box.
• CABLES, CHARGER LEADS & WIRES: wires and cables from any household appliance or charge wires. We cannot take the appliances only the wires. Please coil and leave in your recycling containers.
• TOOTHPASTE TUBES & TOOTHBRUSHES: Any brand. Plastic only, empty, clean and dry. No bamboo or wooden toothbrushes.
• PLASTIC WRITING IMPLEMENTS: pens, markers and highlighters. No wooden or metal items.
• CANDLE WASTES: Jars & tins including wax remnents, wicks, wax melts or any other candle wastes.

Please do NOT include any materials not listed above. If we find the below materials in your box we may be unable to collect your recycling. The most common contaminants we find are:

• Hygienic waste such as tissues or sanitary products, your box will not be emptied if we find such items in your box
• plastics other than those listed above (see our guide to recycling plastics in York)
• broken glass such as window glass, and drinking glasses please recycle these types of material at household waste recycling sites
• Electronics such as appliances, we can only accept the wires and cabling
• Other metal items such as coat hangers, washing up drainers etc.
• Kitchen waste Collecting requires a special licence and facilities which we do not have. However, kitchen waste can easily be composted at home – we can help you get started, contact us for more information
• Homegrown fruit and vegetables even if they have not physically passed through your kitchen even windfall fruit etc are classified as kitchen waste and we cannot collect it
• Soil, tree stumps, and branches over 1” in diameter

If you are elderly or disabled we can provide assistance on collection day. Please contact us to set this service up.