Which bin should I use?

Please read our Recycle Guide to help you manage your recycling and waste Recycling Guide (PDF, 1 MB) (opens new window)

Reduce pressure on your grey bin by maximising the materials you recycle in your blue and green or brown bin. The best way to manage your recycling is to download the Bin-ovation App. This will keep you up to date about collections, as well as answering any questions you have about what goes where!

Available at the App store: https://apple.co/2OVn3u8
Available at GooglePlay: http://bit.ly/2Ino2AE

What goes where?

Use your blue bin to recycle certain clean paper, cardboard, aluminium and plastic products as listed below. Use your brown or green bin for food waste and garden waste such as grass clippings, weeds, leaves and tree branches or twigs. You don't need a green and a brown bin as both bins are used to recycle the same materials.

Blue Bin
Accepted in blue bin	Tips
Paper including newspapers and magazines, junk mail, plain envelopes, office paper, telephone books and catalogues. Cardboard including cereal and egg boxes, corrugated cardboard, clean frozen food boxes, greetings cards, and postcards. Plastic bottles and packaging including milk bottles, drinks bottles, shampoo bottles, detergentbottles, sauce bottles, yoghurt pots, cartons, margarine containers, medicine and pill bottles, plant pots, sweet tubs and plastic food trays. Food and drink cans including soup cans, baked bean cans, tinned fruit/vegetable cans, pet food cans, drinks cans and metal biscuit tins. Aerosol cans including antiperspirant deodorant cans, air freshener cans. Ensure aerosols are empty, do not crush or pierce. Also roll on deodorants. Tin foil and aluminium food dishes: please rinse off food residue. Drink cartons / juice cartons / milk cartons. Polyethylene cups	Please ensure that paper and cardboard is clean and dry. Rinse bottles/cartons and squash down to make space in your bin. Leave tops/lids attached. Put shredded paper, kitchen roll and napkins/tissues in your green/brown bin or your home composter. Remove plastic tape and tear boxes into sections to make space in your bin. Takeaway pizza boxes can be ripped up and placed in your green/brown bin. Please see Frequently Asked Questions - Ards and North Down Borough Council for information on correct disposal of soft plastics/bags/wrapping Leave paper labels on cans
Under no circumstances should batteries or electronic equipment be placed in the blue bin

Green/brown bin
Accepted in green or brown bin	Tips
Garden waste: flowers and weeds, grass and leaves, hedge cuttings, plants and shrubs, twigs and branches, please prune branches into short lengths. Food waste: all raw and cooked food, fruit and vegetables, pasta, bread, meat and bones, fish, egg shells, scraps from meals, tea bags and coffee grounds. Miscellaneous: small amounts of cold ashes from coal, peat or wood fires (placed loose in bin); wet paper and card, disposable paper plates, paper tissues, shredded paper, kitchen roll and napkins; cork; compostable pet bedding from all domestic pets and small amounts of dog and cat waste (fouling)	If you have a large amount of garden waste, try home composting. use compostable liners (not plastic bags) For more information please see Food waste - Ards and North Down Borough Council

Glass Collection

Accepted in the glass box	Tips
All glass bottles and jars are to be placed in the glass collection box provided by the Council. Simply rinse out your glass bottles and jars and place them in your glass collection box, with lids still attached.	Please don't overfill your glass collection box. You must present your glass collection box in a clearly visible place at the kerbside on the day of collection. Don't worry about removing the labels or lids.

Grey bin

Grey bins are collected from every household. Your grey bin is for disposal of waste types that cannot be recycled through the kerbside collection services or by bringing to a household recycling centre or community recycling bank. Use this bin for general waste that is unsuitable for recycling or composting.

Disposing of needles and other sharps

Sharps (needles, syringes and lancets) are clinical waste and must never be placed in a domestic bin of any type as they can cause injury to recycling and processing operatives.

Your doctor will provide a prescription for a sharps box and they can then be taken to a pharmacy for disposal free of charge.

Sharps boxes can also be purchased from pharmacies.

An overwhelming majority of residents have really embraced the food waste recycling message and we wish to thank everyone for their commitment. We do not want the efforts of the majority to be undermined and as such we will be commencing routine monitoring of grey bins for the presence of food waste. Where we find that someone has got it wrong we will provide up to two opportunities to get it right next time. An information label will be attached to the grey bin. If anyone has any concerns or queries please contact us on the dedicated email recycling@ardsandnorthdown.gov.uk or 0300 013 3333 - select option 1. Unfortunately, if someone continues to use their grey bin for food waste despite all the Council's advice and support, their grey bin will not be emptied until the situation is remedied.