What to put in your recycling bin

Items placed inside your recycling bin must be:

  • empty (no contents, or bits of food or drink left inside)
  • clean and dry
  • loose (do not bag items placed inside the recycling bin)

Items that can go in your recycling bin

  • aerosol cans, such as air fresheners and deodorants
  • aluminium foil and trays (please roll foil into a ball)
  • cardboard, including boxes, food packaging and cards
  • metal food and drink cans
  • paper, newspapers, magazines and junk mail (please remove and put any plastic wrapping into your refuse bin instead)
  • paperback and hardback books
  • plastic bathroom and household cleaning products (please keep tops on)
  • plastic bottles (please squash and keep lids on)
  • plastic yoghurt pots, tubs and food trays (please remove and put plastic film/cellophane into your refuse bin instead)

If an item is not listed above, please keep it out of the recycling bin.

Items that should never go in your recycling bin

  • animal waste
  • batteries
  • black sacks 
  • bubble wrap
  • cardboard tubes with metal bases, such as Pringles, gravy and hot chocolate packaging
  • cartons, such as Tetra Pak
  • clinical and medical waste, including needles/sharps
  • clothes and bedding
  • coffee pods
  • crisp packets
  • DIY waste, building materials, hardcore, plasterboard, rubble and soil
  • e-cigarettes/vapes
  • electrical items, also known as Waste from Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE)
  • face masks
  • food
  • garden waste
  • glass
  • greeting cards and wrapping paper that have glitter, foil or embellishments on
  • hard plastics, such as toys, plant pots and coat hangers
  • hazardous waste, including asbestos
  • items smaller than 5cm, such as loose bottle tops
  • liquids
  • metal pots, pans and trays
  • nappies
  • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
  • pet food pouches
  • pill packs
  • plastic bags and sacks
  • plastic film/cellophane and wrappers
  • polystyrene packaging
  • shredded paper
  • textiles and fabrics
  • tissues and kitchen roll
  • toothpaste tubes
  • tyres
  • wipes, such as face and nappy wipes
  • wood and timber

If a bin contains non-accepted items, it will not be emptied.

Recycling information

Find out more from Suffolk Recycles about recycling and how it works, including FAQs and why certain items can't be put into recycling bins.

Download the Suffolk Recycles 'Together we can get our recycling right' leaflet, which was sent to every household in Suffolk in 2021.

Find your nearest recycling bring bank at Recycle Now, where you can take items such as cartons, glass, plastic bags, textiles and clothing.

What happens to my recycling?

Recycling is taken to the Materials Recycling Facility in Great Blakenham.

At the facility, the items are separated, baled and sold onto companies, who can recycle them.

To find out more about where your recycling goes, please visit the Suffolk Recycles website.