As a part of their “Simpler Recycling” initiative, the government is going to change the rules around how bins are collected across England this month.
It will mean councils will have to offer collections for the same four kinds of waste.
Here’s when it comes into place, what it means, why it’s happening, and what you need to do next:
When do the bin changes come into place?
For households, the changes begin on 31 March, 2026.
For workplace recycling, they have been in place at businesses with 10 or more employees since 31 March, 2025.
If you need more information on changes that might affect your local area, check your council’s website or contact them directly.
Where do the bin changes apply?
They will apply in England.
What do the new “Simpler Recycling” rules mean?
The standard requirement for businesses and households will be the following four bins:
- residual (non-recyclable) waste,
- food waste (mixed with garden waste if appropriate),
- paper and card,
- all other dry recyclable materials (plastic, metal and glass).
That means they’ll be collected separately.
“Plastic film packaging and plastic bags will need to be collected with plastic recycling from 31 March 2027,” the government explained on its website.
In the meantime, the four options bullet-pointed above will become the standard ones in England.
They must be collected from all households, including flats.
Why has the government created this change?
They hope it will make recycling easier.
Recycling rates have stayed under 45% since 2015 in the UK. But the government wants us to reach a 65% recycling rate by 2035.
It is hoped that by getting rid of a “muddled and confusing patchwork of approaches to bin collections,” people will be more likely to recycle.
Currently (prior to the March 21 change), some households would have to use seven bins to get all of their waste collected properly.
The government hopes a country-wide approach will “end the ‘postcode lottery’ of bin collections in England whereby councils collect different materials for recycling, causing confusion for households”.
This way, you won’t have to check with your specific council to see whether your waste can be collected. It will be the same across England.
Simpler Recycling aims to make recycling simple and consistent. It will include food waste bins nationally, which will get rid of “bad-smelling” food waste. At the moment, lots of UK households don’t get food waste collection.
So, what do I put in each bin under the new rules?
1) Paper and card
This covers all paper and card, except that which has been laminated, contains glitter, or is dirty, wet, and/or sticky.
This will also not include books, wallpaper, or padded envelopes.
2) Mixed recycling
That includes glass items like jars and bottles.
But waste collectors don’t have to collect glass not used as packaging, like mirrors, drinking glasses, microwave plates, light bulbs, or glass vases as mixed recycling.
The category also excludes ceramics like earthenware or crockery.
Mixed recycling also includes metals, like aluminium and steel cans, tins, and spray cans, foil, food trays, jar and bottle lids, and tubes (like empty tomato puree tubes).
But it does not include “laminated foil, like pet food pouches and coffee pouches”, electrical items like batteries, kitchenware like knives and forks, kettles, irons, or containers that held white spirits, paints, engine oils or antifreeze.
Plastics like bottles, tubs, trays, tubes (like toothpaste tubes), and cartons for food or drink (like Tetra-Pak) also count as mixed recycling.
But any plastic labelled “biodegradable” or “compostable,” like coffee pods, or plastic containers that held white spirits, paints, engine oils or antifreeze, does not count as mixed recycling.
Mixed recycling also does not cover bulky plastics like garden furniture, or polystyrene or PVC packaging.
3) Food waste
This counts for all food waste except liquid. That can include eggshells, vegetable peels, etc.
The food waste caddy liners that your food waste will sit in can also be collected.
4) Residual waste
That includes things that can’t be recycled, like plastic film, foil, kitchen roll, food containers that can’t be wiped clean, and nappies.
You can also put some garden waste in here, like grass clippings.
But it does not cover animal bedding, sand, sawdust, plastic, rocks, plant pots, gardening tools, bulky waste like fencing or garden furniture, or very large branches that have not been cut down.
