Contamination in Brown Recycling Bins

Our crews regularly check the brown recycling bins to make sure they are free from non-recyclable items, known as contaminants.

Contaminants can include general household waste, glass, plastic food packaging, plastic carrier bags, shredded paper, polystyrene, gift wrap, cartons and aluminium foil.

Red Tags
These tags are placed on recycling bins that are heavily contaminated. The tag explains why the bin has not been emptied. If you find a red tag on your recycling bin, please take out the item(s) indicated on the tag and leave the bin out again for the next collection in two weeks time.

The crews cannot empty a recycling bin that is heavily contaminated as it could lead to the whole load of valuable recyclables being rejected at the Transfer Station.

Yellow Tags
These tags are placed on recycling bins which have been emptied but did contain a small amount of non-recyclable materials. If you find a yellow tag on your brown bin please do not put the item(s) indicated on the tag in your recycling bin in future.

The crews can empty a recycling bin that has a small amount of contamination as their presence will not cause a major problem when the load is taken to the Transfer Station.