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I have a green and a blue bin

Your green bin can be used to recycle only plastics, cartons, tins and cans. Your Blue bin is for paper and card only.

If you have a blue bin and a green bin for recycling, please see the information below on what can go in each bin.

 

On your day of collection, please place your bin on the kerbside with the lid closed by 7am Monday to Saturday.

Unfortunately, we cannot take anything that is not in the bin. It is vital that all items are in the bin with the lid shut.


What can I put in my green bin? 
Green Bin Graphic

The green bin is only for plastic bottles, tubs and trays; cartons; and metal cans.

 


What can i put in my blue bin? 
Blue Bin Graphic

Your blue bin is only for paper, card and cardboard.


tick and cross recycling

The following items should NEVER be placed in the blue or the green recycling bin.

 

 

 

 

Tissues, kitchen roll and paper towels are usually wet or dirty and cannot be recycled. They should be placed in the grey bin.

Food waste or items with food waste on them can spread through the load when compressed in the collection vehicle, contaminating other items.  Please ensure your recycling is clean, empty and dry before putting it in your green or blue bins. This is our biggest problem with contamination as wet and dirty items are rejected at the recycling facility.

Like food waste, cooking oil and fat can spread through the load in the bin lorry and contaminate other clean recycling. Unfortunately West Lothian's Recycling Centres do not accept cooking oil. Please pour cooled cooking oil into a sealed container and place in your grey bin.

Glass is broken by being compacted in the back of the collection vehicle. It can then injure staff that sort the materials and it also contaminates the recycling, which means that it can be rejected by the manufacturers. Please take glass to a glass recycling point.

Please don't put your recycling inside plastic bags. If material is inside plastic bags it prevents it being separated for recycling. Unfortunately we have also found that plastic bags often contain general waste, which if opened spread across the conveyor belt, causing the whole process line to be stopped and cleaned, causing delays and increasing processing costs. 

Clothing, textiles and shoes cannot be accepted in the green or blue bins. They cause operational problem at the recycling facility as they wrap round the wheel of the conveyor belts at the recycling facility, which have to be stopped and cut out. Please take clothing to a textile bank (opens new window).

Polystyrene cannot be recycled in the blue or green bins. Please put it in your grey bin.

Although plastic, toys cannot be recycled in the green or blue bins. They have the potential to damage sorting equipment as the recycling facility is not designed to deal with this material. 

                                                                                        

WEEE with Cross
 
Batteries with Cross

 

Waste electrical equipment cannot be processed at our recycling facilities and those with batteries can also cause fires in our collection vehicles.  We have a separate company who collect and recycle this waste from our recycling centres, therefore please take any waste electrical equipment to one of our five Community Recycling Centres

                                                                                        

Batteries have the potential to cause fires in our collection vehicles or recycling facilities. Please take all batteries including household batteries, rechargeable batteries, lithium ion batteries and car batteries to one of our five Community Recycling Centres.

 

 Top tips for recycling:

  • Everything must be clean and dry - wet and dirty materials such as food and drinks waste, nappies and pet waste spreads through the whole load and means it can be rejected and landfilled.
  • If your green or blue bin contains items in black bin bags or bin liners it will not be collected.
  • Please try not to compact the material in your bin, this can result in your bin being half emptied on collection day.  If your bin is not fully emptied due to the material being compacted, or frozen together in winter months, it is your responsibility to loosen the material ready for your next scheduled collection. No additional collection will be provided for half emptied bins.
  • Due to health and safety of our staff, please ensure that your bin is not too heavy as this can result in the bin lip snapping and the bin falling when lifted onto the lorry. This is dangerous for collection staff.  If your bin is deemed to be too heavy it will not be emptied and it is your responsibility to ensure items are removed so that the bin can be emptied on the next collection day.  No additional collections will be provided for bins which are considered to be too heavy. 

Frequently Asked Questions