All households in York have fortnightly recycling collections.
- How we collect recycling
- Types of recycling collection services
- Contamination
- Recycling boxes for your household
- Check your recycling day
- Missed recycling collections
How we collect recycling
We collect recycling in 2 waste streams:
- plastics, cans and tins (steal or aluminium), aluminium foil, cartons and glass - mixed together
- paper and cardboard - kept separate from other materials
Our Waste Teams unload your recycling into 2 compartments on a collection vehicle, therefore it’s important that you separate your recycling and sort it for collections. Sometimes crews are using different colour assistance bins, to load the recycling onto the wagon.
Collected recycling is taken to a transfer site where:
- materials are separated and bulked
- any unsuitable or contaminated materials are transferred to Allerton Waste Recovery Park for further sorting and disposal
Learn more about your waste journey (YouTube).
Remember the following when presenting your recycling:
- wash and squash plastics, and crush cans, to save space
- flatten and break up cardboard so that it fits within the recycling box
- ensure glass jars, cartons, bottles and aluminium foil are rinsed clean and are free from food waste
- do not present broken glass for recycling, dispose of this safely in household waste
- keep paper and cardboard separate from other materials and free from food waste
- 'scrunch test' your clean aluminium foil
Types of recycling collection services
Some properties have kerbside recycling collections, with individual recycling boxes. Other properties - such as flats - have communal recycling collections, with larger communal containers.
See further information about our kerbside recycling collections, including advice about what materials we can collect.
In addition to recycling and household waste, properties in some areas are also eligible for our garden waste subscription scheme.
Recycling at the kerbside
We prefer if you present your recycling in council-issued recycling boxes, unless you have communal recycling collections.
We collect a wide range of clean plastics labelled PET 1, HDPE 2, PP 5, cartons, cans, glass, paper and cardboard as part of our kerbside recycling collections.
Remember to wash and squash items before placing them in the boxes or communal bins.
All items must be free from food waste.
Check what you can and can't recycle at the kerbside before putting your waste out for a recycling collection.
Recycling for flats
If you live in a flat, you may have:
- shared or communal recycling bins (kept outside in a bin store), or
- your own individual recycling boxes
Check what's available to you using our online waste collection calendar.
Please don't leave bags of recycling next to communal bins.
Recycling with St. Nick's
A few city centre properties have weekly collections by St. Nick's, rather than the council.
St Nicks provide weekly recycling collections in the city centre - check the list of streets for St. Nick's recycling collections.
Contact St Nick's to request a recycling box or a bag, if you're eligible for their recycling collections.
Other ways of disposing of your recycling
You can dispose of other types of materials not accepted by our recycling collection service:
- by visiting Recycle Now to find your nearest recycling banks
- by visiting one of our Household Waste Recycling Centres at Hazel Court HWRC or Towthorpe/Strensall HWRC
- by our Bulky Waste collection service for disposal of larger unwanted items such as furniture and fridges
- in your general household waste
Charities may also be able to take and collect unwanted items which are in good, reusable condition. Please see our A to Z of recycling services for specific information.
Contamination
Contamination occurs when incorrect items, such as non-recyclable materials, dirty fast-food packaging, or general waste, are placed in recycling boxes. An item is considered a contaminant if it is in the wrong recycling stream or recycling box, even if it is technically recyclable. For example, textiles, plastic film, or food placed in a box designated for paper and cardboard would be contaminants. Contamination also occurs when recyclable household items are not rinsed before disposal.
We receive income from the recyclable materials we sell to manufacturers for reprocessing. However, contamination can reduce this income, which is why we only collect high-quality materials.
If non-recyclable items are placed in your recycling box, we:
- may have to send an entire lorry load of recycling to be processed as household waste
- may incur additional charges
Reducing contamination helps increase recycling rates. This means less waste will be incinerated, benefiting the environment, and making a real impact in the fight against climate change. Sorting your recycling correctly is important - not only for the planet but also to keep waste collection costs as low as possible.
Check what you can and can't recycle at the kerbside before putting your waste out for a recycling collection.
If a recycling box or communal bin is contaminated with incorrect materials, our crews will place an explanatory sticker on it. Please remove the contaminants and represent the container at the next collection date.
'Co-mingling' recycling
We may occasionally need to collect your recycling in a different way, for example, when there's a vehicle breakdown.
When this happens, we:
- may mix or 'co-mingle' all your recycling in the vehicle
- will need to sort recycling items after collection, but the material will still be recycled at Allerton Waste Recovery Park
Recycling boxes for your household
Households are provided with 3 recycling boxes and lids, free of charge.
You must sort your recycling for presentation in 2 waste streams:
- plastics, cans and tins (steal or aluminium), aluminium foil, cartons and glass can be mixed together
- paper and cardboard must be kept separate from other materials
You can collect a maximum of 2 additional or replacement recycling boxes free of charge from our Household Waste Recycling Centres. Simply ask a member of staff upon arrival and provide proof of address, such as a driver's licence or utility bill, to swap your broken boxes and lids on-site.
If you're unable to attend a Household Waste Recycling Centre you can contact Waste, Highways and Environmental Services and ask to have them delivered.
See further information about replacement waste containers.
The maximum boxes you can present for collection is 6. Our crews may not always be able to collect all boxes presented, due to limited capacity.
Find out what to do if you have excess or additional recycling.
Alternate recycling containers
We recommend presenting your recycling in council-issued boxes, as they are fit for purpose and appropriately sized to assist collection crews with manual handling.
You may choose to use alternatives to our own recycling containers, if you have excess recycling.
If you don’t wish to use our recycling boxes, put correctly separated waste into your own similar sized (approximately 55 litres), plastic containers. You must ensure these containers are robust and in good condition.
We recommend that these are marked with your house number or property name so they are not taken away as part of your recycling collection. We cannot be held liable for damage to containers which we have not issued.
Please don't present any recycling in cardboard boxes, as there is a risk that the box containing the recycling may be blown away. Cardboard containers may also be damaged by rain or damp conditions, leading to them falling apart when collection is attempted. They also take up too much space within our vehicles, making them fuller much quicker.
Please don't present paper and cardboard in plastic bags, as we cannot collect paper and cardboard mixed with plastic.
We cannot accept glass in plastic bags, for safety reasons.
Check your recycling day
Use our online waste collection calendar to check:
- your collection dates
- your container types
- the types of waste we collect at your address
View or print waste collection dates for 12 months (from December to November) in calendar or list format. If you refer to a printed copy, please be aware dates could change, owing to process updates, collection requirements, availability of resources, or inclement weather. If you, or someone you know, is unable to use the online waste collection calendar, or unable to print a copy, request an accessible format.
You should put your recycling out, at the front edge or your property (unless otherwise stated in the waste collection calendar) between 7.00pm on the day before collection, and 7.00am on your collection day. Do not put your recycling out at any other time.
Missed recycling collections
If your collection has been missed, check our waste collection updates for details of any known service issues.
See details of how we deal with missed recycling collections.
You're also able to take your recycling to one of our household waste recycling centres (HWRC):
Also see
- A to Z of recycling
- Kerbside recycling collections
- Recycling bank locator
- Replacement waste containers
- Household waste collections
- Missed waste collections
- Excess or additional recycling
- Video: The York Waste Journey
