Durham County Council: which bins go out tonight?
Find your bin collection schedule, what goes in each bin, and when it's collected in Durham County Council.
Use the app to enter your postcode and get tonight's answer.
What Durham County Council collects
Rubbish
rubbish bin
What goes in:
- domestic household waste that cannot be recycled
- used kitchen paper
- baby/facial/cleaning wipes
- nappies
- pet waste
- polystyrene/bubble wrap
- plastic bags/wrap/film/crisp packets
- ready meal food trays
- empty disposable lighters (you must make sure they are completely empty first)
What doesn't go in:
- recycling
- rubble or bricks
- vehicle parts
- items which may make the bin too heavy
- batteries
- clothes/textiles
- cassettes
- duvets and bedding
- vapes
- unused or expired medication (please return to your pharmacy)
- empty metal zippo style lighters (these can be recycled at a Recycling centres (tips))
- food waste
Durham County Council says: If in doubt, keep it out of your recycling bin - if you're unsure whether you can recycle an item, leave it out of your recycling bin and put it in your rubbish bin.
Source: www.durham.gov.uk
Mixed recycling or cans
blue-lidded recycling bin
What goes in:
- all plastic bottles (including lids and pumps/triggers)
- plastic pots (such as yoghurt, cream)
- plastic tubs (such as margarine, butter, ice cream)
- plastic trays (such as fruit, meat)
- plant pots (apart from black ones as black plastic is more difficult to recycle, please take black ones to the recycling centre)
- all paper
- cardboard boxes (large cardboard boxes placed next to your recycling bin, but make sure cardboard is dry as we cannot recycle wet cardboard)
- greeting cards (plain cards without foil, glitter or ribbon)
- envelopes
- pizza boxes (supermarket) (only the cardboard outer box, the polystyrene disc and plastic wrap goes in your rubbish bin)
- all steel and aluminium food tins and drink cans
- tin foil and foil trays
- biscuit and sweet tins
- all cartons (such as fruit juice, drinks, soup)
- aerosol cans
- glass bottles and jars
- broken glass
- clean metal only lids and caps
What doesn't go in:
- hard plastic containers
- children's toys
- wrap and film
- ready meal food trays
- polystyrene/bubble wrap
- black plastic and bags
- carrier bags
- crisp packets
- black plastic cartons
- black plastic plant pots
- kitchen paper
- baby/facial/cleaning wipes
- nappies
- tissues
- shredded paper
- pizza boxes (takeaway) (put these in your rubbish bin)
- cutlery or any other metal objects
- pans
- oven trays
- polystyrene
- Pyrex
- light bulbs
- mirrors
- flat glass
Durham County Council says: Please do not put recycling in black bags in your recycling bin.
Source: www.durham.gov.uk
Food waste
food waste caddy
What goes in:
- plate scrapings
- meat, fish and bones (both raw and cooked)
- bread and pastries
- fruit and vegetables
- tea bags and coffee grounds
- dairy products such as cheese and eggs, including eggshells
- any mouldy and out of date food (but please remove packaging)
What doesn't go in:
- packaging of any kind
- plastic (caddy liners are ok)
- liquids such as milk
- oil or liquid fat
- foil, cutlery, polystyrene, glass or plastic food wrap
- flowers and plants
Source: www.durham.gov.uk
Garden waste
garden waste bin
What goes in:
- grass cuttings
- shrubs
- leaves
- weeds
- flowers and plants
- hedge clippings
- prunings
- small branches (thinner than 7cm in diameter)
What doesn't go in:
- plastic / black bags
- bio-degradable or compostable bags
- plant pots / plastic trays
- kitchen / food waste
- soil (soil attached to roots is not a problem, but large amounts of soil make the bin heavy and difficult to empty. You can take any surplus soil to a Recycling centres (tips))
- bricks / rubble
- stones
- nappies
- paper / plastic / cardboard
- textiles/clothing
- pet waste (due to the risk of spreading disease with in the finished compost)
- children's toys
- garden ornaments
- large branches (thicker than 7cm in diameter)
- diseased plants / leaves
- toxic plants such as Rhododendron, Yew, Ragwort, Foxglove, Japanese Knotweed, Giant Hogweed, Hemlock
- fruit from fruit trees (either loose or attached to branches) (due to the risk of spreading disease with in the finished compost)
- food waste (due to the risk of spreading disease with in the finished compost)
- batteries
- petrol / gas canisters / chemicals
Durham County Council says: Please do not bag your garden waste - put it loose in the bin.
Source: www.durham.gov.uk
What Durham County Council says about bin day
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Durham County Council says you can line your food caddy with any liner you like, including carrier bags or bread bags.
From Durham County Council's website (checked 2026-10-22)
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Durham County Council says to put only food waste in your caddies, and food waste is not accepted unless it is in a caddy.
From Durham County Council's website (checked 2026-10-22)
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Durham County Council says the external food caddy is collected weekly, and not to put your internal caddy out.
From Durham County Council's website (checked 2026-10-22)
Find your bin day
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