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Recycling

We are committed to increasing recycling across the city. 

Find out what items you can recycle at home

View recyclable items
  • Recycling is collected every 2 weeks
  • On collection day, your recycling should be out before 7am. It will be collected before 4pm. Your recycling container should be put at the edge of your property, where it meets the pavement.
  • Put recyclables clean, dry and loose in your bin. Don't bag them.
  • If you live in a block of flats, you can put your recyclables in your communal recycling bin.

What can I put in my recycling bin?  

  • Paper
  • Cardboard
  • Plastic bottles (please rinse and take the lids off)
  • Food and drink cans/tins (please rinse)
  • Aerosol cans


Small electrical items such as hairdryers, toasters etc. can also be put out alongside your normal recycling collection. Just place items in a normal sized carrier bag and place on top of the lid of your recycling bin or box on collection day.

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What can't I put in my recycling bin?  

  • Plastic packaging such as food trays, yoghurt pots or margarine tubs
  • Cartons such as juice or soya milk cartons
  • Glass - find your nearest glass recycling bank here
  • Carrier bags 
  • Aluminium foil 
  • Polystyrene.
  • Clothes - you can take these to your local textile recycling bank.
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What if I can't put my recycling out? 

If you have a medical condition that prevents you from putting your recycling out please contact us to request an assisted collection.

Where it goes and what happens to it 

The recycling lorry takes the waste to the Materials Recycling Facility (MRF). Inside the MRF, the waste is emptied and sorted into the different types of material. These sorted materials are then sent to factories to turn the old waste into new items:

  • Drins cans - more drink cans, foil, window frames
  • Plastic bottles - fleece jumpers, garden furniture, sleeping bag filling
  • Paper - new paper, newspapers
  • Steel - paper clips, washing machines, cutlery
  • Cardboard - toilet rolls, egg boxes

For more information, visit Hampshire County Council's 'What happens to recycling' page

You can order a new/extra green bin for recycling using our online form.

How to put your bin out 

For details on how to put your recycling bin out for collection please read the guidelines.

Documents

What to put in your recycling container

Waste collection trials in Portsmouth

Find locations

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