Recycling bins, bags or boxes
In your recycling bin or bags, you can put:
- plastic – including bottles, pots, tubs, cartons and carrier bags (empty and untied)
- paper – including newspapers, magazines and letters
- cardboard – including cereal and egg boxes
- metal – including tins, cans, aerosols, aluminium foil and bottle tops
- glass – including bottles and jars
We won’t collect your recycling if it contains anything that can’t be recycled. This includes black bin bags, textiles, electricals, nappies or food.
Please make sure you:
- rinse and empty all containers
- remove film lids on plastic pots, tubs and trays
- keep bottle tops on
- flatten or fold cardboard boxes
If your recycling doesn’t fit in your wheelie bin or recycling box, put it in a clear plastic recycling bag next to your bin or box.
Order recycling bin, box or bags
There are other items you can recycle in Camden separate to your weekly recycling collection.
Find out what else you can recycle
If you live in a house or converted house, we have a poster for your kitchen or noticeboard.
If you live in a flat in a shared house, consider putting a recycling poster up in your shared hallway.
After collection, your recycling is sorted and then used to make new products
Food waste bin or caddy
In your food waste bin or caddy, you can put:
- fruit and vegetables
- meat, fish and bones
- tea bags and coffee grounds
- bread and pastries
- dairy products
- rice, pasta and beans
- eggs and eggshells
- cooked and leftover food
If you live in a house or converted house you can line your caddies or put food waste straight in. If you do line your caddy please either use compostable liners or, thanks to new technology, plastic bags that are coming to the end of their life. Please don’t use black bin bags to line your caddy.
If you live in a housing estate with a communal food waste bin, then please line your green kitchen caddy with a compostable liner or a plastic bag (as long as it’s not black)
Compostable caddy liners are no longer available for delivery. They can now be collected for free from Camden libraries and leisure centres. If you are unable to visit for health reasons then please call Veolia on 020 3567 8105.
Find out more about food waste
Contaminated bins, bags, boxes and caddies
If your recycling or food waste contains items that shouldn’t be there, we won’t be able to take them.
If you live in a house or converted house, we will leave a note or sticker on the container asking you to remove the wrong items before the next collection.
Contaminated recycling costs us lots of money so we're strict about what we accept.
Find out more about recycling contamination
Rubbish bins and bags
You can put anything which can’t be recycled in your rubbish bin or bags, including:
- clingfilm
- cellophane
- sanitary products
- dog poo and cat litter
- crisp packets
- polystyrene
- nappies – a nappy collection service is also available
- broken glass – carefully wrapped, so that it is not dangerous to collect
- Single-use face coverings, PPE or rapid lateral flow home test kits – but you can recycle the cardboard packaging, cardboard tube holder and paper instruction booklet.
Households that are self-isolating should double bag face coverings and PPE and store for 72 hours before putting in your rubbish bin.
We won’t collect DIY rubbish such as rubble and plasterboard.
You must arrange separate collections for bulky waste, white goods and furniture.
Find out more about reuseing, repairing and sharing
Communal (mostly on estates) rubbish collections
If you live on a housing estate, or block with shared rubbish bins, then please put all appropriate rubbish (including nappies) in the rubbish bins provided. This will help keep your bin area clean and safe for everyone.