Binman warns rubbish ‘won’t be collected’ if 1 item is spotted in recycling

A binman has warned people they risk their rubbish not being collected if a common item is spotted in their recycling waste. It needs to be avoided if you don’t want it piling up at home

All of us have the dreaded job of putting the bins out, but you may not realise making a simple recycling mistake can be costly. A binman, known as The No1 Binman, boasts thousands of followers due to his handy tips, and his latest piece of expert advice is well worth knowing.

According to him, binmen can refuse to collect your rubbish if certain items are spotted inside the wrong bins. When it comes to recycling in particular, key guidance needs to be followed, and it’s essential to ensure you complete the simple task correctly each week.

It’s not the first handy piece of advice he’s shared either. Just weeks ago, he also confirmed another popular item can lead to contaminating your waste.

In a recent clip, he said: “Every single council has different colour bins, so let’s not get caught up on the colour of the bins, because my black bin is my recycling bin. My green bin is my general waste bin but, where I work, it’s completely different.”

He then turned his attention to a particular piece of packaging that someone asked a question about, explaining it should never be placed in the recycling bin. “Pizza boxes should not be in the recycling bin,” he added.

“They should be in your general waste bin, whatever colour that will be. You are told to put all cardboard in the blue bin. I don’t know what your blue bin is, I don’t know.

“Let’s just make this clear, pizza boxes – general waste bin, not recycling bin. That’s all I needed to say. It doesn’t matter what colour your bin is, it goes in your general waste.”

You may not realise it but, when it comes to recycling, there are key rules you need to follow. If you fail to do this correctly, it could cause you a big problem later down the line.

Can binmen really refuse to take your rubbish?

While you can recycle pizza boxes, you should only do so if they are clean and dry. To do it properly, you need to tear off and discard any greasy food or stained parts, such as the bottom.

If the item is too dirty, it should be placed into the general waste bin or used for compost. Meanwhile, the clean cardboard top can be placed in the paper and card recycling bin.

Grease contaminates the paper fibres, making them unrecyclable. Separating the clean parts is key to avoiding contamination, so you need to ensure you do this.

If you didn’t know, binmen can reject an entire recycling bin if it is contaminated with items that are not recyclable, such as dirty or greasy pizza boxes. This is because food and grease prevent the cardboard fibres from binding together during the pulping process which, in turn, makes the material unusable for recycling.

A single contaminated item can lead to the entire batch being spoiled. It can even hinder an entire vehicle load of otherwise clean recycling.

Generally, you should follow a few simple rules. Remove all food, and put this in your food waste bin. Then, rid any sections that are stained with grease or oil.

Recycle the clean, grease-free sections of the box in your recycling bin. You can also flatten parts that are clean to help save some space.

There are a few items you shouldn’t recycle at home, and these are often detailed on council websites. Check your local council’s guidelines to see if any further rules apply to you.