Some items you’ve always recycled at home will no longer be collected as councils begin to enforce new simplified recycling rules – leaving households uncertain about what can go in the bin.
Recycling rules for households in England are changing on 31 March 2026, with councils required to adhere to a standard list of materials for collection.
while some Items will no longer be collectedSome key materials will continue to be recyclable, but confusion remains about what counts as “acceptable”.
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What goes in the recycling bin under the new rules
1. Paper and card
- Newspapers and magazines
- Office paper
- Cardboard boxes (flat), cereal boxes and packaging cartons
- Liquid carton
2. Glass
- Bottles and jars used for packaging food and beverages
3. Metal
- Food and drink cans
- Tins and foil trays
- Foil packaging
4. Plastic
- Plastic bottles, tubs and trays made from recyclable plastics (such as PET, PP and PE)
- Non-black plastic plant pots, which are now included after work in horticulture so they can be processed through the recycling system.
Samantha Dyer, head of responsible business at B&Q, said: “Consumers want to garden more sustainably, and being able to recycle plant pots at home will make a real difference. Clear and consistent guidance from the council will help capture and recycle more of this material rather than throwing it away.”
Why some recycling may still be rejected
Confusion over what can be recycled is a key issue, with a significant proportion of household recycling being rejected due to contamination.
Mark Hall, Waste Management Specialist BusinessWaste.co.ukSaid: “As much as 20% of the waste we intend to recycle is rejected, usually due to the wrong items being placed in bins or contaminated materials such as grease. This is a great shame as many people work hard at home to separate waste and do their best to protect the environment. Often contamination is simply due to lack of education.”
Research from BusinessWaste.co.uk suggests that 82% of UK households put at least one non-accepted item in their recycling and around 40% of all household recycling is contaminated. Common problem items include drinking glasses, foil pouches, toothpaste tubes, and plastic film lids, which can cause entire batches to be rejected.
Hall advised households to take practical steps to reduce pollution, including not recycling bags, separating mixed items. Recycling building materialsTo rinse out food containers and avoid “wishcycling” – putting items in the bin in the hope that they can be recycled.
He added: “As Simpler Recycling rolls out for households across England on April 1st, greater public awareness of how recycling works and what local authorities will accept will help see pollution rates fall in the future.”
What the changes mean for families
The new rules mean that while there is now a clear national list of recyclable materials, households may need to adjust long-held habits about what goes in their bins.
Items such as drinking glasses, cookware, bulky plastics and compostable plastics no longer need to be collected as part of household recycling, even if some residents previously included them.
However, councils can still vary in how quickly they update guidance and collections, meaning families rely on local instructions alongside national regulations as changes come into effect.
