Questions on what can go in each bin

Residual waste sacks must be used for storing rubbish in the wheeled residual waste bins or seagull proof residual waste sacks (if you are one of the few properties still continuing with this collection).

It is difficult to home compost all food waste. Uncooked vegetables are great home composting material, but cooked vegetable material and baked goods can compost slowly and inefficiently and attract vermin. It is strongly advised that you avoid putting cooked or raw meat/fish and bones in your garden composter, as they may fail to compost, generate smells and attract vermin.

It does not matter which box you use for which materials as long as you separate them as follows;

Box 1
• paper, all types including newspapers, magazines, Yellow Pages and directories, junk mail, shredded paper and all types of envelopes
• all empty plastic bottles
• food tins and drink cans (rinsed) - with widgets are fine
• aerosols
• clothes and shoes (plus textiles, such as sheets and towels) - must be kept dry
Box 2
• tin foil dishes and tin foil
• mixed glass, bottles and jars (rinsed)
• all cardboard (flattened and folded if large)

See Recycling Box Collection for full details.

No, please do not use plastic bags to separate your recycling. You should separate the materials in the boxes, but you can simply put the items in as they are.

This is because your box was found to contain non-recyclable items by the collection crew.

The collection crew separates your recycling at the kerbside in order to send the separated items off to be recycled, so if these items become mixed with non-recyclable waste from contaminated boxes, the whole load becomes spoiled and cannot be recycled.

The wrong sort of waste also makes life extremely unpleasant and hazardous for our collection crews who separate all the waste you put in your box by hand. The collectors will therefore leave a note on your box to inform you of why they have left the item, so that it is put in the correct place next time, such as your residual (non-recyclables) waste bin, so all items can be collected next week.

Contamination refers to when a non-recyclable item is mixed with recyclable items. TOR2 has introduced a new system of separating your recycling at the kerbside, this allows us to identify any contaminate items before they are put on the lorries. This is to ensure all items collected at the kerbside can be recycled and we do not get any rejected loads at the recycling plant. If Torbay does this, it means we get more money for our recyclable items as they will be of a higher quality, this in turn means that you will get better value for your taxes.

Yes, these do not cause us any problems.

All types of envelopes can be recycled (brown and white, with or without windows) in your recycling box and in paper banks around Torbay - see Recycling Banks.

Yes, junk mail can be placed in your box for recycling, or put into a paper bank. Please remove any plastic coverings etc. first.

Yes, Yellow Pages can be placed in your box or a paper bank for recycling.

No, this is not necessary; they get burnt off in the recycling process.

No, liquid should not be put in your food waste bin, as this will make the bin messy and could cause it to smell.

If you do not home compost then you will need to put your small pet bedding in your residual (non-recyclable) waste bin.

The recycling boxes have been designed with drainage holes at the bottom to allow water to soak through. Residents should not worry about the recyclable rubbish getting wet as this will not affect our ability to recycle the material.

Materials will not seep through the holes in the boxes if it gets wet and our recycling and waste crews will collect all correctly sorted material put out for collection. Please refer to your leaflet to check what goes in each box.

This service is designed to increase the amount of material recycled, it will not result in mess on the streets or uncollected rubbish as Tor2 is also responsible for cleaning the streets. We can assure residents that all rubbish will still be collected.

Recyclable waste that is left out but which we cannot currently collect for recycling will be left with a note explaining to residents what can be placed in the recycling bins.


Residents will then be asked to revise their recyclable waste for the following week’s collection or, if the materials are not currently able to be recycled, they can put them into their residual waste bins for collection through the fortnightly service.

All household kitchen and bathroom bottles can be recycled however we ask that bottles that have contained flammable liquids or dangerous chemicals, e.g., weed killer, motor oil or heavy duty chemicals should be disposed of in the residual waste bins.