Household waste — the kerbside categories
Glasgow's kerbside collection splits domestic waste into general, mixed recycling, glass, food and garden. The categories are straightforward; the mistakes are consistent.
Broken glass goes in general waste, wrapped, not into glass recycling where it is a hazard to the people sorting. Soft plastics, film and crisp packets are general waste, not recycling, however recyclable they look. Food waste goes in the caddy rather than general, because it is the single biggest source of landfill methane. And nothing with a plug goes in any of them.
The other consistent issue is volume rather than category: an overflowing bin with a propped lid is usually not collected, and bags left beside it are usually not taken.
- General waste — the non-recyclables
- Mixed recycling — cans, plastics, paper, card
- Glass — bottles and jars only
- Food waste — the caddy, not general
- Garden waste — brown bin, often seasonal
- Broken glass — general, wrapped
Bulky household waste
Anything that will not fit through the bin lid is bulky waste, and it has three routes: the council's chargeable bulky uplift, a trip to a recycling centre, or a private collection.
The uplift is cheapest for one or two items but is booked in advance and requires the items to be at an agreed collection point — which in a tenement means someone still has to get the sofa down the stair. The recycling centres are free for residents with proof of address but need a vehicle the item fits in.
Mattresses, fridges and freezers are worth flagging: all three have dedicated recycling routes. Fridges and freezers contain gases that must be recovered before the unit is stripped, which is why they cannot go in a general skip or mixed load.
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Garden and green waste
Grass, hedge trimmings, leaves, prunings and small branches are green waste and are composted rather than landfilled. Glasgow's brown bin service takes them, and the recycling centres have dedicated green waste containers.
Two things are not green waste even though they come from the garden. Soil and turf are inert (the heavy stuff — rubble, concrete, brick and soil) material and are handled with rubble rather than compost — and in volume they are priced by weight rather than by volume. And treated timber, decking, fence panels and painted wood are not compostable and go with general or wood waste.
Japanese knotweed is its own category entirely. It is a controlled plant, it cannot go in green waste or to a normal recycling centre, and spreading it — including by moving contaminated soil — is an offence. It needs a specialist.
Construction, demolition and trade waste
This is where the biggest legal distinction sits. Waste produced by paid work at a property belongs to the contractor, not the householder, regardless of whose house it is. That makes it trade waste, and household recycling centres refuse it.
Within trade waste, the split that affects the price is inert versus general. Rubble, concrete, brick, hardcore and soil are inert and priced by weight — £149 per tonne with us. Timber, packaging, insulation and general strip-out are priced by volume. Separating the two on site is the single easiest way to reduce a bill.
Plasterboard is separate again. Gypsum in landfill conditions can generate hydrogen sulphide, so it is kept apart and sent for dedicated gypsum (the mineral inside plasterboard) recycling. Full detail is in our waste guidance for builders.
WEEE — anything with a plug or a battery
Waste electrical and electronic equipment is its own regulated stream. If it has a plug, a battery or a charging port, it is WEEE — televisions, computers, kitchen appliances, power tools, toys, vapes and everything between.
It cannot go in a general bin, and the reason is partly hazard and partly value: WEEE contains recoverable metals and, in fridges and air conditioners, gases that must be captured. Retailers selling electricals have take-back obligations, and recycling centres have dedicated WEEE areas.
Data is the other consideration. Anything that stored data — computers, phones, printers with memory — should be wiped or the drive destroyed before disposal. Our old laptop guide covers doing that properly, and WEEE disposal is the service side.
Hazardous waste, and what nobody takes
Hazardous household waste — paint, solvents, fuel, chemicals, pesticides, batteries — goes to a recycling centre equipped for it. All four Glasgow sites accept it free from residents. The full guide is our paints, chemicals and hazardous materials guide.
Then there is the short list nobody takes in a general load, us included: asbestos, gas bottles and cylinders, clinical waste and sharps, explosives and flares, and liquid fuel. Each has its own specialist route, and being told that before a collection is better than being told on the day.
Everything else — and it is the overwhelming majority of what a household or a business produces — is straightforward. If you are not sure which category something falls into, a photo answers it faster than any list can.
