Find out what happens to your waste after it has been collected.
Last updated: 5 March 2025
Next review: 5 March 2026
It's important that you put the correct things in each bin. That's because green, brown and black bins and sacks are disposed of differently.
On collection day, if you use wheeled bins, your recycling and general waste are picked up by separate vehicles. Each vehicle goes to different locations and they're treated differently.
If you’re on sack collections, your recycling sacks and your general waste sacks are picked up by the same vehicle. This vehicle has two separate compartments. Recycling sacks goes in one, and refuse sacks goes in the other. We empty each of these compartments in a different location and they're also treated differently.
Your food bin (brown caddy if you live in a house, or grey communal bin if you live in a purpose-built flat) is collected by a different vehicle.
Your recycling is sent to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Edmonton to get separated. It's sorted both mechanically and by hand, before it's sent to manufacturers to recycle into new products.
Garden waste is sent to what is called an 'in-vessel composting facility'. It's placed into large rooms, where it’s heated and aerated. After six to eight weeks it turns into compost.
Find out information about home composting visit the Recycle Now website.
Anything which can’t be recycled or turned to compost is sent to an 'energy from waste' facility in Edmonton. There, your rubbish is burned to produce energy. This energy helps generate enough electricity to power 80,000 homes across London throughout the year.
You can see a video of how rubbish is tuned into electricity
