Simpler Recycling explained: timeline, exemptions, flats

What it is and why it exists

Simpler Recycling is the name for England's rules on which materials must be collected for recycling, and from whom. The government's policy statement says households had been left with a "muddled and confusing patchwork of approaches" and that the changes are meant to end the postcode lottery, in which neighbouring councils collected different materials. It also records that household recycling rates in England had flatlined at around 44% to 45% since 2015, and sets an ambition to recycle 65% of municipal waste by 2035.

The rules cover three groups: households, businesses, and relevant non-domestic premises such as schools and hospitals. This guide is about households. For what the changes mean for the bins on your street, see our England bin collection rules guide.

The timeline

• 31 March 2025: businesses and relevant non-domestic premises had to arrange collection of the core recyclable streams, except garden waste. Micro-firms, meaning businesses with fewer than 10 full-time equivalent employees, were given until 31 March 2027.
• 31 March 2026: councils had to collect the core streams from all households, which includes weekly food waste for most homes unless a transitional arrangement applies.
• 31 March 2027: plastic film and plastic bags have to be collected with plastic recycling, from households and from businesses.

The streams

By default, collectors must collect these separately from every household, flats included:

• food and garden waste (which may be co-collected);
• paper and card;
• all other dry recyclables: glass, metal and plastic, including cartons;
• residual waste, which is what cannot be recycled and goes to energy recovery or landfill.

Glass, metal and plastic can be collected together in one container. Paper and card can be collected with them only if the council writes a short assessment explaining why separating them is not practicable, not economic or of no significant environmental benefit. The assessment does not have to be submitted to anyone, but it should be kept, and it cannot be used to avoid collecting any of the dry streams. The government's reasoning is that paper and card are easily spoiled by food and liquid on other recycling, and its statement cites WRAP data showing 121 local authorities already collected them separately and 95 collected plastic, metal and glass together.

What councils do not have to collect

The regulations and guidance are as specific about exclusions as inclusions, and the lists are useful when something is rejected from your bin:

• Glass: drinking glasses, glass cookware, flat and window glass, mirrors, light bulbs, vases, candles and ceramics.
• Metal: laminated foil pouches, electrical items and batteries, kitchenware, kettles, irons and pipes.
• Plastic: anything labelled compostable or biodegradable, including coffee pods, bulky rigid plastics, polystyrene and PVC packaging.
• Paper and card: nappies and other absorbent hygiene products, cotton wool and makeup pads, tissue and toilet paper, and wet wipes.
• Garden waste: plant pots, animal bedding, sand, sawdust, stone, gravel and bricks, and bulky items such as fencing.

The guidance says these lists are examples, not complete lists, and that councils should tell households clearly what can and cannot go in each stream.

Food waste in detail

Food waste must be collected at least weekly and free of charge. The guidance says two containers should be provided: a small kitchen caddy and a larger outdoor bin. There is no requirement for caddy liners to be provided or used. Where liners are used, the guidance lists lower-impact materials, including paper and reused newspaper, and does not recommend fossil-based compostable or biodegradable plastic.

Food waste can be collected together with garden waste, in which case the collection must be weekly, and the council can charge only for the garden waste. The preferred treatment for food waste collected on its own is anaerobic digestion. Where food and garden waste are collected together, in-vessel composting or dry anaerobic digestion can be used instead.

Transitional arrangements

The 31 March 2026 date has one exception. A council with a transitional arrangement has a later date for food waste, set in commencement regulations. It must still collect the dry recyclable streams by 31 March 2026. The government's policy statement says a longer period may be needed where long-term disposal contracts, such as energy from waste, stand in the way of separate food waste collections.

The 2024 regulations list 31 authorities with later dates. They run from Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council on 1 June 2026, through Wiltshire Council on 1 August 2027 and the Greater Manchester authorities on 1 April 2034, to Sheffield City Council on 1 August 2038 and The North Yorkshire Council and City of York Council on 1 February 2043. The regulation text we read is the version as first made, and amending regulations may have changed it, so confirm with your own council.

Flats, communal bins and isolated homes

The household requirements apply to flats and communal properties. For some of them, the guidance says, communal on-site bins may be more suitable than individual containers. Collection must still be from the premises: the guidance says it cannot be replaced by a bring bank.

Councils may decline to collect from a place that is so isolated or inaccessible that the cost would be unreasonably high, but only if they are also satisfied that the person who controls the waste can reasonably be expected to arrange its disposal themselves.

What you can do now

Check your own council. Some councils are still working through the change: Bradford, for example, says its weekly food waste collections are being rolled out across the district in stages. Our council pages say what each council collects, what it refuses, and when we last checked.