Coventry’s Wheelie Bins: What Goes Where (and a Few Fun Facts)

Here’s a clear, friendly guide to what each bin is for, plus some genuinely interesting nuggets about what happens to your waste after the lorry pulls away.

The Blue-Lidded Bin: Recycling

The blue-lidded bin is for most dry, clean household recycling. Think paper, card, glass bottles and jars, drink cans and foil, plastic bottles, tubs, pots and trays, and even drink cartons (Tetra Pak). Coventry specifically lists items like newspapers and magazines, cereal boxes and toilet-roll tubes on the “yes please” side. Items to avoid include plastic film and bags, polystyrene, cookware like Pyrex, and textiles. Keep it loose—don’t bag your recycling.

A neat extra: Coventry says you can recycle aerosols in the blue bin (don’t pierce or crush them; pop off any loose lids). The plastic nozzle can stay on—machinery will sort it.

The Green-Lidded Bin: General Rubbish

The green-lidded bin is for everything that can’t be recycled or composted via council collections. This includes mixed, non-recyclable household rubbish. In short: if it’s not accepted in blue or brown, and it’s not hazardous or electrical, it likely belongs here. Coventry’s waste pages signpost the green bin as the standard rubbish container alongside your recycling and garden waste bins.

The Brown-Lidded Bin: Garden Waste

Coventry runs its garden waste service on a subscription basis. If you want your brown-lidded bin emptied, you’ll need a permit. Without a current permit, the council won’t empty it.

What goes in: grass cuttings, leaves, hedge trimmings, and similar garden clippings. Coventry also says you can put food waste in the brown bin if you have an active subscription; if you don’t, food waste should go in the green-lidded bin or be composted at home.

What not to put in: soil or turf in large amounts, rubble, plant pots, plastic bags, pet waste, and diseased plants. These either contaminate the composting stream or cause processing problems.

Why Getting It Right Matters

Recycling only works when the right materials go in the right bin. Putting the wrong stuff in can contaminate a whole lorry load and increase costs for everyone. Coventry’s guidance emphasises checking the lists for each bin if you’re unsure.

There’s good news: Coventry’s recycling rate rose from 30.5% to 34.2% in 2023/24, helped in part by the city’s new Materials Recycling Facility (MRF), which reduces rejected material. The council expects this to support further gains in 2024/25.

What Happens to the Rest? From Rubbish to Warmth and Power

The stuff in your green-lidded bin doesn’t just vanish. Much of Coventry’s non-recyclable waste goes to the Energy-from-Waste (EfW) plant operated by Coventry and Solihull Waste Disposal Company (CSWDC). The facility generates electricity and exports heat—helping to supply Coventry city centre via the Heatline district heating network. In other words, yesterday’s bin can help heat public buildings tomorrow.

A Few Local “Bin-teresting” Facts

  • Aerosols are in! Many people assume pressurised cans aren’t recyclable; in Coventry, they are allowed in the blue bin (empty them first; don’t crush).

  • Garden waste is a paid service. Brown-bin collections require an annual permit. If you opt out, remember that food waste should not go in an uncollected brown bin—use the green bin or home composting.

  • Improving. Coventry recycled or composted 34.2% of household waste last year; while that trails the national average, the city expects its new MRF to keep pushing rates up.

  • Heat you can’t see. Waste heat from the EfW plant in Whitley is captured and piped as part of the Heatline network—an example of circular, local energy.

Quick Tips for a Smoother Bin Day

  • Rinse and squash (lightly) recyclables like plastic bottles and cans to save space and keep the bin clean.

  • Keep it loose—no black bags in the blue bin.

  • Check tricky items (light bulbs, textiles, batteries) on the council’s A–Z—many have special drop-off points rather than a wheelie bin home. Coventry City Council

Getting to grips with Coventry’s wheelie bins isn’t just about avoiding a refused collection—it’s a small, simple way to help the city cut emissions, boost recycling, and turn unavoidable rubbish into useful energy. Sort it once, and bin day becomes almost automatic with Bin Day Hero.