Dry mixed recycling: what can still share a bin
Dry mixed recycling used to mean everything recyclable in one bin. In England it no longer can, and if your contract still says otherwise it is worth a conversation with your collector.
Dry mixed recycling: key facts
| May share a container | Glass, metal and plastic |
|---|---|
| Must be separate | Paper and card |
| The exception | A written co-collection assessment by your collector |
| Also separate | Food waste, and residual waste, from each other and from dry recycling |
| In force since | 31 March 2025 for 10+ FTE staff; 31 March 2027 for under 10 |
| Wales | Six separate streams since 6 April 2024, no small business exemption |
What DMR means now
The statute lists five recyclable streams: glass, metal, plastic, paper and card, and food waste. Under the Simpler Recycling rules in England, dry recyclables, food waste and residual waste must always be kept apart from each other. Within dry recycling there is exactly one mandatory split: paper and card must be collected separately from plastic, metal and glass.
So the dry mixed recycling bin that still exists lawfully is one containing glass, metal and plastic. Paper and card needs its own. If your supplier is still collecting all four together, there needs to be a written co-collection assessment on file concluding that separation is not technically or economically practicable or brings no significant environmental benefit. Ask to see it; it is their document but it is your compliance.
Why paper is the one that had to be split out
Fibre and glass do not mix well. Broken glass in a paper stream embeds in the fibre and cannot be removed, which reduces the grade of the paper and damages equipment downstream. Damp from a half-empty drink bottle does the same thing more slowly. Keeping paper and card dry and glass-free is what keeps them worth money, which is why this is the split that was made mandatory rather than an arbitrary one.
It is also why the split tends to pay for itself. Paper and card separated cleanly has a real market value; paper and card contaminated with glass fragments does not.
What goes in the glass, metal and plastic bin
Glass: drinks bottles and rinsed empty food jars. Not drinking glasses, Pyrex or other cookware, flat or window glass, mirrors, light bulbs or tubes, microwave plates, vases, candles or ceramics. All of these melt differently from container glass or not at all.
Metal: food and drink cans, aerosols, foil and metal lids.
Plastic: bottles, pots, tubs and trays. Not PVC packaging and not polystyrene, expanded or high impact, both of which are explicitly excluded. Plastic film is not included yet either, though kerbside film collections for businesses and households in England are due by 31 March 2027.
Contamination, and what it costs you
A dry mixed recycling load is sorted mechanically, and the sorting assumes what is in it. Material that should not be there causes two problems: it damages or blocks equipment, and it lowers the grade of everything around it. A heavily contaminated load can be rejected outright and charged at residual waste rates, which is the most expensive outcome available.
The usual culprits in a commercial bin are food waste, liquids left in containers, plastic film, polystyrene packaging and general rubbish put in the nearest bin by someone in a hurry. Most of it is solved by bin placement and signage rather than by anything technical: a residual bin next to every recycling bin, clearly labelled, removes most of the problem.
Questions for your collector
- Are my paper and card collected separately? If not, where is the written co-collection assessment?
- What is your contamination threshold, and what happens if a load exceeds it?
- Where does the material go, and what proportion is actually recycled?
- Am I getting a rebate on any of it, and is it fixed or indexed?
- Are you registered as a waste carrier? The number begins CBDU and is on the Environment Agency public register.
Enforcement is by the Environment Agency, which issues a compliance notice first. Failing to comply with a compliance notice is an offence carrying an unlimited fine on conviction, so the realistic risk is not a surprise prosecution but a notice you then have to act on quickly.
Our directory lists companies collecting each recyclable material by postcode, so you can find a separate paper and card collection if your current supplier cannot provide one.
Each stream in that bin has its own market and its own processing route, covered in our guides to glass recycling, plastic recycling and metal recycling.
Frequently asked questions
Can paper and card still go in a dry mixed recycling bin?
Not in England, unless your collector has completed a written co-collection assessment. Glass, metal and plastic may share a container, but paper and card must be collected separately.
Why does paper have to be separated from glass?
Because broken glass embeds in paper fibre and cannot be removed, which reduces the grade of the paper and damages downstream equipment. Dampness from containers does the same more slowly.
What cannot go in a dry mixed recycling bin?
Food waste and liquids, plastic film, polystyrene in either form, PVC packaging, and non-container glass such as drinking glasses, Pyrex, window glass, mirrors, light bulbs and ceramics.
What happens if my recycling bin is contaminated?
A heavily contaminated load can be rejected and charged at residual waste rates, which is the most expensive outcome available. Most contamination is solved by putting a labelled residual bin next to every recycling bin.
Who enforces the separation rules?
The Environment Agency, which issues a compliance notice first. Failing to comply with a compliance notice is an offence carrying an unlimited fine on conviction.