{"id":575362,"date":"2026-07-08T16:14:12","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T16:14:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/575362\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T16:14:12","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T16:14:12","slug":"binmans-warning-over-common-plastic-mistake-bins-get-rejected","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/575362\/","title":{"rendered":"Binman’s warning over common plastic mistake \u2014 ‘bins get rejected’"},"content":{"rendered":"

A binman has revealed which bin<\/a> polystyrene belongs in, as he admitted it ranks among the most frequently confused items.<\/a> The lightweight and durable plastic material is commonly found in packaging.<\/p>\n

It is always advisable to check with your local authority to know their particular rules.<\/a> Placing incorrect items in the wrong bins risks your waste not being collected.<\/p>\n

Polystyrene is frequently assumed to be recyclable like other packaging materials such as cardboard or certain plastics. However, a binman has warned against placing it in your recycling bin as it will not be collected.<\/p>\n

Which bin does polystyrene go in?<\/p>\n

Binman<\/a> Ashley, who posts as The No1 Binman on TikTok,<\/a> said: “So many people put polystyrene in [the recycling bin], polystyrene is not recyclable in your household waste.”<\/p>\n

He added: “Unless your council is different, let me know if it is, but I’m sure it isn’t.”<\/p>\n

Ashley said a frequent issue is people putting cardboard boxes filled with other packaging materials directly into the recycling bin.<\/p>\n

The refuse collector stated: “Just because it is cardboard, doesn’t mean that everything inside it turns to cardboard. Please take out all the non-recyclables, polystyrene and plastics, which come in the box.<\/p>\n

“Then you can put it [cardboard box] in the bin and it will be collected. Make sure you break down your boxes and you will have more room inside your bin to put more stuff in.”<\/p>\n

Ashley cautioned: “This is an easy fix. Don’t get caught doing it because if your bin gets rejected, you’re the one that has to sort it out. You’ll have to wait two to three weeks before your bin is collected again.”<\/p>\n

Recycle Now has also issued guidance regarding polystyrene recycling.<\/a> It advised: “Polystyrene is a type of plastic which is not commonly recycled and should be placed in the waste bin.”<\/p>\n

The organisation said of polystyrene: “Expanded polystyrene is sometimes used for take-away food containers and to package white goods like microwaves. Polystyrene is also sometimes used for other food packaging like multi-pack yoghurts.”<\/p>\n

London Recycles clarified that polystyrene frequently isn’t recycled<\/a> due to the difficulty in separating it from other plastic waste. It can also break into tiny beads which may block sorting equipment and lead to breakdowns.<\/p>\n

It continued: “Try and avoid buying food and drink which comes in polystyrene. If you can’t, put the containers in your rubbish bin.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A binman has revealed which bin polystyrene belongs in, as he admitted it ranks among the most frequently…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":575363,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[269],"tags":[134363,245075,18,440,117355,19,17,70657,245078,133,245074,18582,245073,245076,245077],"class_list":["post-575362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-bin-collection","tag-bin-rules","tag-eire","tag-environment","tag-household-waste","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-rubbish","tag-rubbish-collections","tag-science","tag-uk-recycling-bin-rules","tag-waste","tag-what-bin-does-polystyrene-go-in","tag-what-can-be-recycled","tag-what-cant-be-recycled"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116885249586192201","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=575362"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/575362\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/575363"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=575362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=575362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=575362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}