Recycling: what to put in the yellow bin?

568 kg: this is the quantity of waste that each French person produces in one year, according to Ademe estimates. The amount of waste we produce has doubled in 40 years, knowing that most of the items that end up in the household waste bin could actually be deposited elsewhere. According to the ecological transition agency, a household waste bin could contain up to:

• 35% of paper and packaging can be recycled and placed in the yellow bin,
• 27% organic waste, which could be composted or placed in an organic bin,
• 5% of waste benefiting from dedicated channels, such as clothing, batteries, light bulbs or medicines.

To do better, we could start by putting an end to the doubt that sometimes arises when throwing away certain packaging: normal trash or yellow trash? This question of sorting is not so trivial. In the United Kingdom, the BBC noted on September 21, 2018 that 47% of people in the same household disagreed about which plastic goes or does not go in the recycling bin. 26% of Britons even have this quarrel more than once a month.

For further

What waste goes in which bin?

To avoid this monthly dilemma, and help you make the right ecological gesture, here are some tips for knowing which products you can put in the recycling bin. However, these instructions vary depending on where you live: you can check the rules that apply in your municipality using an application like Sorting Guide (on iOS and Android). You can also use this government site, which has a search engine by type of object.

Note that the selective sorting rules have changed in Paris since 2019: all plastic or metal packaging can be placed in the yellow bin.

What waste should be put in the yellow bin?

Let’s start with the simplest: products that you can throw in the yellow bin without hesitation. Packaging made of paper, cardboard, steel, aluminum, including food cartons, can be recycled.

• Packaging and waste made of metal, steel and/or aluminum : cans, tins, aerosols, coffee pods, compote bottles, etc.;
• Cardboard packaging and food cartons : cartons of milk, cartons of fruit juice, cartons of cakes, cereals or the cardboard surrounding your yogurts;
• All papers: newspapers, magazines, advertisements, books, envelopes, etc.;
• Packaging and plastic waste: water bottles, laundry detergent containers, frozen food bags, plastic bags, plastic bottles, etc.

Which plastics should be thrown in the yellow bin?

The sorting process is already less obvious when it comes to plastic packaging: you should already know that not all formats can be recycled. Here are the two commandments that Eco Emballages advises you to follow when you want to throw plastic into recycling.

• Bottles or vials go into the sorting bin : bottles of water, oil, packaging of dishwashing liquid, household products, bottles of shampoo or shower gel;
• No need to remove the cap from these bottles : this way, you will avoid unnecessarily dirtying the sorting bin.

This is where the Sorting Guide can be useful to you, as some municipalities may have significantly different rules. The question may arise for food packaging that has come into contact with food, such as yogurt pots, butter packaging or plastic containers. By their presence, they could risk contaminating the entirety of a selective sorting bin.

This dilemma was resolved in Paris by new selective sorting instructions, introduced on January 1, 2019. Since this date, the yellow bin can accommodate all plastic packaging – as well as steel and aluminum.

Plastic bags, egg cartons, yogurt pots, cling film, frozen food bags, coffee capsules, cosmetic tubes and polystyrene can now end their lives in bulk in the selective sorting bin. As long as they are well emptied beforehand.

Where to throw the glass?

For glass, the instructions are simple: all glass pots, jars and bottles can be recycled and go into the glass container. Be careful, however: this trash can is not made to contain dishes, porcelain or earthenware — materials that cannot be recycled.

Eco Emballage then gives some tips to simplify your selective sorting as well as the work of the people who collect your waste. There is no point in washing the packaging, as long as its contents have been emptied. Finally, there is no point in trying to nest the different sorted products: their separation and recycling will not be made easier.

Before throwing your glass bottles into the dedicated bin, however, find out if there is a reuse solution. The deposit of glass containers is making a comeback in certain places. In Île-de-France, certain supermarkets have joined forces with brands to offer a deposit.

Where do we throw polystyrene?

When throwing polystyrene in the trash, we often wonder in which bin it should end its life. In our daily lives, this polymer often comes in the form of foam, used to package products to protect them during shipping. The recycling of polystyrene is not anecdotal: the Ministry of Ecological Transition estimated in 2021 that this material represents more than 350,000 tonnes of plastic packaging placed on the market in France per year.

However, this type of packaging remains very poorly recycled, around 3 to 4%. However, fragmented polystyrene is one of the 10 most common waste items found on beaches and in the seabed. It is therefore important not to leave this material lying around in nature.

The instructions for sorting polystyrene differ depending on the location in France. It is advisable to check it with Sorting Guide. We thus learn that in Paris or Lyon, it can be placed in the yellow bin or at a collection point, but that in Lille, it must be placed in a black bag, in the gray bin or at a collection point . You can find the collection point closest to you using this map.

What don’t you put in the yellow bin?

Some waste and plastics are unfortunately not recyclable, here are some examples:

• In times of resurgence of covid-19 or other diseases, tissues, gloves, masks or wipes used to limit contamination should not be placed in the yellow bin, but in the gray or “all-comers” bin. Don’t throw them in the street!
• Some used and disposable products (diapers, period pads, tampons…).
• THE plastic food films.
• THE polystyrene.

The list is not exhaustive. To determine if waste is not recyclable, carefully check the sorting rules that apply in your city, as errors are common.

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