How do you organise your recycling?

Dawning

To try to keep this short,since i moved into this house I've never had recycling bins. There was only a black bin when I moved in, phoned the council several times who kept assuring me that more bins would be delivered, they never were. Then when I rang them just before Christmas they told me the whole recycling programme was changing in our area, and to hang on because I'd definitely get the new bins then.
So, today it's arrived. The system is that we now have 3 bins. A brown for the garden rubbish, that's straightforward. We have the old black one which is intended for anything thats not recyclable. Then the new bin is a silver one. This bin takes all the recyclable stuff - so everything from glass to paper to plastic to tins etc.

I cant think how to organise myself with this, or even where to store it. I was going to keep it in the garage, as I have a door from the kitchen into there. But I'm worried that it may get a bit smelly in there. I will rinse things before I put them in the bin but milk cartons etc may still smell.

How do you manage your recycling in a way that keeps your house tidy and not full of stuff stacked for the bin? Even if I do the recycling every day, as part of my evening routine, I can see my kitchen getting messy with stuff.

overlykeensaver

I have my (orange-lid) recycling bin outside my kitchen door. I tend to pile stuff up on a kitchen work top and then chuck it in the recycling bin when I get fed up of it (usually a couple of times a day for me, but tins etc tend to get put straight in the bin).

Aarons_mummy

I have a blue bin for recycling items. My MIL gave me a bin that has 2 compartments, one for general rubbish and one for recycling. Both are about the size of a small swing bin and every couple of days I empty them into the main bins outside. The recycling doesn't go into a bag or anything just into the bin.

kate_pixie

We have a medium sized plastic storage box (the lid disappeared years ago) at the end of our worktop. Every day things get rinsed and popped in the box and then when it's full, a few times a week, we take it outside and dump the contents in the bin.

THIRZAH

We have a small green food caddy which lives on the draining board in the utility room and is emptied into the large green bin outside-that bin is also for garden waste and cardboard.

We are lucky to have a door from the utility room into the garage-no room in there for the car but we do have a set of four wire drawers from Ikea and I use those for things like plastic, tetrapacks etc which have to be taken to the recycling centre. The green box for glass, tins and paper (which is collected by the council) rests on top of the drawers.

jackieglasgow

plastic storage tub by the back door, I chuck all the recycleables into it once I have rinsed or flattened them, and send on of the junior slaves out to empty it into the wheelie bun when it is full.

dreamyd

We've got three bins here too. We have a plastic crate in the utility room ( our kitchen is of hamster-swinging dimensions) for tins,jars,plastics, cans and cardboard alongside a basket for newspapers, dewindowed envelopes, etc. Those get emptied into our blue bin whenever it needs it, and they are collected every fortnight.

Taliahmai

I just keep my bins in the garden and take it out to them straight away, unless its raining then i put things on the windowsill by my back door and take them when it stops

Gigervamp

Taliahmai wrote: »

I just keep my bins in the garden and take it out to them straight away, unless its raining then i put things on the windowsill by my back door and take them when it stops

This is what I do too, although the kitchen food waste caddy sits on the worktop.
I don't have a utility room or garage and the kitchen barely has room for the normal bin, so there's no room to store the recycling indoors.

cheeswright

I used to have a plastic tub inside the garage door and sling the recycling in that and take it out every couple of days
it didnt smell and i much prefered stomping cans flat on the garage floor than damaging the kitchen floor

then my lovely lovely oh built me a kitchen and I have slidey out hidden bins for everything - except the compostables - and thats outside the kitchen door - unfortunatly the chickens keep emptying it out and only eating 1/2 so he's out in the garden chewing his pencil and "having a think" even as i write - I shall let you know....

AlwaysAllie

I have one bin for rubbish and one for recyclables. I have a canvas type bag that hangs on the end of the work surface where all smaller recycing goes (big stuff goes straight out) and that's emptied every couple of days and the bag is chucked in the wash once a week or so.

AA