Recycling and waste disposal for students
If you're a student in Leicester, you'll find everything you need to know about waste and recycling here.
To give you the right information, please select the type of property you’re living in this year from the drop downs below:
Your waste and recycling service
All houses have a black bin for refuse, and large student properties have been provided with shared bins for recycling – just put all of your clean recyclable materials loose into the bin. All other households use orange bags for recycling – find out how to get orange bags.
What can be recycled?
We can recycle a wide range of materials in Leicester including plastic bottles and plastic food containers (like margarine tubs, ready meal trays and yoghurt pots), drink cans, empty aerosols, food tins, foil and foil trays, glass bottles and jars, paper, cardboard, and drink/food cartons (for example, Tetra Pak). Check our full list of items that can be recycled.
When is our collection day?
Refuse and recycling is collected weekly on the same day. Use the postcode tool to find your rubbish and recycling collection day. You need to put your bins and bags at the edge of your property the night before collection, or by 7am on the day. Keep all bins on your property at all other times.
Furniture, appliances and large items
We will collect bulky items that don’t fit inside your bins for free, but they must be booked in. Please go to our bulky waste page to book your collection.
Batteries, clothing, electrical items, ink cartridges and reusable items
These items should not be placed in orange recycling bags or bins.
- Batteries should be recycled at a battery bank – most shops that sell batteries have one of these.
- Clothing and shoes can be taken to a charity shop or a textile bank (even if they’re broken/damaged).
- Electricals must be taken to a recycling point – your closest is likely to be Freemen’s Common Recycling Centre. Electrical items, especially those containing lithium batteries, can cause fires and explosions in waste collection vehicles and treatment facilities.
- Ink cartridges can be sent back to the manufacturer for recycling - check their website for details.
- Any items that are still usable can be donated at a charity shop or at the LOROS reuse shop at Gypsum Close Recycling Centre.
Your waste and recycling service
You’ll have bins for both recycling and general waste in a designated area (some small flats may still use orange bags). Whilst bin areas can get busy at the start and end of the year, we’ve made sure there is plenty of room in the bins if you recycle correctly.
What can be recycled?
We can recycle a wide range of materials in Leicester including plastic bottles and plastic food containers (like margarine tubs, ready meal trays and yoghurt pots), drink cans, empty aerosols, food tins, foil and foil trays, glass bottles and jars, paper, cardboard, and drink/food cartons (for example, Tetra Pak). Check our full list of items that can be recycled.
Furniture, appliances and large items
We will collect bulky items that don’t fit inside your bins for free, but they must be booked in. Please go to our bulky waste page to book your collection.
Batteries, clothing, electrical items, ink cartridges and reusable items
These items should not be placed in orange recycling bags or bins.
- Batteries should be recycled at a battery bank – most shops that sell batteries have one of these.
- Clothing and shoes can be taken to a charity shop or a textile bank (even if they’re broken/damaged).
- Electricals must be taken to a recycling point – your closest is likely to be Freemen’s Common Recycling Centre. Electrical items, especially those containing lithium batteries, can cause fires and explosions in waste collection vehicles and treatment facilities.
- Ink cartridges can be sent back to the manufacturer for recycling - check their website for details.
- Any items that are still usable can be donated at a charity shop or at the LOROS reuse shop at Gypsum Close Recycling Centre.
Waste and recycling from University of Leicester owned halls are run by a private contractor. Please see the University of Leicester website for information about the waste and recycling services from residential halls.
If you live in Oadby or Wigston please see the Oadby and Wigston Borough Council website for information about their waste and recycling services.
If you live somewhere else outside the city, please go to your local council’s website to find the waste and recycling information for that area.
Contact us
For reminders, updates, further information and what to do with waste at the end of term, follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook.