Recycling bins and sorting rules by colour

Key rules

• Yellow: Only light packaging goes in yellow; toys, hoses and other plastic that is not packaging do not.
• Cleaning: Containers must be empty, but you do not need to wash them.
• Briks: Milk and juice cartons go in yellow, not in the blue paper container.
• Brown bin: Towns had to offer separate organic collection by 31 December 2023, but coverage still varies.
• Fines: Your town hall sets the fine for wrong sorting, so amounts differ from town to town.

The colours at a glance

Yellow is for light packaging, blue for paper and cardboard, green for glass, brown for food waste, and the general container for everything else. The colour guide below shows each container and the special collection points.

Colours are not set by one national rule. The general container may be grey, green or another dark colour, and some towns use a different lid colour for organic waste. Check your town hall's recycling guide for local differences.

Yellow: light packaging

Put in plastic bottles, tubs, trays, bags and film, cans and tins, aluminium foil and trays, empty aerosol cans, polystyrene packaging, metal lids and caps, and briks (milk or juice cartons).

Keep out anything that is not packaging: toys, pans, hoses, clothes hangers, electronics and batteries. Packaging with food or hazardous waste inside also stays out. These go in general waste or to a punto limpio.

Containers must be empty, but you do not need to wash them. Flatten them to save room.

Blue: paper and cardboard

Put in newspapers, magazines, leaflets, office paper, paper bags and flattened cardboard boxes.

Keep out greasy paper such as a pizza box with grease, used tissues, nappies, wet wipes, and wax or plastic-coated paper. Briks go in yellow, not blue.

Very large boxes should be flattened. You may need to take them to a punto limpio or leave them for a special collection.

Green: glass

The green igloo takes glass bottles and jars for food and drink, such as wine, beer, soft drink, oil and perfume bottles, and jam jars. Take the lids and caps off first. Empty is enough; no washing.

Keep out ceramics, porcelain, crockery, drinking glasses, mirrors, window glass, light bulbs, fluorescent tubes, Pyrex-type cookware and crystal.

Brown: organic waste

The brown bin takes fruit and vegetable peelings, leftovers, meat, fish and bones, eggshells, coffee grounds and filters, tea bags, bread, dairy, and small garden waste such as flowers and leaves. Paper napkins and kitchen paper used for food are usually accepted.

Keep out plastics, glass, metals, textiles, nappies, cat litter, ash, cigarette ends, vacuum dust, liquid oil and medicines. Some places also refuse large bones or liquids.

Is the brown bin available where you live?

By law, every town must collect organic waste separately. Towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants had to do so from 30 June 2022, and all others by 31 December 2023. In practice the rollout is uneven. Catalonia, the Basque Country and Navarra are advanced, as are parts of Valencia, Galicia and Madrid. Elsewhere you may find brown bins in only part of a town. If there is none near you, food waste goes in the general container. Ask your town hall about local coverage.

Other items

Textile collection is part of the separate-collection system from 2025, so look for clothing containers in your area. Used cooking oil, batteries and hazardous waste do not go in the bins above. Use the oil containers, battery points, a punto limpio or a shop takeback point shown in the guide below.

Fines for sorting wrongly

Your town hall sets fines for households, through a local ordinance. Minor fines are typically about 100 to 750 euros, and serious cases can reach 1,500 euros. Some cities fine you for not using the right container, abandoning bags or leaving bulky items on the street. The town council imposes the fine after a sanction procedure.

The national waste law has higher bands: minor 300 to 2,000 euros, serious 2,001 to 200,000 euros, and very serious 200,001 to 3,500,000 euros. These are aimed mainly at businesses and serious cases. Check your own town's ordinance for exact amounts.

Which container takes what: colour guide

Which container takes what

• Yellow container: Put in plastic bottles and tubs, trays, plastic bags and film, cans, aluminium foil, empty aerosols, milk and juice cartons (briks), polystyrene packaging and metal lids. Empty them, but do not wash them. Toys, pans, hoses, hangers, electronics and batteries do not go here.

• Blue container: Put in newspapers, magazines, leaflets, office paper, paper bags and flattened cardboard boxes. Greasy paper, tissues, nappies, wet wipes and wax or plastic-coated paper do not go here. Very large boxes go to a punto limpio (recycling centre) or a special collection.

• Green glass container (igloo): Put in glass bottles and jars for food and drink, without lids or caps.

• Brown organic bin: Put in food scraps, peelings, leftovers, meat, fish, bones, eggshells, coffee grounds, tea bags, bread, dairy, used kitchen paper and small garden waste. Plastics, glass, nappies, cat litter, ash, cigarette ends and liquid oil do not go here. Only towns with a separate organic collection have this bin.

• General waste container (resto): Put in cat litter, pet faeces, fully put-out cigarette ends, and anything that fits no other container. Do not put them in organic or recycling containers.

• Battery collection point: Take used batteries to the collection containers in shops, supermarkets and municipal buildings, or to the punto limpio.

• Punto limpio or shop takeback point: Take spent bulbs and lamps to the punto limpio or to a shop that takes them back. Do not put them in the glass container.

• Cooking oil container: Pour used cooking oil into a sealed plastic bottle and take it to the brown or orange street oil container, or to the punto limpio.

• Clothing container: Take clothes and textiles to the street clothing containers, a charity shop or the punto limpio. Towns must now offer separate textile collection.

Frequently asked questions

Do milk and juice cartons go in the blue paper container?

No, milk and juice cartons (briks) go in the yellow container, not the blue one. Blue is only for clean paper and cardboard.

Where do plastic items that are not packaging go, such as toys or hoses?

Plastic items that are not packaging, such as toys, hoses and clothes hangers, do not go in the yellow container. Take them to a recycling point (punto limpio) or put them in general waste. Packaging with food or hazardous waste in it goes the same way.

Is there a brown organic bin in every town?

No, not every town has a working brown organic bin yet, although the law requires all councils to collect organic waste separately. Catalonia, the Basque Country and Navarra are advanced, while many towns cover only part of their area. Ask your town hall whether your street has one.

How much can I be fined for sorting my waste wrongly?

Household sorting fines are usually set by your town's own rules, and minor ones typically run from roughly 100 to 750 euros, up to 1,500 euros for serious cases. Your town council imposes the fine after a sanction procedure.