A binman has warned Brits never to put one common material used in packaging in their recycling bin, as it cannot be recycled and could mean your bin doesn’t get emptied
Zahna Eklund Senior Social News Reporter
18:00, 30 Jul 2026
There’s one item that should never go in your recycling bin (stock photo)(Image: Kate Wieser via Getty Images)
Putting this common packaging item in your household recycling bin could land you in trouble. When you receive a package in the post, it’s common to rip it out of the cardboard box and immediately discard the packaging in the recycling bin so that your house doesn’t become cluttered with empty boxes.
But one binman on social media has urged households to be careful when they’re throwing away their packages, as there’s a common material found inside cardboard boxes that cannot be recycled. And if you chuck it in your recycling bin with the rest of your rubbish, it could result in your bin not being emptied at all.
Ashley, known online as The No.1 Binman, shared a video on TikTok in which he told people never to put polystyrene in their recycling bin, as it cannot be recycled and could mess with your bin collection.
Polystyrene is often found inside packaging boxes, especially if items are delicate, as it helps to fill space in a cardboard box and stops fragile items from breaking in transit.
However, you should make sure to empty it out into your general waste bin before you recycle the cardboard or plastic in your packaging, as it cannot be recycled.
Ashley filmed a video of himself lip-syncing along to the song IDGAF by Dua Lipa, specifically the lines which state: “If you think I was born yesterday, you have got me wrong. So I cut you off, I don’t need your love because I already cried enough. I’ve been done, I’ve been moving on.”
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He then captioned the video: “When Karen tries to hide the polystyrene in her recycling bin.”
While polystyrene cannot be recycled, it can go in your general waste bin, so it’s still very easy to dispose of it at home. Many commenters on the video pointed this out, stating there’s no need to try to “hide” the rubbish in the recycling bin, as it can easily be put in the other bin.
One person said: “I checked on my council site, and they said you can put it in your black bin as it can’t go out with recycling.”
Another added: “That’s why I put it in the black bin!”
But several others argued they would continue putting “whatever” they wanted in “either bin”. Some claimed they pay for bin collection in the council tax, so binmen should take their rubbish regardless of what’s inside – but that’s not the way bin collection works, as each type of bin is processed in a different way.
Meanwhile, the same binman also previously shared a common item that could stop your general waste from being collected, too. He claimed there’s one product people often throw in the bin without thinking, but binmen won’t take it if they spot it, as it can be very dangerous.
He said he will never collect a rubbish bin containing a vape, due to the significant danger it presents. Vapes are classed as battery waste and electrical waste, and can be dangerous and hard to process in household rubbish.
They contain electronics, and in many places, they’re treated as WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment), which is collected separately for safe handling.
Disposable vapes were actually made illegal to sell in the UK back in June, so even if you do own a vape, it shouldn’t be one that can carelessly be thrown in the bin either way.