Rubbish and Recycling in Barcelona: Bins, Times and Furniture
Which bin takes what, when you may take rubbish down, how the free street-by-street furniture collection works and where the green points take the rest.
Barcelona separates household waste into five streams: yellow for packaging, blue for paper and cardboard, green for glass, brown for organic waste and grey for everything else. Organic and general waste may only be taken down between 8 pm and 10 pm. Old furniture goes out free on your street’s assigned evening.
Which bin takes what?
The Ajuntament (Barcelona City Council) uses the same five colors across the city. The city’s waste collection pages and its recycling guide list what goes where:
| Bin | Put in | Keep out |
|---|---|---|
| Yellow: packaging | Plastic bottles and bags, yogurt pots, drink cans, cartons (brics), metal caps, aluminum foil, cling film, polystyrene trays, plastic plates and cups | Paper, cardboard or glass packaging |
| Blue: paper and cardboard | Boxes, newspapers, magazines, notebooks without metal spirals, envelopes, paper bags, wrapping paper | Plastic-coated paper, cartons, greasy kitchen paper |
| Green: glass | Glass bottles and jars, without caps | Broken drinking glasses, flat glass, mirrors, ceramics, plates, light bulbs, fluorescent tubes |
| Brown: organic | Food scraps, eggshells, nutshells, corks, tea bags, coffee grounds, dirty kitchen paper and napkins, plant trimmings | Sweepings, hair, diapers, animal waste, clean paper |
| Grey: general waste (rebuig) | Diapers, sanitary products, cigarette butts, sweepings, hair, used pens and pencils | Anything that fits one of the other four bins |
If you are unsure about an item, the city’s online waste finder (cercador de residus) at barcelona.cat tells you where it goes.
When can you take rubbish down?
In areas with street containers, pneumatic chutes or manual bag collection, the city’s recycling guide sets these hours as of November 2026:
- Organic and general waste: 8 pm to 10 pm.
- Paper and cardboard, glass and packaging: 8 am to 10 pm.
Waste always goes inside the container, never on the ground beside it. Bags of rubbish should not go into street litter bins either. Leaving waste beside a container or outside the permitted hours breaks municipal rules and can lead to a fine.
Where does door-to-door collection apply?
Two areas have no general street bins and collect waste at each doorway instead: the old center of Sarrià, where the system started in 2018, and Sant Andreu de Palomar. The city has said it will extend it to other neighborhoods, such as Horta and Sant Antoni, without a fixed date.
In Sarrià, residents leave each type of waste outside between 8 pm and 10 pm on set days, using a brown bin for organic waste, yellow bags for packaging and grey bags for general waste; paper goes out loose or in a box. Glass still goes to green street containers. If you move into either area, the district office or the city’s collection calendar search tells you your days.
How do you get rid of furniture and bulky items?
Every street in Barcelona has a fixed weekday for free furniture collection.
- Find your street’s day on the city’s procedures portal, or call 010 or the civic line on 900 226 226.
- On that evening, leave the items in front of your building’s door between 8 pm and 10 pm.
- Sofas, mattresses, doors, chairs, wooden boxes and broken blinds are accepted. Rubble and toilets from building work are not.
- Fridges, freezers and air conditioners must go to a green point instead.
If you cannot wait for your day, the city also offers a paid home pickup on weekdays, requested through its online procedures office. It is free for people with a disability certificate and for people with reduced mobility who have no one to carry the items down.
What are green points?
Green points (punts verds) take what the street bins cannot. There are three kinds:
- Area green points (de zona): large sites on the city’s edge for bulky items, flat glass, large appliances, rubble, pruning waste and old furniture. Free for private residents.
- Neighborhood green points (de barri): small centers inside the city for clothes, shoes, ink cartridges, electrical and electronic devices, cooking oil, cables, batteries, paint, aerosols, light bulbs and coffee capsules, among other items.
- Mobile green points: trucks with weekly stops at fixed times.
Using them pays off. With the green points card, regular use earns a discount on the city’s household waste fee, which is charged on the water bill: from 1% for two visits a year up to 14% for 15 or more, as of November 2026.
Bottom line
Ask for a green points card on your first visit, since the discount on your water bill only counts visits made with it. Look up your street’s furniture day before you move in or out, so you do not end up storing a mattress for a week. If you are leaving a rented flat, clear anything that is yours before the final walk-through; our guides to the rental contract and the rental deposit explain the handover.
FAQ
Where do medicines and batteries go?
Leftover medicines go to the SIGRE collection points in pharmacies. Batteries go to special containers in markets and shops, or to a green point.
Can I leave clothes in the grey bin?
Used clothes and shoes go to a neighborhood green point or a Roba Amiga clothing container. The city also collects larger amounts of clothing from homes for free; call 010.
Who do I call about an overflowing container?
Report it to the Ajuntament through 010 or its online incident and complaints service.
