Gray bin for mixed waste
All homes in Reykjavík have gray waste bins for mixed household waste. A gray bin is 240-liters in size, but if you live in a multi-family dwelling, you can request a larger container for mixed waste. If you have a small amount of mixed household waste, you can get a smaller gray bin, a thrifty bin, which is both smaller and cheaper.
How much does the gray bin cost?
What can go in the gray bin?
Mixed waste
- Vacuum cleaner bags
- Disposable diapers
- Disposable sanitary pads
- Wet wipes
What can NOT go in the gray bin?
- Metals
- Glass
- Textiles
- Plastics
- Food leftovers
- Recyclable paper or cardboard
- Textiles
- Refundable beverage containers
- Garden waste
- Masonry fragmentation
- Minerals
- Coarse waste, such as timber and scrap metals
- Electrical equipment
- Batteries
- Toxic waste
- Medicines
Questions and answers
What can go in the gray bin and thrifty bin?
Gray bins (including the thrifty bin) are for mixed household waste. Examples for mixed household waste:
- Vacuum cleaner bags
- Disposable diapers
- Disposable sanitary pads
- Wet wipes
What cannot go in the gray bin:
- Food leftovers
- Recyclable paper or cardboard
- Textiles
- Refundable beverage containers
- Garden waste
- Masonry fragmentation
- Minerals
- Coarse waste, such as timber and scrap metals
- Electrical equipment
- Batteries
- Toxic waste
- Medicines
Do I need to order a gray bin or a thrifty bin?
Residents must have access to a bin for mixed waste at their home.
The gray bin is designed to hold up to 240 liters of mixed waste, but single-family households with smaller amounts of waste may opt for the 120 liter thrifty bin, which is more cost-effective than the gray bin.
Residents of multi-family housing may request a 660 liter container, if conditions allow.
How much does the gray bin cost?
For pricing information on gray bins and thrifty bins, please refer to the Waste Collection Fees.
These fees are included with property taxes, and in Reykjavík they vary based on the number of bins, container size, collection rate, distance to unload the container, and the type of waste. The fees will be updated the same week a request to change the bins is made.
How many times a month are gray bins and thrifty bins emptied?
Gray bins and thrifty bins are generally collected every 14 days.
You can check the waste collection calendarto find out when your waste will be collected. This calendar is organized by City district.
What happens if the wrong product is sorted into a gray bin or a thrifty bin?
If the waste is incorrectly sorted in the gray bin, it is not emptied. Before the bin can be emptied, you need to remove the misclassified waste. The bin will then be emptied on the next collection day, after more than two weeks. If the bin needs to be emptied before then, you can:
- Contact the City of Reykjavík and request an additional waste-collection pick-up to be paid for according to the table of fees.
- Bring the misclassified waste from the bin to the nearest drop-off center or recycling center.