How Recycling and Waste Sorting Work in Luxembourg

Luxembourg runs one of Europe's most thorough household waste-sorting systems, built on the principle "recycle more, pay less": the better you separate your waste, the smaller your residual bin can be and the lower your collection charge. The exact bins, bag colours and pickup days depend on your commune, but the streams below are common across the country. The figures here use the Ville de Luxembourg system as a reference.

Residual waste (black bin)

Every household has at least one black bin for residual (general) waste — everything that genuinely cannot be sorted into another stream. In Luxembourg City this is collected weekly, and you can choose a smaller bin (e.g. 60 litres) to cut your bill. Because charges are weighted toward residual waste, sorting correctly directly saves money.

Paper and cardboard (blue bin)

The blue bin (sometimes called the Pabeierkuerf) takes clean paper and cardboard: newspapers, magazines, office paper, notebooks and cardboard packaging such as egg cartons. Keep out greasy, wet or laminated paper, and never put thermal till receipts here.

Plastic, metal and cartons — the Valorlux blue bag (sac bleu)

The national packaging scheme Valorlux runs the blue bag, known as the sac bleu and historically labelled PMC (plastic, metal, cartons). It is collected door-to-door on a fixed calendar — typically every two weeks. Accepted items include:

• Plastic bottles and flasks (PET and HDPE) of all colours;
• Plastic pots, tubs, trays and cups (PP, PS and PET trays — Valorlux has expanded the bag beyond bottles), plus PE and PP film;
• Metal packaging — steel cans and aluminium;
• Beverage cartons (Tetra-style drink cartons).

Empty and lightly scrape containers, but you do not need to wash them. Keep out: glass, paper and cardboard, polystyrene/Styrofoam (EPS), compostable or biodegradable plastics, and anything still full of food. Order bags free from Valorlux or pick them up from your commune, and check your pickup days on the Valorlux collection calendar.

Glass (bottle banks)

Glass bottles and jars go to bottle banks — the green containers placed around town (in some northern cantons these are yellow). Remove caps, lids and metal or plastic sleeves first; the glass is crushed and impurities such as labels and lids are separated by friction, so contaminants reduce quality. No drinking glasses, ceramics, mirrors or light bulbs — those are not container glass.

Organic and food waste (brown bin)

The brown bin (the Bi'tonne) takes biodegradable waste: kitchen scraps, peelings, fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, tea bags, coffee grounds, cut flowers, plants and grass. This is composted, so plastic bags — even "compostable" ones — are a frequent contaminant to avoid.

Bulky waste, textiles and recycling centres

Bulky waste (furniture, large items) is collected on request or dropped at a recycling centre. Textiles — wearable clothing and shoes — go in the dedicated containers marked "TEXTILES" run by charities. Across the country, more than 20 recycling centres (parcs de recyclage) accept wood, scrap metal, garden waste, electronics, bulky items and construction debris that does not fit kerbside streams.

Hazardous and problem waste (SuperDrecksKëscht)

Hazardous and "problem" waste is handled by SuperDrecksKëscht (SDK), Luxembourg's national scheme. It covers paint and solvents, batteries, chemicals, fluorescent tubes, and electrical and electronic devices (WEEE). You can drop these at SDK resource centres and recycling parks, or use the mobile collections that tour communes on published dates — see the calendar on sdk.lu. Never put these items in any household bin.

Deposits and returns

Some items can also be returned for a refund. Luxembourg adopted a deposit-return law in 2022 for beverage packaging, with the deposit per container set by regulation, and shops already take back certain packaging. Returnable items are an additional channel alongside the bins above.

Why correct sorting matters

Contamination is the enemy of recycling. One greasy pizza box in the blue bin, a plastic bag in the brown bin, or food residue in the blue bag can spoil an entire batch and send it to incineration. Sorting well is also financial: lighter residual bins mean lower charges. When in doubt, use your commune's Recycling A–Z guide or the Valorlux item search.

Last reviewed: June 2026. Collection rules vary by commune — check your commune and the official sources linked above.