Good to know · City hall

Sort and put out household rubbish and recycling in Gijón

Gijón (EMULSA) uses street containers by color: yellow for packaging, blue for paper and cardboard, green for glass, brown (opened with the Tarjeta Ciudadana) for food waste where available, and a general-waste container with set hours; a waste charge is billed with the water account.

Why it matters: Waste rules differ from what many Americans are used to (communal street containers, time windows for general rubbish, a card-opened organic bin). Following them avoids neighbor complaints and potential sanctions, and the waste charge appears on your water bill.
When: You move into a flat in Gijón and need to know where and when to put out rubbish and recyclables.
How long it takes: General waste deposit window: 20:00-23:00 Sunday to Friday; night collection 23:00-06:00 (EMULSA FAQ, March 2021).
Last checked: 6 Oct 2026

Cost: Waste charge for a private home: EUR 18.75 per two-month period in the 2025 ordinance (EUR 15 per bimester in 2024), billed with water; 2026 amount not verified. Recycling in containers is free as long as waste is correctly separated (ordinance). Tarjeta Ciudadana first issuance: free (EMULSA FAQ).

What you need

Use the container color for each material (EMULSA FAQ 2021; COGERSA citizen guide): yellow = light packaging (plastic bottles and containers, metal cans, cartons/briks, thin plastic wrappers), blue = paper and cardboard, green = glass bottles and jars, brown = organic fraction (food scraps, eggshells, bones, used kitchen paper), gray = residual waste (e.g. nappies, hygiene products, cigarette ash).
General (non-recyclable) waste: deposit between 20:00 and 23:00, Sunday to Friday; recyclables have no time restriction (EMULSA FAQ, 2021).
Brown containers open with the Tarjeta Ciudadana; organic waste must go in closed plastic bags without liquids (EMULSA FAQ).
Waste charge: the Ordenanza Local de la Prestación Patrimonial (BOPA 28 Nov 2024) places the obligation to pay each dwelling’s quota automatically on the holder of the water supply contract, with tenants/owners without a water contract as secondary obligors.

Steps

Learn the container colors
Yellow: aluminum/steel cans, plastic drinks bottles, cleaning-product bottles, yoghurt pots, juice cartons/briks (EMULSA FAQ; COGERSA). Blue: newspapers, magazines, books, cardboard boxes (not dirty fish/meat paper, tissues or nappies, per EMULSA FAQ). Green: glass bottles, jars, perfume bottles (not light bulbs, ceramics, plates or mirrors). Gray: everything that fits no other container, e.g. nappies and hygiene products (COGERSA).
Get a Tarjeta Ciudadana for the brown container
The brown organic container opens with the Tarjeta Ciudadana (see GLIFE-0009); the municipal card page lists opening organic containers and entering puntos limpios among its uses and says anyone using municipal services can request it. EMULSA’s FAQ says first issuance is free. Where brown containers exist, put food scraps, coffee grounds, tea bags, eggshells and similar in sealed plastic bags without liquids; not cigarette butts, vacuum dust, nappies or pet waste.
Put general waste out in the evening window
Deposit non-recyclable rubbish in the gray general-waste container between 20:00 and 23:00 Sunday to Friday (EMULSA FAQ, 2021). Collection runs at night (23:00 to 06:00).
Take non-household items elsewhere
Furniture and bulky items, electronics, hazardous waste and garden waste do not go in street containers; see GLIFE-0047 for enseres collection and puntos limpios.
Expect the waste charge on your water bill
The waste service is billed through the water account in six two-month periods; set up or take over the EMA water contract (GLIFE-0018). In the 2025 ordinance the quota for private homes is EUR 18.75 per two-month period (Grupo 7), and reduced-tariff properties EUR 7.00; confirm the current-year amount.

Where

EMULSA - Empresa Municipal de Servicios de Medio Ambiente Urbano de Gijón
Carretera Carbonera, 98, 33211 Gijón
985 14 14 14
Monday to Friday 8:00-15:00 (Carta de Servicios 2021; FAQ 2021 lists enseres line 8:00-14:30)
Tarjeta Ciudadana (needed to open brown containers)
https://drupal.gijon.es/es/tarjeta-ciudadana

Tips

Recyclables (yellow, blue, green, brown) can be deposited at any hour; only general waste has a time window (EMULSA FAQ).
Gijón’s recycling rate was 37.11% in 2021, below the EU 50% target; EMULSA said about 40% of the general-waste container was organic waste, which is why it expanded the brown container (Gijón news, Oct 2021).
In rural parishes containers are placed along main roads linking parishes and at junctions, not near each house (EMULSA FAQ).
The waste charge follows the water account holder; if the water contract is in a landlord’s name, check who pays (ordinance names the water contract holder; tenants are secondary obligors).
Dog waste is the owner’s responsibility under the municipal ordinance, enforced by the Policía Local (EMULSA FAQ).

Official sources

Do these first

See this in your plan. Your steps in order, for your passport and visa.

Open the guide