Last updated:

21st October 2025

Recycling

Collecting your recycling every 2 weeks

We collect your recycling from your green bags every other week. This is on the weeks when we don’t empty your household rubbish bin.

The system of fortnightly collections, alternating weekly, is widely used elsewhere. It has a long, proven track record of:

  • Increasing recycling rates
  • Being simple to follow

It's not possible to collect recycling weekly because:

  • Our existing vehicles collect your household rubbish on one week and recycling the next.
  • The vehicles have two main sections, one for rubbish and another for recycling. Both will be filled with rubbish one week and recycling the next.
  • They all have a separate collection area for food, so this can still be collected weekly alongside either rubbish or recycling.
  • If we wanted to collect two weeks’ worth of rubbish at the same time as a week’s worth of recycling, we’d need two vehicles for each household and this wouldn’t be practical.

Top tips for recycling

  1. Seal your recycling bags when you put them outside. This ensures that the paper and cardboard inside is kept dry and can be recycled.
  2. Large cardboard should be cut down or folded into pieces small enough to fit into the sealed recycling bags as the card must be dry on collection.
  3. Don't leave large cardboard to the side of your recycling bags as this won't be collected by the crew. The alternative is to take large cardboard to the recycling centres.
  4. All items must be placed loose (not in plastic bags) in the bags.
  5. All items can be recycled together.
  6. Wash and squash items like bottles and tins to make the most of the space in your bags.
  7. Rinse out tins and bottles to keep the bags clean and stop smells. 

What can I recycle?

Yes please No, thank you
Cartons, no lids Batteries and used vapes
Cosmetic pots and tubs, no lids Black plastic food trays and polystyrene
Empty drinks and food cans Coffee pods use the nearest take-back scheme
Empty aerosols Food waste
Foil trays and clean foil Glass bottles and jars - use the nearest bottle bank
Food tubs, margarine, yoghurt and cream pots, snack pots etc. Kitchen towels, tissues, and wet wipes
Paper and card Nappies or sanitary waste
Plastic bottles, drinks, toiletries, bleach and detergents Plant pots
Plastic food trays (not black) Soft plastics, plastic bags, food packets, plastic wrap/film pet food pouches
Shredded paper contained in an envelope/cardboard box Textiles - Use the nearest textile bank

Download the Scrapp App to find out what items you can recycle and where.

Glass 

There are no plans to collect glass at the kerbside immediately. However, we’re reviewing the details of the newly-published Environment Act, which includes glass collection, and will look at all options in future.

For now, we’re happy that most people can easily recycle glass at bottle banks, as we’ve found that less than four per cent of a typical blue bag’s contents is glass.

Soft plastics 

There are no plans to collect soft plastics at the kerbside. We’ll be reviewing our waste collection contract in 2026.

Free doorstep collections for clothes, footwear, small household and electrical items

Residents in Wokingham Borough can easily donate unwanted household items straight from their doorstep - free of charge. A new collaboration between the re3 Councils and WRAP is trialling the promotion of the free service operated by Anglo Doorstep Collections (ADC), which runs independently of the councils. 

The ADC doorstep collection service is free and offers residents a convenient way to give pre-loved items a second life while supporting selected charities. Items such as clothing, shoes, small electricals, towels, and children’s toys in good condition will be reused wherever possible for their original intended purpose. For every collection, ADC makes a charitable donation to one of its partner charities and plants a tree for each booking made.

The full list of items Anglo can collect

This is a simple, free and convenient way to declutter your belongings, while supporting a charity. 

How to make a booking

  1. Click the button below to schedule a collection and follow the steps onscreen. You can pick a charity to support and select a collection date.
  2. Put your donations into boxes or bags, ready for the collection day - please check what can or cannot be accepted.
  3. The night before your scheduled collection date you will get an email with a two-hour window telling you when the Anglo team will pick up your donation.
  4. Put your items outside your door on your collection day. There’s no need to be at home, but if you are - you can keep the items indoors and the Anglo driver will knock on your door to collect.

Book your Anglo Doorstep Collection

Collections will only be made once you have made a booking. 

The Anglo service is not suitable for large bulky items, including furniture, but you can book a bulky waste collection from the Council.

The Doorstep Reuse Collection Service operated by Anglo Doorstep Collections will run separately from the Council’s regular recycling and waste collections and bulky waste collection. 

Anglo Doorstep Collections is registered with the Fundraising Regulator as well as being a corporate member of the Charity Retail Association. It is also a certified member of TRUST (Trader Recycling Universal Standard, for traders in second-hand clothing, textiles and household products).

If you experience any issue with the collection, please contact Anglo Doorstep Collections directly. 

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