Last updated:
25th October 2024
Recycling
- We provide green, sealable, waterproof recycling bags for you to put your recycling in.
- You can put out as many recycling bags as you can fill with items we collect at the kerbside.
- Find out when your bins and waste will be collected.
- Extra green recycling bags can be collected from a local hub.
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
- Seal your recycling bags when you put them outside. This ensures that the paper and cardboard inside is kept dry and can be recycled.
- 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.
- 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.
- All items must be placed loose (not in plastic bags) in the bags.
- All items can be recycled together.
- Wash and squash items like bottles and tins to make the most of the space in your bags.
- Rinse out tins and bottles to keep the bags clean and stop smells.
| Yes please | No, thank you |
|---|---|
| Cartons, no lids | Batteries and used vapes |
| Cosmetic pots and tubs, no lids | Black plastic food trays |
| 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 |
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.
