Last chance to have your say
Do you want to see changes in your waste and recycling collection? Are you happy with the service currently? Then let us know.
Our current waste and recycling collection contract expires in 2026, and we want to hear from residents throughout the decision making process.
The first phase of public engagement finishes this Friday (19 November), so don't miss out on the chance to tell us what your priorities are when it comes to waste and recycling.
Garden waste price drop
Reminder to residents that Garden waste collection for the rest of 2021-22 costs £35 as the price has dropped from this month (1 November).
If you subscribe to our garden waste collection service, we will provide a 240 litre brown wheelie bin and a fortnightly collection for you to deposit your garden clippings, grass cuttings, leaves and weeds. If you'd like to order a brown bin, you can do so via the garden waste webpage.
If you order now your subscription will cover until 27 May 2022.
Don't produce much garden waste? Then why not consider the 75 litre compostable garden waste sacks. These cost £1.10 each and you can order them on the brown sack collection webpage.
What happens to your recycling?
Food waste within the borough has increased by 0.9 tonnes. We increased our food waste from 5.2 tonnes in 2019/20 to 6.1 in 2020/21!
We have to keep up the fight on food waste. Across the borough the average blue general waste bag still contains 25 per cent food waste. Every time food goes in the blue bags it means we are paying twice, once for the food and again to get it disposed of.
As well as the financial cost, there is the added environmental cost as well. One of the council’s goals is to drive up the borough’s recycling rate to help us on our journey to be carbon neutral by 2030.
If global food waste was a country, it would be the third largest contributor of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere after China and America. Get involved if you’re not already and help us change that.
Don't throw out your batteries
Batteries of all kinds, from the triple AAAs in your TV remote right up to car batteries, should not be put in any bin.
They should be taken to one of our recycling centres where we will ensure they are reused as much as possible. The batteries contain important resources and chemicals so should always be recycled. They are also a fire hazard when not disposed of in the right way – do you remember the fire in one of our collection vehicles earlier this year?
There are dozens of recycling points for small batteries across the borough, including at local supermarkets. You can check your nearest points by going onto the Recycle Now website.
Thank you for recycling your food waste
Recycling saves money, benefits the environment, helps the economy and creates jobs. Around 70% of the rubbish that we throw away can be recycled – much of this, at home, through your kerbside recycling collection.
Making products out of recycled, rather than raw, materials uses considerably less energy. It also means that energy does not need to be used to extract and transport raw materials. Using less energy also means that we release less greenhouse gases into the environment, helping us to reduce the impact of global warming.
Visit the re3 webpage where they explain what happens to everyday household items such as plastic bottles, tin cans, plastic packaging, cardboard and paper, and want they can be made into.
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