 Bank Holiday collections - don't miss out!
We'd like to remind you that waste collections will be taking place as usual over the upcoming Bank Holiday.
However, our teams will hit the streets from 5.30am, an hour earlier than usual - so please be sure to put your waste out in good time to avoid being missed.
Thanks in advance for your co-operation and have a lovely weekend. If you want to check your collection day, use the tool on our website.
 Did you know about our garden waste collections?
Across the borough, more than 24,000 green-fingered residents are already signed up for our garden waste collection scheme.
This fortnightly service takes away garden clippings, grass cuttings, leaves and weeds from the kerbside in a 240-litre brown wheeled bin. It allows residents to have 6,240 tonnes of green material collected each year – more than one large skip.
New subscribers
If you'd like to use this service, you can now sign up using the button below, with the cost covering the period from April 2022 until March 2023.
The annual cost of the service is £70 between 1 April 2022 to 31 March 2023. If you join later in the year, the cost will be reduced to:
- £60 from 1 June to 30 September
- £35 from 1 October to 31 December
For existing subscribers, the renewal period will start on 1 June because we extended the service this year for 2021-22 subscribers. This followed a period when collections were suspended due to coronavirus and a national shortage of drivers.
For those already using the service, we are reducing the term this year from 12 months to 10 months. The cost is £60 for the period 1 June 2022 to 31 March 2023.
Ad-hoc collections
If you would like to have your garden waste collected, but don't want to subscribe for a full year, consider buying some of our brown sacks. They cost £1.15 each, are fully compostable and hold up to 75 litres.
Sacks can be ordered online and collected from more than 10 locations across the borough. On first purchase, you'll be registered with the service so that the collection team know to keep an eye out on their route.
 What happens to my garden waste?
Did you know?
Each year across the re3 partnership area (Reading, Bracknell Forest and Wokingham Borough), about 24,000 tonnes of garden waste is composted? That's around the same weight as the Statue of Liberty!
What happens to my garden waste?
All green garden waste collected from kerbsides, as well as re3 recycling centres, is taken to composting sites and broken down in long heaps called windrows which are turned so they break down evenly.
The finished product, which takes 12 weeks to produce, is sold as re3grow, a high quality, peat-free compost, during spring and summer months at both recycling centres at £4 per 40 litre bag or £11 for three bags.
re3grow is an ideal example of the circular economy, showing how waste is a resource which is recycled into something useful.
I want to know the science!
The compost conforms to BSI PAS 100, a widely-accepted industry standard, and the Compost Quality Protocol.
Fresh garden waste is initially screened then shredded and matured. It's also sanitised by keeping it at between 65 and 80ºC for at least seven consecutive days to kill off weeds, seeds and germs.
 Composting at home
You may want to have a go at making your own compost, allowing you to buy some extra plants and flowers with the money you would have spent on shop-bought.
As well as garden waste, many other things can be added to your compost bin. Here are 14 things you can add to your compost heap.
- Egg shells
- Human and pet hair and nail clippings
- Teabags and coffee grounds
- Shredded paper
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Animal manure (strictly from vegetarian pets only!)
- Fruit and vegetable peelings
- Toilet roll tubes
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Stale wine and beer
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Balsa wood boxes, such as the ones commonly sold with Camembert cheeses
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Used masking tape (not plastic-based sticky tape)
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Feathers
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Lint from the tumble dryer filter
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Ashes from the barbecue
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Used tissues
Visit Greenredeem for more tips and ideas for composting, and earn points that you can redeem against prizes, goods and donations at the same time.
Your next newsletter
There will be no Rubbish and Recycling newsletter next week (4 May) because of restrictions on how we communicate with you in the run-up to borough council elections on 5 May. We'll return to our usual longer weekly editions from 11 May.
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