Changes to rubbish and recycling collections
Starting from late summer or early autumn next year (2024), you will have your general rubbish collected one week and recycling the next. Your food waste will continue to be collected every week.
You will receive a wheeled bin to replace the current blue plastic bags for storing and putting out your general rubbish.
Exceptions
Residents living in flats or properties with narrow access will be excluded from the changes. We'll be doing further survey work to look at how suitable certain property types are for the changes.
Exceptions will be made for those with genuine concerns about the changes, like large families with children. The details of the changes will be considered and shared with residents before roll out.
Financial and environmental benefits
In 2021, we commissioned the independent consultancy WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) to carry out in-depth analysis and modelling on different ways to collect waste in the borough.
Their findings show that fortnightly rubbish and recycling collections alongside weekly food waste collections can help increase the borough's recycling rate from the current 54 per cent to 64 per cent and save us £500,000 in the 2024/25 financial year and £1 million per year after that.
Bin collections continue on bank holidays
Rubbish and recycling collections will continue on the Good Friday (7 April) and Easter Monday (10 April) bank holidays.
Our crews will start earlier at 5.30am on both days, an hour earlier than usual. Please be sure to put out your waste the night before to avoid being missed.
Check your collection day on our website, if needed.
Did you know?
|
|
Can I recycle black plastic tubs or trays?
No. At the recycling plant, plastic packaging is sorted into different types of plastic for reprocessing using the Near infra-red (NIR) technology. As black plastic is coloured using carbon black pigments which don’t reflect light properly, it is hard to be detected by the machine and sorted for recycling.
Market demand for black plastic is very low. It is considered a low grade material, which would have to be downcycled - meaning it is turned into low quality plastic that can't be recycled again.
|
Free paint to collect at recycling centres
Do you need any paint for your home improvement project?
Next time when you visit re3 recycling centres in Reading or Bracknell, look out for the yellow paint cabinets on site. They keep a selection of water-based paint tins, which are free to take.
Every year, more than 100,000 litres of paint is disposed of at re3 recycling centres by residents in its service areas, out of which 65 per cent is still in usable condition.
The 're3paint – Community Paint Reuse' scheme redistributes leftover paints to help residents and community groups save money and reduce unnecessary waste.
If you have any paint left in your house, bring it to one of the re3 recycling centres, instead of putting it out with your general rubbish. Check if your paint is suitable for reuse or find out more on the re3 website.
Money saving tips for your Easter feast
Easter is a time for get-togethers with family and friends. You may want to start planning for the Easter Sunday meal, but are unsure how much food you need to buy and cook to avoid waste and save money.
The Food Portion Calculator calculates a recommended average portion size for the type of food you're making, from pasta to potatoes. It helps you take away the guesswork and reduce the amount of food waste.
Make your feast go further
If you end up cooking too much, store your leftovers in the fridge for up to two days for an easy lunch the next day. You can also freeze and use them another time.
The food guides and recipes on the Love Food Hate Waste website help make your food go further. There are many useful tips on what foods can be frozen and how to use up leftover ingredients in some pretty tasty recipes.
Correction
In the last issue (15 March), we talked about recycling of glass bottles in the 'Did you know' column.
We would like to clarify that keeping lids and caps on when recycling glass bottles will reduce the chance of the lids and caps, not the glass bottles, getting lost during the sorting process at the recycling plant.
|