 Cold weather warning extended again
An amber cold weather alert covering Wokingham Borough has been extended to tomorrow lunchtime (Saturday). Temperatures remain close to or below 0°C.
Here’s some useful information and advice for you to follow for cold weather:
 Recycling on the up, but we can do even better
Residents in Wokingham Borough are recycling more waste than ever – but there’s still room for improvement as we prepare to change kerbside collections this summer.
Our recycling rate is now 57 per cent, meaning well under half (43 per cent) of domestic waste is burned for energy or sent to landfill. Last year’s rate was 54 per cent, while in 2016 it was 34 per cent.
We were most recently 42nd for recycling out of 333 English councils, up from 204th in 2018 and 80th in 2020, and hope for further progress when newer league tables are published.
The total weight of rubbish is also dropping despite the population increasing. Last year, residents discarded 23,898 tonnes compared with 28,334 tonnes in 2015 – a reduction equivalent to over 400 blue whales.
We’re grateful for this as it costs less to recycle waste than dispose of rubbish. This saves money as we, like other local authorities, face unprecedented financial challenges.
However, if everyone recycled all they could, our recycling rate would be 70 per cent – more than any council has ever achieved before. If you’re not sure what you can recycle in your green bags, check our website.
 Join our next job fair in Woodley
We’ll be holding our next job fair at The Oakwood Centre in Woodley (RG5 4JZ) next Thursday 25 January, from 10am to 1.30pm.
It’s free and no need to book, just turn up on the day.
Come and browse current vacancies and apprenticeship opportunities offered by employers from different sectors – local government, education, hospitality, leisure, care and construction.
Our employment support partners will also be there to provide practical career advice, from writing a CV and preparing for interviews to training and upskilling.
 Grab remaining entries for Wokingham Half Marathon
Runners who want to take part in this year’s David Cliff Wokingham Half Marathon are being advised to sign up promptly, with more than 80 per cent of places already taken.
Around 3,500 runners will take to the streets for the borough’s biggest running event of the year on Sunday 25 February, with the event attracting elite and club runners.
It also sees lots of people running for charity and it is estimated that more than £100,000 is raised each year from the event.
Starting and finishing at Cantley Park in Twyford Road, the route runs through the town centre and gives families and friends the chance to cheer on the runners at lots of different stages.
Also returning this year is the Wokingham Children’s Mini-Mile, which was introduced in 2020 and gives young people a chance to be involved and get a medal of their own.
The half marathon starts at 10am and the children’s event follows at approximately 10.15am. Some nearby roads will be impacted due to road closures, which are due to be lifted by 2pm.
 Sign up for e-billing to get quick and easy access
Switch to paperless billing today and you can access your information online at anytime and anywhere.
E-billing is faster and easier for you to pay your Council Tax online, by phone or by direct debit. This is our preferred method as it keeps costs down for you and us by reducing printing and postage.
It is simple, safe and you don’t have to remember to pay your bill each month, as payments are made automatically. Once you sign up, you will receive an email confirmation and a link to access your e-bills.
You will need your Council Tax account number and your email address to register.
Select 'register/sign in to your account' on the webpage accessed using the button below, then on the new page select ‘register’ under under the ‘Access your Council Tax’ heading to start the process.
We included a broken link with a version of this article we ran in Tuesday’s Residents’ Round-up. We apologise for our error and any confusion caused.
What you might have missed
Here are all our newsletter updates from the last week:
You can sign up for email updates on our website.
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