 More about waste changes coming in post
We've almost finished delivering more than 67,000 black wheeled rubbish bins to households across the borough as part of our upcoming waste collection changes.
The service is changing in the week beginning Monday, 12 August - and to help you get ready, we're posting a leaflet with lots of information about how it works.
You'll be keeping your usual collection day, but rubbish will be collected once a fortnight from the new wheeled bins instead of the weekly blue bag collection.
Recycling will also go fortnightly, on weeks when rubbish isn't collected, from the usual green bags.
Food waste will still be collected weekly, so be sure to pick up a food bin or extra green bags free of charge from our collection hubs if you need them.
By recycling all you can, and eliminating waste where possible, you're not just helping the planet - it'll ensure there's enough space in your rubbish bin.
 Change is around the corner, so what's next?
Look out for your leaflet, as it includes a collection week calendar until July 2025 and also explains how to put your rubbish and recycling out for our crews.
You'll need to put your waste out correctly or it won't be collected, but don't worry - it's really easy, and we'll be sharing more details online too.
We recommend keeping your leaflet somewhere visible, like on your fridge, to keep track of what to put out each week - but you'll also be able to check your collection weeks on our website soon.
Some streets will have a rubbish collection in the first week while others start with recycling, so don't worry if your friends or relatives got a different version of the leaflet. Your leaflet will be the correct version for your address.
Finally, please don't forget - you can't use your new rubbish bin until the service changes. Keep using your last few blue bags for the next few weeks.
Thank you for your support over many months as we've worked on these changes - and please keep passing our updates to anyone who might find them useful.
 Putting your waste out: some key points for August
Please remember that, once the service changes, we'll only collect one full rubbish bin with the lid fully closed and no extra waste in any other containers.
If your bin is overfilled, it won't be emptied - though it should be easy to avoid this by recycling all you can.
You should leave your waste at the boundary of your property, without blocking the street, and where access isn't blocked by a wall or fence.
If you live on a private road, you'll have to leave your waste at the boundary with the nearest public road or pavement, and not just at the end of your path or drive.
 Don't let your passion for fashion hurt the planet
New research by waste reduction charity WRAP shows that people are throwing almost half (49 per cent) of their used textiles in the rubbish.
A typical UK resident throws 35 items of unwanted clothing straight into the bin when at least some could have a new lease of life. In England alone, 613,000 tonnes of textile waste was thrown away in the past year.
If your used clothes are still wearable, consider giving them away or selling them, donating to a charity shop or putting in your nearest textile recycling bank.
You should also ask whether you need new clothes in the first place, as the market is being flooded with cheap "fast fashion" items. This makes it harder for reuse and recycling organisations to keep running.
Making clothes has a huge impact on the environment, from emitting the gases that cause climate change to polluting waters with plastic, so we all need to play our part in making fashion more sustainable.
Get it patched up at repair café
If you have clothes that need mending or adjusting, take them to the repair café at Lambs Lane Primary School in Spencers Wood on Sunday (10am to 1pm).
Their volunteers will be on hand to help you fix any other household items as well, like bicycles, gardening tools, laptops and more.
DID YOU KNOW? The UK now buys more clothes per head than any other country in Europe, a trend WRAP calls "hugely worrying". Textile production is the cause of about 20 per cent of the world's water pollution and 10 per cent of its greenhouse gas emissions.
 Old uniforms: the right fit for another child?
If you have any unneeded or outgrown school uniforms, donate them to First Days Children's Charity.
This local charity accepts summer and winter uniforms, as well as school items like lunchboxes, rucksacks, football boots and water bottles. Please make sure they are clean and in good quality.
To drop off your donated items, make an appointment online before heading to First Days’ headquarters at Molly Millars Lane, Wokingham (RG41 2QZ). Alternatively, put them in one of their orange or pink donation bins.
First Days has a ‘Uniform Shop’ just over the road from The Elevate Centre at 3 Denmark Court (RG40 2AZ). It is open every Thursday from 3pm to 6pm for families in need to get low-cost uniforms.
 National campaign shares our waste change goals
Recycle Week, the annual flagship campaign of Recycle Now, has announced its theme for this year.
It will be based on the slogan "Rescue Me" and will focus on rescuing items from the rubbish bin that ought to be recycled instead.
This is a big part of why we're changing our waste collections, as the new service will encourage people to think more carefully about what goes where.
We already recycle 55 per cent of our household waste, which is fantastic, but we could make that 70 per cent if we recycled all we could.
If we hit that figure, we'd be the first area in the country to do so - and that would push us straight to the top of the recycling league tables!
Recycle Week will run from 14 to 20 October and will urge people to recycle at least one extra item per day - but why not give that a go now?
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