 Photos courtesy of The Sweary Sewer
Label your bin so you know it's yours!
By now you should hopefully be comfortable using your black wheeled rubbish bin, along with your green recycling bags and food waste bin.
Don't forget that if you need a reminder of which waste to put out each week, you can check your collections on our website.
We're still seeing a lot of bins that haven't been labelled with a house number.
It's really important that you do this, so you know which one's yours on collection days. A simple number will do, either written on the front or using stickers.
You're welcome to get more creative if you fancy - you can buy "wrap around" transfers from shops or even paint your bin.
We've seen some great examples, including some hilarious stickers by The Sweary Sewer as well as charity sales of bin number stickers.
We'll be interested to see what ideas you can come up with!
 Recycle more food, but waste less if you can
Since we changed our waste collections in mid-August, we've consistently seen a lot more food waste being recycled in the weekly collections.
We're really pleased to see that, as it's much better for the environment, but we'd also encourage you to look at throwing less food away in the first place.
From only buying what you need to making full use of your freezer, there are lots of ways to prevent unnecessary food waste and save money.
Some facts from Friends of the Earth:
- 50 million chickens are wasted in the UK each year...
- ...and so are 100 million pints of milk
- The average UK family wastes £470 a year on uneaten food
- One-third of all food produced worldwide is wasted
Don't forget: next month will see the launch of Recycle Now's 21st annual Recycle Week campaign, which aims to get everyone thinking twice before they throw their waste in the rubbish. Almost 70 per cent of everything we throw away is recyclable, so ask yourself: does it belong in the bin?
 Virtual waste tours and more in line for award
Our joint waste management partnership has been shortlisted for two industry accolades for its work within Wokingham Borough.
We're proud to announce that re3 is up for the Digital Innovation and Local Authority Success categories in this year's MRW National Recycling Awards.
The first is for its virtual tours, which give residents a glimpse inside the household waste recycling centres in Bracknell and Reading. You can take a tour now if you're planning a visit, but remember to book a slot in advance!
The second shortlisting is for its re3Grow Community Scheme, which generated more than £30,000 in social value by providing schools and community groups with high-quality compost made from recycled garden waste.
The winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on 26 November. re3 is also shortlisted for the Partnership Excellence (Public/Private Sector) title for its work with other councils.
 Bin reminders and more? There's an app for that
The Scrapp app, brought to you by our partners at re3, can now send reminders to put out the right waste on the right day.
Just put your address and postcode in, and Scrapp can tell you when your next rubbish, recycling, food waste and garden waste collections are - as well as scheduling a notification so you don't forget.
But that's not all that Scrapp does. It has a database of more than 36 million products and you can scan the barcodes to find out whether it can be recycled and the best way to do it.
Download now: Scrapp is available for Apple and Android devices.
 Don't let your recycling get wet!
We've had a lot of heavy rain recently, so please make sure you seal your green recycling bags tightly when you put them out.
If you live in a flat and use a bin store, make sure the lids of the recycling bins are closed if they're out in the open.
If recycling gets wet, we have to dispose of it as rubbish - especially if it's paper or cardboard. We need to recycle as much as we can to reduce our carbon emissions as well as saving money.
If you're struggling to fit everything in your green bags, make sure you wash and squash the contents to make best use of the space.
You can also pick up more green bags free of charge from our collection hubs.
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