Recycling FAQs
What time should I put my recycling out?
Our crews work from 6.30am until 7pm. To ensure collection, please make sure your recycling out is on the pavement between these times.
The recycling in my street has not been collected; do I have to wait until the next collection?
Our crews work until approximately 7:00pm. If the recycling for your whole street hasn't been collected by then it will fall onto the next day.
Please check our to see if your street is on the list of missed collections for that day; if it isn't please let us know by calling 01744 676789.
If the recycling in my street has been collected but my recycling has not been emptied, what do I do?
If only your property has been missed please bring it back in and put it out again next time. Please check if you have been given a non-collection card, cards are left if things have been put in the wrong containers, have been left in the wrong place or contain items that can't be recycled. Please check our what goes in what bin? section for advice.
Why can't I have one bin for all recycling?
We offer a segregated recycling collection because it is guaranteed that everything collected at the kerbside is recycled. With a co-mingled collection (recycling that goes into one bin) this isn't guaranteed. Contamination levels can be as high as 20%, which means that this material would go to landfill.
I haven't received an information pack; what do I do?
If you only need your collection dates, please check them online.
I haven't received my recycling container order; what do I do?
Our waiting time is 3-4 weeks for delivery of your order for a black box, blue bag, pink bag and food caddy; please allow this time before chasing up your order. If 4 weeks have passed, please report it to chase up your order.
Can I use plastic carrier bags to line my kitchen caddy?
Yes. The bags no longer need to be biodegradable so you can use plastic bags such as supermarket carrier bags or kitchen bin liners.
I need more caddy bags; what do I do?
Tie one of your food caddy bags to the caddy handle on collection day and the crew will leave you a roll of 52 bags.
I tied a caddy bag to my caddy on collection day but didn't get any bags; what do I do?
Please contact us to request more bags and include your address to to let us know this has happened, and we will arrange for bags to be left on your next collection.
My black box isn't big enough for cardboard, what do you recommend?
Where possible, flat-pack and rip cardboard into pieces that fit into the box. For larger, less frequent purchases, such as TVs, please leave the cardboard at the side of the box for collection or use one of the recycling centres. For details of locations and opening hours, please see our recycling centres page.
Where can I take extra bags that don't fit into my brown bin?
You can use any of the household waste recycling centres; for details see our recycling centres page.
Why can't I recycle other types of plastic that are not bottle-shaped?
The types of plastic we can accept are:
- (PET or PETE1) Polyethylene terephthalate and
- (HDPE2) High density Polyethylene
Our contractor only accepts this type of plastic, which is bottle-shaped. This is because the UK market for other types of plastic is unstable and the majority of it is sent abroad and they cannot guarantee that it is recycled.
What about food and drink cartons (milk, juice, soup etc.) - can I recycle them?
You can recycle these at any household waste recycling centre.
Why can I not recycle cardboard in the green bin anymore?
Anything sent to be recycled in the green bin is chargeable by the tonne, so we were paying for the cardboard to be recycled. We can now claim revenue back for our dry recycling (black box, blue bag, pink bag) so by moving the cardboard into the black box we save on the cost of recycling and also get revenue back.
All revenue from the recycling service is being used as savings to combat the budget cuts.
What are the arrangements for Bank Holidays?
Please check your collection dates for any changes.