COUNCIL RECYCLING
RECYCLING - WHY RECYCLE?
Did you know that on average each household in the country borough produces one tonne of waste every year of
which 60% can be recycled?
By reducing the waste we produce, re-using items or recycling we can help save natural resources, save energy
and landfill space, whilst helping to preserve the environment for future generations.
SOME THINGS YOU CAN DO INCLUDE:
REDUCE
Reduce the amount of your waste that needs to be disposed of - buy products with less packaging and start to
compost your garden and kitchen vegetable waste at home.
REPAIR
Repair things - don't always replace damaged goods with new ones.
RE-USE
Re-use things such as bottles, carrier bags and refillable containers.
RECYCLE
Recycle things - use your local recycling facilities and kerbside collection scheme.
Recycling is the process of using waste manufactured products to produce new products. Recycling uses less
energy and causes less pollution than using raw materials.
REDUCES THE DEMAND FOR RAW MATERIALS
Lessening the impact of extraction and transportation created at the point where the raw material is extracted.
Activities such as mining, quarrying and logging can be environmentally destructive, destroying the natural
environment and precious local wildlife habitats. Although some materials for recycling need to be transported
around the UK, the impact of this is significantly less than that of transporting raw materials from often-remote
locations in other parts of the world.
Recycling uses less energy than producing goods from virgin material, and also results in fewer emissions.
The manufacture of bags made from recycled rather than virgin polythene reduces energy consumption by twothirds, produces only a third of the sulphur dioxide and half of the nitrous oxide, uses only one-eighth of the
water, and reduces carbon dioxide generation.
REDUCES WASTE GOING TO LANDFILL
Disposal to landfill involves high transportation costs, as landfill sites are an increasingly long way from large urban
areas where most domestic waste is produced.
Modern landfill sites are constructed to high standards but environmental concerns remain, including release of
methane gas, a greenhouse gas with 20 times the impact of carbon dioxide, and the leaking of synthetic
chemicals, heavy metals and bacteria into the soil and watercourses.
THE COST OF RECYCLING
The level of recycling in the UK is comparatively low compared to other European countries such as Germany and
Sweden. There are fewer recycling and reprocessing plants, higher storage and transportation costs, and smaller
markets for recycled products.
As recycling increases, it will become cheaper and easier to take part. For this to happen there needs to be an
increase in the availability and consumption of recycled products to stimulate a demand for recycled material. This
process of supply and demand is called "closing the loop".
In addition, changes in environmental legislation, such as the recent packaging regulations requiring producers to
produce recyclable packaging waste, will inevitably lead to an increase in reprocessing and recycling plants in the
UK, making it easier and cheaper for local authorities, and consequently individuals, to recycle.
RECYCLED PRODUCTS
Recycled products today can be made to the same standards as products made from raw materials. Many
products do not even state their recycled content as some might consider this a sign of inferiority. New
technology is constantly improving the quality of recycled material, and design and process improvements have
meant that very high grades of recycled products are now being produced.
For instance, recycled paper is now available at similar standards to high quality virgin paper and will function
perfectly in printers and photocopiers.
Look out for products with recycled content, because recycling has not actually happened until we buy the
products made from recycled material.
RECYCLING BANKS AND OTHER FACILITIES
You can take a significant proportion of your household waste to local recycling banks and household waste
recycling centres. Some households may not be within easy walking distance of a recycling bank and you may be
forced to use a car, requiring energy and resources, which can cancel out some of the environmental benefits of
recycling.
Don't make a special car journey to recycle your waste, or better still, walk to the recycling banks. Try not to use
the recycling banks after 9pm if they are in a residential area because dropping glass into the banks can be quite
noisy.
96% of the Country Borough now has a kerbside recycling scheme. 55L green boxes are distributed to each
property for the householder to fill with clean segregated materials for recycling, such as glass, aluminium, plastic
bottles, paper, magazines and textiles.
These containers are then collected and the separated waste is sent for recycling. Kerbside schemes make it easy
and convenient for householders to recycle, and reduce any separate journeys to the recycling centre.
Successful kerbside schemes in many areas have proved that this is the most successful method of increasing
recycling rates and diverting waste from landfill disposal.
WASTE AND RECYCLING
The country achieved a 48 per cent recycling and composting rate at the end of May 2011. However we need to
reach a 52 per cent recycling and composting rate by the end of April 2012.
BIN COLLECTIONS
COLLECTION DAYS
Orange lidded bin and green wheelie bin
Waste that cannot be recycled is collected from your green wheelie bin once a fortnight. Garden trimmings and
cardboard are collected from the orange lidded bins once a fortnight on your usual collection day, on the week
when your rubbish bin is not collected.
For most houses, recycling is collected weekly on the same day as your green wheelie bin.
HOUSEHOLD WASTE RECYCLING CENTRE
The Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) located at the entrance of the landfill site on Docks Way, is where
residents can take household rubbish for recycling or composting, or as a last resort, for burial in landfill.
Please pre-sort your rubbish as far as possible because much of it can be recycled in one stop by using the
different bins provided.Residents may leave a maximum of 5 black bags a week in the landfill skips.
The HWRC is free to use for domestic customers only. Please do not bring a van to dispose of any household waste
or you may be classed as a commercial user and charged.
OPENING TIMES (PUBLIC ONLY)
7.30AM – 6.00PM
RECYCLING AT HWRC
Separate your waste before you visit and use the different areas and containers to recycle each material type.
No vehicles are allowed onto the site during the last 15 minutes before closing time so that people already using
the site have enough time to unload.
Proof of residency within the country may be required if site staff consider rubbish may have come from a
commercial activity.
The HWRC is very busy on bank holiday weekends so please avoid visiting on these days if you can.
HEIGHT RESTRICTION
A height restriction barrier is in place from 3.15 pm weekdays, from 10.45 am on Saturdays and all day on
Sundays.
Use of the HWRC is restricted for vans/commercial vehicles.
HEALTH AND SAFETY
The HWRC is a busy site with traffic movements, loading and unloading activities so users should:
Be aware of vehicle movements and/or people moving large items
Ensure children and animals remain in the vehicle at all times
Wear sensible clothing and footwear on the site
BRING BANKS IN THE CITY
If you do not have access to the HWRC on Docks Way, take your recycling items to one of the country’s 16 bring
banks.
YOU CAN RECYCLE THE FOLLOWING ITEMS AT THE HWRC

Clothes, textiles and

Scrap Metal

Wood and timber

Cartons (tetrapak)

Garden trimmings

Vegetable Oil

Cardboard

Fridges and freezers

Newspapers and magazines

Televisions

Shredded paper

Media bank for books/ cd's/dvd's 
All
(pre-recorded originals)
items
shoes
Large
and
Household
Appliances
small
Plastic bottles and containers

Low energy bulbs

Rigid plastics ( Large plastic items – must
have recycle symbol PP5 or HDPE 2)
monitors


electrical

Plasterboard (clean pieces, no foam backed)

Hardcore, rubble and soil

Car tyres (limit of 2 car tyres per resident)

Engine Oil

Glass bottles and jars

Household batteries

Car batteries

Cans and tins

Fluorescent tubes

Plastic bottles and containers
ASBESTOS
• Small amounts of asbestos can be deposited only in accordance with the site asbestos acceptance procedure
(separate document)
GAS BOTTLES
• Only one standard gas bottle (commonly used for domestic purposes) can be accepted at the HWRC
• The largest size bottle acceptable is 19 kilograms
• When bringing a gas bottle to the site please seek assistance from an attendant to ensure the bottle is placed
into the secure storage area
• Under no circumstances should a cylinder be placed into any of the scrap metal or waste skips