Changes to the recycling service - October 2008

Download the recycling service changes leaflet(pdf, 497KB).

Will there be any changes to collection days?

No - although as with any change there might be some short term disruption.

What changes are happening in October?

We will be delivering to every household that has access to the doorstep recycling service, a blue recycling box, and asking residents to place their paper and cardboard into it. The existing black box will be for recycling cans, foil, plastic bottles and glass bottles and jars.

We will no longer be collecting clothes, textiles or shoes in the black box.

Residents can start using their new blue box for recycling their paper and cardboard as soon as its delivered.

Why are we making these changes?

• To ensure value for money through making the recycling service more efficient.
• Build capacity for more recycling in the borough.
• Make the recycling service simpler to use.
• Improve the environmental sustainability of the service.

When will the boxes be delivered?

Please look at the blue box delivery page for more information.

When will I no longer be able to use my white/blue bags?

From Monday 1 December residents will no longer be able to put their recycling out for collection in white/blue bags. You must use the black box and blue box.

What is the last date for ordering a white or blue bag?

The last date for ordering blue or white bags will be Friday 10 October 2008. After this date we will no longer be taking any orders for bags.

What is wrong with the white bag/blue bag?

Both bags are light weight and blow away in windy weather. We are currently having to replace them at a rate of over 800 per week. This is expensive and frustrating for residents.

Collection crews find them difficult to sort from and spills are causing litter.

Can I keep my white/blue bag?

Yes - keep it to store materials indoors, but we can’t collect from it in future. Sorry we will not be replacing it if it gets lost after Friday 10 October 2008.

Why don't the blue boxes have lids?

For the following operational reasons

• Lids can become warped/damaged in the weather
• They are prone to going missing in the wind
• It is important for people to have the same recycling containers returned to them but collection crews visit thousands of homes everyday making it difficult to keep track of whose lid belongs to whom.
• The contents of the blue box do not need to be kept dry.

What if it rains?

Paper and cardboard recycling is stored outdoors at Twickenham depot before it is taken in a large load to the recycling companies. It does get rained on, but it can still be recycled.

How do I stop the papers from blowing around?

By stacking the black box on top of the blue box you can stop the paper and cardboard from blowing away or alternatively put heavier papers on top of shredded paper.

I haven't got room for two boxes - what can I do?

The two boxes will sit inside one another neatly when empty - taking up no more room than the existing black box. The boxes also cross stack on each other at right angles with waste inside. You can keep them stacked together and only put them side by side at the edge of your property on collection day or leave them stacked.

When will the change happen?

You will be able to use the blue box as soon as it is delivered to you.

Will my general rubbish, garden or food waste service be changing?

No, these services will remain the same.

How will you recycle the cans, glass, foil and plastic bottles in the black box?

They will be collected mixed together in the same vehicle and squashed to save space and later sent to a special Materials Recycling Facility to separate them ready to be turned into something new.

Why are you mixing them together?

It saves space and therefore vehicles and fuel and money. This has a clear environmental benefit and helps prevent congestion.

Why not collect all the black box and blue box material together in one vehicle?

Mixing paper and card with the other recycling makes it much more difficult to sort and increases the risk that the separated materials will be contaminated with bits of each other. Paper and card can be sold as a single material and the black box contents can be much more cheaply sorted to a better quality if collected without the paper and card, outweighing the costs/impacts of the separate collection.

What about clothes, shoes and textiles?

From 13 October we will no longer have space on vehicles to collect clothes, shoes or textiles from your home. Please take clean items of clothing/textiles and shoes in pairs to your nearest recycling site or a local charity shop.

Can I mix paper and card now?

No please wait until you receive your blue box. Mixing cardboard in now would contaminate the paper load. It would get rejected by our current processors - wasting money and all your effort collecting it in the first place. We will have new contracts in place to allow us to sell the mixed paper and card only when we begin to deliver the blue boxes.

Does this affect blocks of flats?

Blocks of flats or estates, flats above shops and those properties with no curtilage are not eligible to take part in the doorstep recycling service with the blue/black boxes.  

Those blocks that have a communal estates recycling service can continue to use it in the normal way and for other blocks that do not have these facilities; we encourage these residents to use their local recycling bank or to contact us to arrange a site visit to see if it is possible to install communal recycling facilities.