Thank you for all your recycling efforts! Residents have embraced every initiative offered by the Council.
Between April and June this year over 100 tonnes more kerbside recycling was collected than in 2019.
Changes are coming to the way we recycle with black recycling boxes shortly to be replaced with sealable waterproof recycling bags.
What can I recycle?
Aerosols - Spray cans can be put in a recycling box. See examples below:
- Aerosol cans
- Deodorants
- Air fresheners
- Anti-freeze cans
Cans and tins can be put in a recycling box. See examples below::
- Aluminium cans
- Steel tins
- Drink cans
- Food tins
- Biscuit and sweet tins
Cardboard must fit in the recycling box. Any oversized cardboard boxes should be cut down into pieces small enough to fit into the recycling box. Card must be dry.
You can dispose of most kinds of card, including card food packaging. See examples below:
- Card cereal boxes
- Corrugated card
- Egg boxes
- Kitchen and toilet roll tubes
- Flattened delivery boxes
- Greetings cards
- Empty pizza boxes
Paper of all kinds can go in the black box as long as it's not foil based. Paper must be dry.
Examples include:
- Catalogues
- Flyers and leaflets
- Envelopes including windowed envelopes
- Newspaper and magazines
- Shredded paper - this needs to be in an envelope
- Printer paper
- Wrapping paper - not foil based
Card and paper must be dry
Due to global economic changes, recycling plants are no longer accepting wet paper and card. Batches sent from Wokingham Borough have been rejected for being too damp – meaning they have ended up not being recycled. Councillors are reacting quickly to this challenge and are looking at the best options, but nothing can be delivered immediately. In the meantime, please try to protect your paper and card recycling. Ways that will help keep your card and paper dry, when it’s wet outside, include:
- Covering your recycling box with something waterproof
- Keeping your recycling inside, if you have space
- Keeping your recycling in your garage or shed
- Stacking your black boxes with the paper-filled one at the bottom or
- Putting your black boxes out on the morning of collection, rather than the night before
Tetrapak cartons can be put in your recycling box, for example:
- Fruit juice cartons
- Milk cartons
- Soup cartons
You can put foil and foil trays in your recycling box.
Plastics of most kinds can be put in your recycling box. Plastic bottles should be crushed and the bottle tops put back on. Examples include:
- Bottled drinks
- Plastic milk bottles
- Toiletries
- Detergent
- Yoghurt pots
- Snack and soup pots
- Cosmetic pots
- Plastic tubs and trays
- Fruit and veg punnets/trays
- Meat packaging
- Butter and margarine tubs
What can't be disposed of in your recycling box
- Bulky items - see large unwanted items
- Carrier bags
- Polystyrene
- Garden waste
- Glass - Find recycling banks on the Recycle Now website. Make sure you leave the metal caps on when recycling.
For a printable / pictorial guide see what can I recycle (PDF document).
Why we don't recycle black plastic
The majority of black packaging is coloured using carbon black or dark pigments. These are not recognised by the optical sorting systems used in plastic recycling, including at Re3’s Materials Recycling Facility. Work is being done in the recycling industry to use more detectable black colourants. But at the moment we can't recycle black plastic