What you can recycle
This page provides information about what you can recycle and how.
The principal ways in which you can recycle are:- through our house to house collection service
- at our recycling centres
- at home, e.g. home composting.
Kerbside collection service
Residents can recycle the following through our door to door service.
Black recycling box (households) and communal recycling bins (flats):
- paper
- flat packed cardboard (large boxes must be broken down to fit in the collection vehicle)
- food tins and drink cans.
Brown wheeled bin service (annual fee applies):
- garden waste (excluding food waste).
Recycling Centres
Residents can recycle the following at local recycling sites.
- paper and flat packed cardboard
- food tins and drink cans
- plastic bottles
- glass bottles and jars
- textiles and shoes
- foil (silver and coloured)
- books.
Not all sites can recycle all materials so please check what each recycling centre can recycle.
Please do not place your recycling in plastic bags for the house to house collection or at recycling centres. Plastic bags are unacceptable and can cause problems for our reprocessors when the material is recycled.
Paper and cardboard
We can recycle most mixed paper and cardboard.
| Yes please | No thank you |
|---|---|
| Magazines and newspapers | Tetra paks (paper mill is unable to separate out the polyethylene and aluminium lining) |
| Directories and brochures | Polystyrene and plastic packaging |
| Flat packed cardboard (large boxes must be broken down to fit into the vehicle) | Plastic carrier bags |
| Window envelopes | |
| Photocopier paper | |
| Junk mail (plastic wrapping removed) | |
| Shredded paper (in a small cardboard box or paper bag to prevent littering) | |
| Cereal boxes | |
| Cards (birthday, Christmas, Easter etc) | |
| Non-foil wrapping paper |
Tetra paks can be recycled at your local tip, which are then transported to mainland Europe to be recycled into a wide variety of products including plasterboard liner, paper bags and envelopes.
Mixed cans
Please wash and squash your tins and cans before recycling.
When recycling at the kerbside please assist our crews by not placing tins or cans in boxes e.g. cereal. This helps our crews see the cans and tins so they can be separated out from the paper and card.
| Yes please | No thank you |
|---|---|
| Food tins | Aerosols |
| Drink cans | Foil |
| Biscuit and cake tins | Scrap metal |
| Plastic carrier bags |
Plastic bottles only (recycling centres only)
We can recycle all types of plastic bottles. It doesn't matter what colour or shape as long as it is a bottle.
Please wash, squash and remove lids before recycling. This saves a lot of space and can fit more bottles in the bins and collection vehicles so we are not transporting air when collecting.
| Yes please | No thank you |
|---|---|
| Drink bottles (e.g. water, squash, fizzy etc) | Bottle tops (incl. spray tops) |
| Milk bottles | Any plastic containers (e.g. yoghurt pots, tubs, trays) |
| Kitchen bottles (e.g. washing up liquid, bleach, cleaning, sauces etc) | Any plastic packaging |
| Bathroom bottles (e,g, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel etc) | Hazardous chemical bottles |
| Car bottles (e.g. windscreen wash, de-icer etc.) | Plastic carrier bags |
Retailers which accept plastic bags for recycling will now accept clean plastic film packaging in the same facilities announced on 7 April 2011. The retailers supporting the scheme are: Asda; The Co-operative Group; WM Morrison; J Sainsbury’s; Tesco; and Waitrose.
The plastic involved include: plastic-wrapped bakery goods, breakfast cereal liners, packaging for household goods (toilet roll wrap, kitchen roll wrap) plastic-wrapped grocery produce (fresh and frozen), multipack shrink wrap.
For further information visit Lets Recycle website.
Glass bottle and jars (all colours) only (recycling centres only)
We can recycle all colours of glass bottles and jars in the same recycling bins.
| Yes please | No thank you |
|---|---|
| Bottles | Bottle and jar lids |
| Jars | Window glass |
| Pyrex | |
| Glassware | |
| Plastic carrier bags |
Textiles (recycling centres only)
| Yes please | No thank you |
|---|---|
| Clean clothing | Duvets |
| Curtains | Pillows |
| Towels | Carpets |
| Fabrics | Rugs |
| Paired shoes | Off cuts |
Foil (recycling centres only)
We can recycle all clean foil (incl coloured foil).
Books (recycling centres only)
We can accept all books.
Other materials that are unable to be recycled at your local recycling centres can be recycled at the Surrey County Council tip (Community Recycling Centres), which include:
- electrical and electronic equipment
- bulky rigid plastic
- tetra paks
- flourescent tubes.
See also
You can apply for a replacement recycling box online.
Last updated : 31/01/2012
