Our ambition, set out in our Environmental Sustainability Strategy, is that ‘Residents and businesses recycle or compost as much as possible of their waste, and processing takes place as locally as possible.’ This helps to preserve the earth’s natural resources.

Here is an overview of the services we provide to minimise waste and increase recycling.

Household collections

Our full Kerbside collection service is currently available to over 90% of households. We collect:

  • paper and card
  • mixed recycling - plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays; cans, foil and aerosols; cartons (foil and waxed lined); glass bottles and jars
  • food waste

Communal bins

Households not yet on our full service, due to access and suitable space, can recycle paper and cardboard and, in most cases, cans as well from their communal bins.

People can still recycle additional materials at our recycling sites across the borough.

Find out more about communal bins and flats recycling.

Recycling sites

We also have over 20 recycling sites located across the borough for residents who may not have access to recycling at home. These sites provide recycling for most items that are collected during kerbside collections, as well as textiles.

Find out more about our recycling centres

Surrey County Council operates the Community Recycling Centres. To find your nearest Community Recycling Centre.

Refuse

In 2020/21 we collected nearly 26,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste, most of which is managed and disposed of by Surrey County Council. The majority of this is currently sent to Kemsley Energy from Waste (EfW) facility near Sittingbourne in Kent.

Garden waste service 

The Council runs a paid for Garden waste membership service which involves house to house collections throughout the borough.

Commercial waste

The council offers a competitive, flexible commercial waste service, which include paper and card recycling.

Find out about our commercial waste service. 

Reusable nappies

Disposable nappies cannot be recycled and should be put into your rubbish bin, as they contaminate recycling. Using reusable nappies could halve your household waste, save you money and are simple to use. Find out more on the Surrey Environment Partnership website

The Go Real Facebook page tells you how to get started, which real nappy to use, has top tips and advice.

Making a BIG difference

Our making a big difference campaign can be seen on our rubbish trucks and is used in communications to encourage residents to do their bit and recycle as much of their waste as possible.  All of the new trucks were named in 2020 using suggestions made by local residents. Find out more about naming the rubbish trucks here.