A WIDER range of plastics and food and drink cartons will now be recycled by the borough’s doorstep collection – but widely used black plastic trays and cling film will still be sent to landfill.
On Monday, re3, the waste management partnership for Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham Borough councils, said that is was pleased to announce a significant enhancement to the recycling collection service.
It will now collect household plastic pots, tubs, trays, clean foil, foil trays and food or drink cartons from the kerbside recycling collections across the re3 area. It means that items such as fruit or vegetables punnets, ready meal trays (as long as they are not black), yoghurt pots, margarine tubs, cosmetic pots, foil trays used in takeaways or juice cartons can be placed in the recycling container.
Re3 asks residents wash items to clean off any food residue and squash them to free up space in the container.
The councils will continue to collect paper, cardboard, tins, cans, plastic bottles and aerosols.
The move comes days after Wokingham Borough Council announced that it would introduce a weekly food waste collection service from April next year. Each household will received a sealable 23-litre kerbside food waste container, along with a smaller kitchen caddy.
Almost all types of food waste, excluding fats and oils, can be recycled by this service.
The moves come after new laws were introduced meaning that local authorities are required to ensure that 50% of all household waste is recycled by 2020.
Cllr Norman Jorgensen, Wokingham Borough Council’s Executive Member for Environment, said: “Our residents are doing a great job in recycling but we know we can do better. On average half of the items we throw away can be recycled so we encourage everyone to think before throwing something away as it might be recycled instead.
“Even one more item a day can saves us a lot of money that might otherwise help to fund essential services. There is a lot of information available about what we can recycle from home – if you are not sure please check the re3 or your council website.”
Households will receive a leaflet that explains the new plastic recycling scheme.
What can be recycled from the doorstep
- Plastic pots, tubs and trays – NEW
- Cartons from food and drinks – NEW
- Clean foil and foil trays – NEW
- Plastic bottles
- Newspapers, magazines, paper and junk mail
- Paper and cardboard
- Tins and cans
- Aerosols
You can’t recycle these
- Black plastic pots, tubs or trays
- Plastic carrier bags, including bin liners
- Plastic film
- Bubble wrap
- Polystyrene
- Plant pots
- Plastic toys or plastic furniture
Recycling tips from re3
- Plastic pots, tubs and trays, clean foil, foil trays, food and drink cartons can now be placed in the same container as plastic bottles, paper, cardboard, aerosols, tins and cans
- All items should go in loose into recycling container. Please do not put them in any type of plastic bag
- Please rinse your containers out with used dishwater before recycling, to prevent food contaminating the other materials.
- Remember that you can recycle items from all over the house, not just the kitchen.
More information on recycling, including the list of all items that can be recycled and FAQ can be found on www.re3.org.uk or by searching @re3recycling on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.
