Alternate Bin Collection - Frequently Asked Questions
This page answers the most common queries we receive about recycling and waste collection. We have put these questions into categories to make finding the information you require easier.
- About the ABC scheme
- Why Recycle
- How to Recycle
- What Can and Cannot Be Recycled
- Maintaining Your Bins
- Making the Most of Bin and Sack Space
- Why has the Council implemented this?
- Exactly how has ABC motivated people to recycle more?
- What will the impact be on the Longshot Lane civic amenity site?
- How can I find out which collection zone I live in?
- Why should I separate my rubbish?
- What happens to our recyclables?
- Why do I have to pay for a brown bin and the biodegradable garden waste sacks. Isn’t this included in my council tax already?
- If I do this will I get a refund on my council tax?
- Where do I put my blue bin for collection?
- I am on a sack collection. How can I join in the recycling scheme?
- I live in a flat. What kind of refuse and recycling service do I get?
- I am elderly and/or disabled and cannot manage with the recycling containers, can you help?
- How clean do the recycled materials have to be?
- Why can’t you collect recyclables altogether in one bin?
What Can and Cannot Be Recycled
- What do I put in each bin?
- What cannot be recycled?
- Why don't you collect materials such as "Tetrapaks"?
- Why don’t you collect glass?
- What can I recycle at recycling sites?
- Can I put card and paper in my blue bin rather than cans and plastic bottles?
- Why don’t you collect food waste?
- What do I do with pet waste?
- What happens if I lose my bin?
- How will I keep my bin clean?
- The contents of my bin will smell. Is it a health hazard?
- How can I stop maggots getting in my bin?
- What about rats, vermin and foraging animals?
Making the Most of Bin and Sack Space
- How do I get a brown and blue bin or extra boxes?
- There isn’t enough space in boxes for recycling.
- I don’t have enough room for all the waste I accumulate over a fortnight, and I am already recycling as much as possible?
- I have only got a small bin, which is not sufficient. Can I get a larger bin or two bins?
- How can I minimise my waste?
- What if I have excess waste that won’t fit in my bin? Can I put it out anyway?
About the ABC Scheme
Why has the Council implemented this?
For environmental and economic reasons. By adopting these measures we are recycling and composting much more and sending less of our household waste for disposal in polluting landfill. The Council is also trying to avoid you having to pay the increased taxes and fines associated with spiralling landfill costs. If we had not made the change, Bracknell Forest residents could have faced paying up to an extra £7.7 million over the next five years.
The Government has set targets for all local authorites to encourage more recycling and the Council has done much to try and change the community’s perception of waste as ‘just rubbish’ to seeing it as a valuable resource. Bracknell Forest Borough residents have achieved a remarkable amount since 1996 when kerbside collections of newspapers were introduced. Since then all the recycling targets have been exceeded. The rate of recyling has increased over the first year of ABC to 41 per cent due to participation by residents in the scheme.
Landfill has become scarce and from April 2006 councils were given a statutory landfill allowance. If this allowance is exceeded it will cost the Council £150 per tonne in fines from government. In 2007/8 landfill tax is imposed at £24 per tonne, and this will increase by £8 per tonne in 2008/9. If the Council had not introduced measures to divert more waste from landfill then this would have cost the Council £1.5 million in tax alone without even considering the cost of transport and the landfill disposal. These taxes and fines could have generated an additional 10 per cent on council tax bills. ABC has helped us to avoid this.
Exactly how has ABC motivated people to recycle more?
Bracknell Forest Borough Council looked at how other councils had increased their recycling and all of the best performing councils had implemented a similar ABC system. Participation in kerbside recycling in Bracknell Forest since ABC was introduced has increased from 30% to around 80% and recycling sites are still very well used. The provision of additional containers for recycling and giving residents with gardens an opportunity to purchase a brown bin or garden waste sacks has enabled residents to separate landfill waste from recyclables more easily.
What will the impact be on the Longshot Lane civic amenity site?
Introducing ABC has not signifcantly increased visits to Lonshot Lane civic amenity site and the introduction of the green waste collection service has helped residents who would otherwise need to visit the civic amenity site.
Longshot Lane will be improved in 2008 as part of the joint waste disposal conctract known as re3 with Bracknell Forest Borough, Reading and Wokingham Borough Councils working in partnership with their contractor to provide new state of the art waste and recycling facilities.
How can I find out which collection zone I live in?
Enter you address into LocalView and click on Search. LocalView gives information about your area including your Waste and Recycling Zone.
Why Recycle
Why should I separate my rubbish?
Separating waste involves some effort but the long-term benefits of recycling and reducing landfill are collectively extremely important. If waste is not separated it cannot be recycled economically or sustainably. Experience from councils running ABC schemes shows most residents say they are happy to separate their waste once they get the hang of it and feel that they are making a real contribution to the environment.
What happens to our recyclables?
In addition to being recycled into the same product as before, plastic bottles can be used to make fleeces, rucksacks, T-shirts, drainpipes and picnic benches while cans can become engine parts. Garden waste is shredded and composted is reused to improve soil in a sustainable way.
Why do I have to pay for a brown bin and the biodegradable garden waste sacks. Isn’t this included in my council tax already?
Not everyone needs this extra service and therefore only those who use these bins pay for them. The Council provides brown bins of a specific size and strength and are matched to the lifting gear on the collection vehicles. Each bin is serial numbered and residents are asked to place their house address on them to enable clear identification and return of lost bins to the owner.
If I do this will I get a refund on my council tax?
No, but the change will mean avoiding potential large increases in council tax due to the extra charges we will have to pay to bury rubbish in landfill in the coming years.
How to Recycle
Where do I put my blue bin for collection?
In the same place as your other wheelie bins and kerbside boxes.
I am on a sack collection. How can I join in the recycling scheme?
If you do not have room for bins and boxes you can have a clear sack for cans and plastic bottles. Newspapers and card can be tied together into a bundle for collection. All such properties will be visited and assessed during the summer.
I live in a flat. What kind of refuse and recycling service do I get?
Flats with limited space and large communal bins for waste and recycling still have a weekly refuse collection. The majority of flats with individual or shared bins have fortnightly collections, apart from a few places, with space limitation. Communal and shared refuse bins will be cleansed annually by the Council. The majority of flats in the Borough have recycling bins. Free woven plastic bags are available to residents of flats to help them store recyclables and carry them to their communal recycling containers.
I am elderly and/or disabled and cannot manage with the recycling containers, can you help?
Contact customer services on 01344 352000 or customer.services@bracknell-forest.gov.uk for an assisted doorstep collection.
How clean do the recycled materials have to be?
Cans, glass bottles and jars can be rinsed using the water that you have washed your dishes in, but take care with any sharp edges. There is no need for them to be completely cleaned using fresh water, as long as any large amounts of food residues are taken out. However, the cleaner they are the less risk there is of smell or making your bin or box messy.
Why can’t you collect recyclables altogether in one bin?
We don’t have a sorting facility available at present, although this is part of planned improvements, and a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) should be in place in Reading by the end of 2008. At that time residents will be able to place all materials currently collected in one blue bin.
What Can and Cannot Be Recycled
What do I put in each bin?
The blue wheelie bin is for all food, drink and pet food cans, empty aerosols and household plastic bottles only – which have not contained hazardous substances.
The brown wheelie bin and biodegradable brown sacks are for garden waste, like weeds, grass cuttings, hedge clippings and small branches.
Kerbside boxes are for all paper and card, including telephone directories, junk mail, newspapers and all magazines, white paper, cereal boxes and paper back books. You can also use your kerbside boxes for cans and plastic bottles.
All non-recyclables should be put in your refuse bin for landfill (ie olive wheelie bin).
For more information, please visit What Goes in Which Bin.
What cannot be recycled?
Plastic food trays like margarine tubs, microwave meal containers and yoghurt pots cannot currently be recycled as there is no market demand for them. Also polystyrene, foil lined waxed cartons like soup, juice and milk cartons, food waste and soil cannot currently be recycled in Bracknell Forest. Please reuse whenever possible before sending to landfill.
Why don't you collect materials such as "Tetrapaks"?
These amount to less than 1% of the waste, and there are no processing plants in the local area. It does not make environmental sense to transport them long distances. The Council is discussing with its other re3 partners the viability of collecting "Tetrapak" drink cartons.
Why don’t you collect glass?
We have a good network of glass recycling sites for residents across the Borough, they are extremely well used and this is the most cost effective method of collection. Glass can get broken in bins, making it dangerous for recycling collectors and it would need to be collected separately from other recyclables to avoid contamination of paper and card.
What can I recycle at recycling sites?
Glass, shoes and textiles, CDs, books, and foil can be taken to recycling points around the Borough; a full list of locations is on the Council’s website. Plastic bags can be recycled at most major supermarkets.
Can I put card and paper in my blue bin rather than cans and plastic bottles?
No. Bracknell Forest does not currently have a sorting facility for this, so for the time being we need to ensure only cans and plastic bottles go in the blue bins. A Materials Recovery Facility is being built at Smallmead in Reading and it is anticipated that at the end of 2008 when it is complete all materials currently collected will be able to be placed in the blue bin.
Why don’t you collect food waste?
Food waste can only be processed using a special composting process and is very expensive. There are no local processing plants available to the Council at present, but home food digesters will be trialled both in Reading and Bracknell Forest by the end of 2007.
What do I do with pet waste?
Pet waste should be wrapped in a plastic bag and put in the landfill bin – it cannot be put in the brown bin or biodegradable sacks with garden waste. Cage and hutch waste from small animals like hamsters and rabbits can be put in home composters in your garden.
Maintaining Your Bins
What happens if I lose my bin?
All bins should have the property number or name clearly marked on them. If the bin has been caught up in the mechanics of the refuse or recycling collection vehicle, you will receive a replacement free of charge. If your bin has gone missing and you have been unable to find it, please contact the Council on 01344 352000. You may have to pay a charge of £15.75 for delivery of a replacement.
How will I keep my bin clean?
If you wrap food and don’t place any liquid in your bin it should remain clean. Bins can be cleaned with normal household detergent, warm water and a broom or you can arrange for a local bin cleaning company to do this for you.
The contents of my bin will smell. Is it a health hazard?
There is no evidence from the other 100 schemes that operate across the country and a study in 2006 that there are any health issues with any waste disposal scheme. It depends on residents being responsible and wrapping food waste, keeping the bin lid closed and keeping the bin out of direct sunlight where possible.
How can I stop maggots getting in my bin?
It is important food waste is not left where flies can land on it, so leftovers can be wrapped in used plastic bags – remembering to squeeze out all of the air before sealing the bags.
Nappies and pet litter should also be wrapped up.
What about rats, vermin and foraging animals?
Vermin will not be attracted to bins if the waste is dealt with appropriately.
Making the Most of Bin and Sack Space
How do I get a brown and blue bin or extra boxes?
Blue wheelie bins and kerbside boxes are available free of charge. The brown bins can be bought for a one-off charge of £30 and become your personal property - no additional charge is made for emptying these bins.
To order contact Customer Services on 01344 352000 or complete a form on the Council’s website at www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/abc.
There isn’t enough space in boxes for recycling.
Plastic bottles and cans can be squashed and cardboard boxes can be collapsed (large cardboard boxes can be stacked next to your plastic box).
Extra kerbside boxes or a blue bin can be ordered free of charge.
I don’t have enough room for all the waste I accumulate over a fortnight, and I am already recycling as much as possible?
The majority of residents are managing and as a result over 40% of rubbish is now being recycled. Blue bins or extra boxes can be ordered if you need them. You can also arrange for an officer to visit you at home and give individual help and advice on minimising waste.
We recognise that some larger families may need more help; please call 01344 352000 to arrange a home visit.
I have only got a small bin, which is not sufficient. Can I get a larger bin or two bins?
A small bin will be big enough for a family of up to three people, while households of four and over will receive a large bin which can be requested via Customer Services on 01344 352000. For individual assessments, please call to arrange a home visit.
How can I minimise my waste?
It is better to minimise waste than to recycle or landfill rubbish. Buy products with less packaging (like fruit and vegetables) that avoid unnecessary trays and wrapping, or buy the large or economy sizes, where practical, and always avoid plastic containers and plastic bags when you can. Avoiding purchasing more food than you need will ensure that it is not wasted. One third of the food we buy ends up being thrown away! Visit Love Food Hate Waste for more information about food waste.
What if I have excess waste that won’t fit in my bin? Can I put it out anyway?
The Council expects the vast majority of homes will get their rubbish in the wheelie bins or kerbside boxes. Excess rubbish, either in bags next to the bins or preventing the lid shutting, will not be taken. It is appreciated that everyone occasionally has additional rubbish. This can be taken to the Longshot Lane civic amenity site.
Additional recycling can be taken to your local recycling site or put out at the kerbside in a clear plastic bag. Please do not dump other rubbish at recycling sites.
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