These pages will tell you everything you need to know about recycling and waste. We’ll tell you what you can recycle and where, what happens to your waste when we collect it, and how you can reduce how much waste you produce.
Glass should only be placed in:
Using these containers helps ensure our crews can collect your glass safely and efficiently. Recently, we've seen an increase in residents using all sorts of plastic boxes to present their glass for collection. Unfortunately, some of these boxes have become brittle and cracked over time, while others are difficult to handle due to their shape and size. This poses a health and safety risk to our crews, so we kindly ask you to stick to the options above.
Occasionally, bags and caddies can go missing during or after collection. If yours hasn't been returned, please email us at refuse@ambervalley.gov.uk with your address and details of the item that's missing. We'll look into it and get back to you as soon as we can.
View our 'please recycle right' leaflet to view our handy guide or view our recycling page.
Please don’t fill your glass caddy or bag right to the rim, as bottles may fall out when it's lifted. Caddies and bags must not be overfilled or too heavy to lift - if they are, they won’t be emptied by the collection crew.
We completely understand why this can be confusing! Our usual process is to keep glass separate because it’s the most cost-effective way to recycle it. However, in rare cases, like when we have a vehicle breakdown, our teams may need to collect all recyclables together temporarily. We’ve made arrangements with our recycling processor to handle this only in emergencies, but it’s not something we can do regularly. For this reason, please continue to keep your glass separate - it helps keep recycling costs down and ensures we can collect as much as possible!
We are currently experiencing a backlog of replacement glass bag requests, and we’re working hard to get them out as soon as possible. In the meantime, you can use a 'bag for life'-style bag to put your glass out for collection. We really appreciate your patience while we work through the outstanding requests.
Additional recycling is collected throughout the year. You can put out the equivalent of up to one extra bin full of recycling next to your recycling bin on collection day.
Large cardboard boxes should be broken down into smaller pieces that fit inside your recycling bin with the lid closed. If you can’t fit them all in the bin, you can leave the extra cardboard neatly by the side of your recycling bin on your next recycling collection day. However, please don’t leave cardboard out in the rain - if it gets wet and falls apart, our crews won’t be able to collect it.
Contact the team directly on 01773 841326 or email refuse@ambervalley.gov.uk
