As the festive season is getting underway, and we will all have extra packaging and food waste around the house, the Royal Borough is reminding residents to recycle wherever possible.
Over 70% of your waste can be recycled or composted. You can recycle in your blue bin items such as glass jars and bottles, Tetrapak food and drink cartons, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, metal food tins, drinks cans, aerosols and foil. The only requirement is that these items are loose, clean, and dry.
You can also recycle Christmas cards, envelopes and some wrapping paper, of which each year in the UK, Defra estimate enough is produced to reach the moon, the equivalent to 400,000km.
However, not everything can be put into your blue recycling bin, including some wrapping paper. To discover which wrapping paper can be recycled, simply carry out the "Scrunch Test". After removing any sticky tape or labels, scrunch the wrapping paper into a ball. If it holds its shape, then it's ok to recycle.
For a full list of what can and can’t be recycled, please visit our Recycling Waste page.
https://www.rbwm.gov.uk/home/environment-and-waste/recycling-and-rubbish/household-rubbish-collections/your-recycling-waste Recycling and general rubbish collection days will differ slightly following Christmas, with normal collection days resuming from Monday 24 January. You can visit our Holiday Collection Dates page
https://www.rbwm.gov.uk/home/environment-and-waste/recycling-and-rubbish/holiday-collection-dates for a full list of the revised collection dates, look at your copy of Around The Royal Borough, or check our Find Your Collection Dates page to see when your next collection is due.
https://my.rbwm.gov.uk/special/find-your-collection-dates Please remember to put your recycling and general rubbish out by 7am on the collection day and no earlier than the night before. Only items placed inside the bins will be collected as usual.
Although our customer services opening hours are slightly different for Christmas,
https://www.rbwm.gov.uk/home/council-and-democracy/contact-us/christmas-and-new-year-2021-2022 you can still Report A Missed Bin online at any time,
https://www.rbwm.gov.uk/home/environment-and-waste/recycling-and-rubbish/report-missed-bin from the day after your scheduled collection day.
Extra rubbish or recycling can be taken to our Stafferton Way Household Waste and Recycling Centre, which will continue to open daily 8am to 4.15pm, seven days a week over the festive period, except Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.
https://www.rbwm.gov.uk/home/environment-and-waste/recycling-and-rubbish/recycling-point/stafferton-way-household-waste-and-recycling-centre-maidenhead Please don’t forget to recycle your real Christmas tree. Chop up your tree into your green bin if you have one or take it to the household recycling centre, or a tree collection point. Please visit our Disposing of Your Real Christmas Tree page to find out more.
https://www.rbwm.gov.uk/home/environment-and-waste/recycling-and-rubbish/disposing-your-real-christmas-tree Councillor David Coppinger, Cabinet Member for Planning, Environmental Services and Maidenhead, said: “We are one of the top performing boroughs in the country for recycling our waste. This is something to be proud of, but we all have a responsibility to maintain this through the festive period. Christmas is a time of joy, excitement, and indulgence, but needn’t be one of waste.
“To minimise our impact on the environment, I would encourage you to reuse and recycle wherever possible and to ensure you know your revised Christmas recycling and general rubbish collection dates, by visiting the council’s website.”
