Household recycling
and rubbish guide
www.powys.gov.uk
Powys County Council has rolled out a new and improved weekly recycling and waste
collection service to all households in Powys which means you can recycle more at
home.
We are committed to helping the environment by reducing the amount of rubbish
simply sent to landfill. Wales is rapidly running out of landfill space and as we all know,
rubbish harms the environment and contributes to global warming and pollution.
The new recycling and waste collection service will not only help us achieve our
environmental goals, but will also help us meet the tough recycling targets set by the
Welsh Government of 70% by 2024/25. If we fail to meet these targets, the council will
face huge fines which will ultimately come out of the taxpayers’ pocket.
We are committed to ensuring this does not happen and with your help and the
introduction of this new service Powys will be recycling more than ever.
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Your new service
You should now have the following containers for your recycling and rubbish:
We’ll collect this weekly
Food waste
Food waste caddy and
kitchen caddy, including
liners
Recycling
Red box and a net
Blue box with a lid
Aqua box
We’ll collect this fortnightly
Waste you can’t recycle
Black bin
Please can you fill out the address labels
On each of your boxes and your wheeled bin there is a label with space for you to write
your address with a permanent marker. Just your house name or number, road name
and postcode will be fine. This helps us to know which containers belong to which
address.
When will my waste be collected?
If your collection day changes we will let you know – so just put your containers out
on the same day as normal unless we advise you differently. Remember, your food
waste and recycling is collected weekly and your leftover rubbish will be collected
fortnightly.
Please remember to put your containers out by 7.30am on the day of collection.
Where do I put my containers?
You should place your containers on the kerbside, just outside the boundary of your
property. Your collection point will remain unchanged. However if you feel the
containers will block the footpath please place the containers just at the entrance to
your property. If your rubbish is currently collected from a communal point, this will
still stay the same unless we advise you differently.
Remember to take your containers back into the boundary of your property as soon as
you can after they have been emptied.
What goes in each container?
The next few pages explain in more detail what can be collected in each of the
containers.
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Recycling
Red box
This container is for plastic and cans
Yes please
No thank you
Clean food & drink cans
Aluminium foil
Clean plastic bottles
(Rinsed, squashed, lids removed)
Plastic bottle tops & lids
Metal bottle tops & jar lids
Aerosol cans
Clean plastic food trays
Clean plastic pot & tubs
Any items displaying
the following triangles
✔
Crinkly plastic & film / Bubble wrap
Plastic magazine wrappers & bags
Polystyrene
Dirty cling film
Crisp packets
Electrical items
Large plastic items
Paint tins, oil cans
Yoghurt pot lids
Mixed material plastic & metal items
Drinks cartons
Tetra Paks*
Any items displaying the
following triangles:
✘
Aqua box
This container is for bottles and jars
Yes please
Clean glass bottles and jars
(with their lids removed)
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✔
No thank you
Broken glass, plate glass,
mirrors, glass cookware
(Pyrex)*, light bulbs*
✘
Blue box
This container is for paper and card
Yes please
Newspapers & magazines
Catalogues & telephone directories
Envelopes
Shredded paper
(in an envelope or wrapped in paper)
Flattened cereal boxes & other card
cardboard (as long as you tear it up
small enough to fit in box)
Junk Mail
Paper
No thank you
Wallpaper
Wrapping paper
Tissues
Large bits of card that won’t fit into the
box – this can be taken to a cardboard
bank at your community recycling site
Drinks cartons and Tetra Paks*
✔
✘
Your recycling is collected weekly
Please make sure you place the lid on the blue box and the net on the red box
when out for collection to stop your recycling escaping in the wind.
Remember to stay safe - don’t overfill your recycling boxes and when lifting
keep your back in a natural position and don’t bend your knees too far.
* Although we can’t collect these at the kerbside, they can be recycled at your local
household waste and recycling centre (see page 7).
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Food Waste
Food waste caddy &
Kitchen caddy
Use your small kitchen caddy with the
compostable liners to collect your food
waste scraps, then transfer them to the
food waste caddy which will be collected
each week.
Yes please
Any leftover cooked & raw food
including:
Meat, fish & small bones
Cheese
Vegetables & fruit
Eggshells
Stale bread, cakes & pastries
Cereals
Rice, pasta & beans
Tea bags & coffee grounds
✔
No thank you
Any type of packaging
Plastic bags
Large bones
Liquids
Garden Waste
Card
Animal litter and straw from
rabbit hutches etc
✘
To stop any odour and keep vermin at bay, make sure you tie the top of the
compostable liner and transfer your food waste into the food waste caddy regularly.
You can close and lock the sealable lid on the food waste caddy – this stops any
odours escaping and vermin getting in.
Once collected, your food waste is taken to an anaerobic digester which generates
electricity and fertiliser.
Please remember to only use the compostable liners provided by the council –
these are made from starch and are guaranteed to break down properly during the
treatment process. Please don’t use plastic bags. If you run out of liners, just let us
know by using the reordering tag (it just wraps rounds the handle of the food waste
caddy) and we will leave you some more. You will find the tag wrapped inside your
roll of liners as you get to the end of the roll.
A roll of liners has 52 bags and should last approximately six months - we estimate
you should use about two liners a week.
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Waste that can’t be recycled
Black bin
The black wheeled bin is for anything left over that can’t go into
the recycling boxes or food waste caddy. Black sacks will no
longer be supplied. This will be collected fortnightly.
Yes please
Polystyrene
Used cling film
Crisp packets
Sweet wrappers
Cold ash
Nappies**
Plastic bags
Sanitary products**
Animal litter and straw from rabbit
hutches etc**
Large bones
✔
No thank you
Material that could be recycled
Garden waste*
Food waste
Electrical items*
Bricks*
Rubble*
Soil*
Large items, such as furniture*
Hot ash
Chemicals, such as weed killer or paint*
Clinical waste, such as surgical
dressings, needles etc
(see page 8)
Fluorescent tubes*
Gas cylinders*
✘
** these items must always be ‘double wrapped’, in * Although we can’t collect these at the kerbside,
other words they must be placed into a couple of they can be recycled at your local household waste
plastic bags which are tied at the top – this helps and recycling centre (see page 7).
keep things clean and safe for the crews.
Please remember only to place rubbish in your wheeled bin that could not be
either placed in the recycling containers, the food waste caddy, taken to the household
waste and recycling centre or
one of the community recycling
sites or reused at charity shops.
When putting out for collection,
the lid of your wheeled bin must
always be fully closed. Rubbish
that doesn’t fit inside the bin or
left on the floor next to it will not
be taken.
✘ ✘
Rubbish inside this bin
will be sent to landfill.
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Household waste and recycling centres
There are a number of household waste and recycling centres within Powys, all
of which can accept a large range of materials. For more information on Powys’
recycling services call 0845 602 7035 or visit www.powys.gov.uk/recycle
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Community recycling sites
There are also over 70 community recycling sites across the county where you are
able to recycle a range of materials. Visit our website at www.powys.gov.uk/recycle
to see the locations and to find out what materials can be recycled at each site.
The majority of these sites are looked after on a day-to-day basis by local community
groups who receive a varying level of payment from the council depending on how
much material is recycled at the site. This money is then used by the community
group within their local area.
Other waste services
Assisted collections
We already offer a service to collect rubbish and recycling from a more convenient
place for our elderly and disabled residents and this service will continue. To find out
more please visit our website or call 0845 602 7035.
Bulky waste
Bulky items such as unwanted furniture or large electrical goods can be taken to
your nearest household waste and recycling centre or the council can collect items
weighing up to 50kg which can be readily moved by two operatives for a charge.
Alternatively, if your unwanted items are too good to simply throw away, they could
be collected by a reuse group who will make any repairs needed and then sell the
item to local people.
Please visit the website or call 0845 602 7035 for more details.
Commercial waste
Businesses and charities, however small or large, have a legal ‘duty of care’ to dispose of
their waste in the correct way and should not illegally use the household recycling and
waste collection service, household waste and recycling centres or community recycling
sites. For advice on how to correctly get rid of your commercial waste and recycling visit
the website or call the trade recycling and waste team on 0845 602 7035.
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Your questions answered
Can I have a bigger or smaller wheeled bin for my leftover
rubbish?
Some households may need a bigger bin, such as a large family with six or more people, and
equally, some may need a smaller, more manoeuvrable bin. Unless a smaller bin is requested
in advance, everyone will be given a standard bin – please give them a try for a couple of
weeks and if you still feel you need a different size then contact us and we will see what we
can do.
What if my home isn’t suitable for a wheeled bin?
We realise that not all homes are suitable for wheeled bins, such as certain types of flats or
houses with lots of steps in and out of the property. The good news is you will still receive a
great service, but through alternative arrangements. When we begin to deliver the bins we
will assess each property.
If we feel as though you cannot accommodate a wheeled bin we will provide you with a roll
of sacks instead. The number of sacks on this roll will enable you to put out up to three sacks
each fortnight for collection.
I’ve already got a wheeled bin, can I just continue to use this one
instead?
Sorry, no. The rubbish lorries have been fitted with bin lifts which means we can only safely
pick up and empty the new Powys County Council wheeled bins.
Can I still use sacks?
Once the new service starts we will only collect rubbish from properties that is contained
within your wheeled bin. If your property has been assessed as not suitable for a wheeled bin
we will collect the specially allocated Powys County Council purple sacks from your
property once a fortnight. It is your choice whether rubbish is placed loose or bagged in
wheeled bins.
How will I keep my wheeled bin clean?
No food will be going into your wheeled bin – you’ll be putting this in your new kitchen caddy
and food waste caddy – so it is unlikely that your bin will get really dirty. However you can
clean your bin with a hose or by tipping a bucket of soapy water in it from time to time. There
are also a number of companies that will clean your bin for you, which you’ll find in most
telephone directories.
What about garden waste?
Any garden waste can be composted at home using a compost bin – these can be ordered
from the council website or purchased from household waste and recycling centres.
Alternatively you can take your garden waste to one of the green waste banks at the local
community recycling sites (see pages 7 and 8 for details), or to the household waste and
recycling centre.
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What happens if I have got more rubbish than will fit into my
wheeled bin?
When putting it out for collection, the lid of your wheeled bin must always be fully closed. This
reduces the amount of rubbish which could escape in the wind and discourages vermin.
Rubbish that doesn’t fit inside the bin or left on the floor next to it will not be taken. If you
have extra rubbish this must be either:
•
•
Stored until your next fortnightly rubbish collection
Or pay for additional rubbish sacks which would be collected by the crews,
call 0845 602 7035 for details
My rubbish is currently collected from a communal point, will this
still stay the same?
In the majority of cases your bin and containers will be collected from the same place as they
are now. If this changes we will let you know.
Why do I have to clean my cans and plastics before they can be
recycled?
Cans with baked beans stuck to the bottom or plastic milk bottles with the last bit of milk still
inside not only contaminate the rest of the recycling in your box, but can make things very
difficult, not to mention messy, for the crews to handle when sorting your recycling into the
collection vehicles.
Recycling that has been contaminated can often not be recycled and will end up
being rejected by the reprocessors.
However, you don’t need to overdo the cleaning – just give things a rinse in your washing up
bowl once you have finished doing your dishes, or even swill things out in a bucket of rain
water – there is no need to use excess water to give these things a quick rinse.
What happens if I put something in one of the recycling boxes
that shouldn’t be there?
We understand that knowing what can be recycled can often be confusing. We hope that this
booklet helps you understand what materials you can recycle through this collection service,
but if you have any questions, please call us or speak to a member of the recycling crew when
they come to collect your recycling.
If you do add something to your recycling box that shouldn’t be there, like a crisp packet for
example (unfortunately these cannot be recycled at the moment), we will leave it behind in
the box with a note attached explaining why we haven’t taken it – this way you’ll know what
to do with it next time. Of course, if you’re at home, we may just knock on the door and let you
know why we have left it behind.
Can a householder decide whether they receive a wheeled bin or
purple bags?
No, this is a decision that the Council makes.
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My recycling material won’t all fit into the containers, what shall I do?
If on the odd occasion you have a lot more recycling than normal (for example lots of glass
bottles after a party) these can be placed into an open carrier bag (not tied at the top) and put
out for collection with your recycling containers. Please remember not to put mixed recycling
in these bags – for example use a separate bag for glass bottles and another for cans, or take
them to a local community recycling site.
If you find that you repeatedly have more recycling that can fit into your containers, maybe
because you have a large family, you can request additional recycling boxes by calling the
contact centre on 0845 602 7035.
Can I still recycle textiles?
Yes, of course. We are unable to collect textiles from each house with this service, but a large
range of items including textiles can be recycled at the local household waste and recycling
centre or some of the community recycling sites (see page 7 and 8 for details). Of course they
can be reused by taking them to a charity shop.
What happens to the recycling once it is collected?
The recycling we collect from your house each week gets used in many different ways;
• The food will be processed which generates electricity and compost that can be
used for fertiliser or land restoration
• Card is recycled into new cardboard packaging
• Paper is recycled into new paper products and newsprint
• Cans are often turned into new cans or other metal items such as car parts
• Glass is sorted into separate colours, melted down and made into new
bottles and jars
• Plastics are sorted and then turned into many different products such as fleece
jackets or new plastic containers.
For more frequently asked questions, please visit www.powys.gov.uk/recycle
Inclement weather
Any changes to collections as a result of inclement weather will be published on the council’s
website and on the ‘Recycle for Powys’ Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Christmas and New Year
Collections will take place as normal on bank holidays. Over the Christmas and New Year
period collections are likely to be changed. These changes will be published on the council’s
website, on the ‘Recycle for Powys’ Facebook and Twitter accounts, local newspapers and in
the council tenants’ magazine ‘Open House’.
More information
If you have any other questions or want to know more about how to reduce,
reuse and recycle please visit our website www.powys.gov.uk/recycle, email
[email protected] or call 0845 602 7035 (this number is charged at
a local rate, charges may be higher from mobile telephones).
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This guide is available in large print on request.