Recycling 

Wokingham Borough Council have primary responsibility for providing refuse collection and recycling for residents of Earley. These services are supplemented by Earley Town Council and a number of voluntary organisations.

 

Blue Bin Bags 

WBC supply 54 official branded Wokingham Borough Council  blue bin bags per year for each residence to use to dispose of household waste. No other bag or wheelie bin will be emptied. The bags are delivered in February or March each year. 

 

If you have 5 or more people in your household you are entitled to additional blue bin bags if you need them.

 

If you run out you can also  purchase more blue bin bags - £10.50 for 10 blue bin bags. These can also be purchased directly from the Earley Town Council Helpshop (cash or cheque only).

 

Garden Waste 

Wokingham Borough Council offer a chargeable, fortnightly, garden waste collection service. They provide a 240-litre brown wheelie bin which is collected fortnightly. Details can be found on the WBC website.

 

Alternatively, 75-litre compostable garden waste sacks can be purchased directly from the Earley Town Council Helpshop – £1.20/each (cash or cheque only. They can also be purchased online then collected from a number of hubs.

 

Waterproof Recycling Bags 

WBC supply two 60-litre green waterproof recycling bags for each residence to dispose of recycling waste. Recycling bags are collected from each household once a week from the edge of your property on the same day as blue bin bags - find collection days

 

If you’re new to the area or need more recycling bags you can order recycling bags online or collect them from the Earley Town Council Helpshop.

 

To find out what you can recyclein the bags click the link.

 

Food Waste Bags 

Your food waste collection will be on the same day as your rubbish and recycling. Read the food waste information page to find out what you can recycle in your food waste caddy.

 

WBC no longer provides food waste bags. WBC encourage residents to consider lining their caddies with other plastic bags, newspaper or kitchen towel, or leaving their caddy unlined.More details can be found on the WBC website. 

 

Dog Waste Bags 

Dog Waste Bags for use by responsible dog owners are available from the Town Council Offices for residents of Earley (£1.00 per pack, cash only). Dog Bags can be placed in any bins in the Wokingham Borough, as separate dog bins have now been removed. Earley Town Council maintains dog bins within its own Parks and Open Spaces. 

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 re3 Recycling Centres

The access to the two re3 Recycling Centres is only for residents of Bracknell Forest, Reading and Wokingham Boroughs. Please bring an official document which identifies you as a resident of re3.  Before visiting the centres, you must book a slot in advance, this can be done up to 7 days in advance, to a maximum of 1 hour before the appointment. This can be done on the ‘Click and Tip’ website.

 

Acceptable forms of ID include: 

  • Driving licence 
  • Current Council Tax bill 
  • Utility bill* 
  • Bank or credit card statement* 
  • Bracknell Forest resident E+ card 
  • Photocard bus pass issued by a re3 council 
  • Valid blue badge or residents parking permit issued by a re3 council 

More information can be found on the re3 website.

 

re3cyclopedia App

The app is available on both Apple and Android devices and is designed to help you find the nearest and fastest way to recycle hundreds of items. All you need to do is enter the details of the item and your postcode and the app does the rest.

 

It has several additional features too, including:

  • Check your general waste and recycling collection dates
  • Report missed bins
  • Apply for a commercial permit to the recycling centres
  • Receive news and event updates

More information can be found on the re3 website.

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Greenredeem 

Join Greenredeem to earn rewards for recycling. Visit the Greenredeem website for more details.

 

Greenredeem also has a blog that contains a wealth of recycling advice.

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

WRAP

Reduce your waste by joining WBC’s reusable nappy cash back scheme. By using real nappies you could save money as well as helping the environment. Visit the Wrap real nappies website for more information. You can also benefit from WBC’s cash back scheme by filling in our Real nappy cash back scheme form (PDF document)

 

____________________________________________________________________________________

 

Ali’s Recycling 

Ali’s Recycling raises money for local charities by collecting certain items of rubbish, which cannot be recycled in regular waste collections.  

 

Residents can bring along bagged up items of recycling to the Town Council offices during office hours, which Ali’s Recycling will then collect.

 

To see which Terracycle schemes Ali is accepting, please examine this information guide.

 

All you need to do is:

  1. Read Ali’s Recycling leaflet for details on the specific types of recycling that can be deposited 

  2. Bag up your items of recycling (rinsing out any containers, etc.) 

  3. Bring your bag to the Town Council offices during office hours (9.00am to 4.30pm) and place it in the bin provided in the Helpshop. 

For any Facebook users, further information can be found on Ali’s Recycling facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/AliRecycling/ 

______________________________________________________________________________________

 

TerraCycle 

TerraCycle run a number of schemes to recycle the “non-recyclable.” Whether it’s coffee capsules from your home, pens from a school, or plastic gloves from a manufacturing facility, TerraCycle can collect and recycle almost any form of waste. They partner with individual collectors, as well as major consumer product companies, retailers, manufacturers, municipalities, and small businesses across 20 different countries. More details can be found on the TerraCycle website. 

_________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Soft Waste Plastics 

To find your nearest recycling facilities for carrier bags, bread bags and other recyclable plastic packaging listed below, use this handy Recycling Locator tool. 

__________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Hard Waste Plastics 

The rigid plastic recycling trial will enable residents visiting re3 Recycling Centres to recycle a variety of previously non-recycled rigid plastic items such as: plastic buckets, crates, bins, storage boxes, garden furniture, pipes, toys or plastic plant pots. Please see the infographics for acceptable and unacceptable items. 

______________________________________________________________________________________

 

Earley Environmental Group 

The Earley Environmental Group have produced a comprehensive guide on what can be recycled and where across Earley. There are three pages of information – the first is a list of items, the second is a list of the recycling points in and around Earley and the third is a list of TerraCycle collection points. 

 

A link to their list can be found on the Earley Environmental Group website. 

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Recycle Now

Recycle Now is the national recycling campaign for England, supported and funded by Government, managed by WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) and used locally by over 90% of English authorities. Their website has a useful search function that can be used to discover your nearest recycling centre, or locate where you can recycle a specific item.

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Many school uniform items, such as shirts, dresses, and trousers, are made from a mixture of materials including polyester or acrylic – which are 100 per cent plastic. That means, they can take many decades to break down if they are thrown away and sent to a landfill.

 

If you have any unneeded or outgrown school uniforms, consider donating them or giving them to friends, schoolmates, or their siblings. The local charity First Days accepts donations of school uniforms for primary and secondary schools in Wokingham and distributes them to people who need them. Items like PE kit, school shoes, trainers, rucksacks, water bottles and uniforms with school logos can be brought to First Days headquarters in Molly Millars Lane, Wokingham on their Donation Days. Find out more and book an appointment to donate on the First Days website.

________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Reducing food waste is an important aspect in the fight to slow global warming, and can also save you pounds. Love Food Hate Waste estimate that the verage family of four can save over £60 per month by reducing their food waste. Their website is full of helpful hints and tips to help you achieve just that. Small changes to save your food from the bin can make a huge difference to our planet.

________________________________________________________________________________________

Re-use

 

Unwanted items can be donated in the following ways

  • Advertise any unwanted items on the Freegle website. Join your local Freegle Group or email [email protected] to find out more
  • Furniture – you can take unwanted furniture to tips and recycle centres for Sue Ryder to collect, or you can donate unwanted furniture to Age Concern. Call 0118 327 1329. They will collect furniture that is in good condition. 
    ________________________________________________________________________________________

 

To receive updates about waste and recycling, and many other things, from WBC you can subscribe to Wokingham Connect.