Waste and recycling process

Where the waste and recycling goes, after we collect it, depends on what material they are.

Recycling (red bin) waste process

All recycling goes to Grundon, a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Colnbrook, where the items are sorted by type, using conveyor belts, magnets, optical scanners, and manual checks. Clean, dry, and loose recycling from you makes this process more effective.

  1. Paper and cardboard are baled (compressed into a manageabale form) and sent to specialist mills.
  2. Glass is crushed and melted into new bottles and jars.
  3. Plastic bottles, pots, tubs, and trays are processed into pellets for reuse.
  4. Metal cans are recycled into new metal products.

The key aim is to turn them back into useful products rather than going to landfill.

General household (grey bin) waste process

Waste do not go to landfill. We take Slough’s residual waste to the Lakeside Energy from Waste (EfW) Facility in Colnbrook.

At the EfW plant:

  1. Waste is delivered to a secure bunker.
  2. Large grab cranes feed it into the furnace.
  3. It is combusted at high temperatures to generate steam.
  4. The steam powers turbines that generate electricity.

Why Energy from Waste and not a landfill

EfW helps Slough:

  1. reduce landfill use
  2. generate local renewable electricity
  3. recover metals and secondary materials
  4. lower carbon emissions compared with landfill disposal.

This site processes around 440,000 tonnes of non-recyclable waste every year and turns it into electricity. The plant produces around 306 GWh of electricity each year. This is enough to power roughly every household in Slough (around 86,000 homes).

Lakeside EfW is a major regional facility serving local authorities along the M4 corridor, including Slough.

What is left after burning

  • Bottom ash is processed and can be reused in road building and construction.
  • Metals are recovered and recycled.
  • Air pollution control residues are treated safely off-site.

Garden (green bin – subscription service) waste process

Garden waste is taken to a composting facility, Shorts Open Windrow Composting (OWC), in Winkfield. The finished compost is PAS 100 certified and used as a soil improver for agriculture, landscaping, and land restoration.

Food waste process

Find out what happens to the food waste.

Household waste taken to Chalvey household waste recycling centre

Items taken to the Chalvey Household Waste & Recycling Centre (HWRC) go through different specialist streams:

  • Electricals (WEEE): dismantled and recycled.
  • Wood, metal, rubble: processed and reused.
  • Hazardous items: e.g. gas bottles, chemicals — treated safely through approved partners.