Record recycling rates

A rolled up ball of wrapping paper with the text 'scrunch it to sort it'.

Residents in Slough have done a fantastic job of recycling in 2021 and we are encouraging them to keep it up as we move towards 2022.

The council’s Just Four campaign makes it really clear about what can be recycled in the red bin, and residents have been playing their part to make sure as much as possible is recycled.

This includes cardboard, newspapers and magazines, drinks cans and food tins, glass jars and bottles and plastic drinks and washing up bottles.

The community’s efforts mean this year we have the lowest amount of contaminated and rejected recycling loads in five years.

Statistics, excluding December, show:

  • 6,857 tonnes of red bin recycling was collected
  • 7.2% of red bin waste was rejected – down from 10.5% in 2020 and 23.6% in 2019
  • 94 bin lorry loads of red recycling was rejected – down from 150 in 2020, 304 in 2019, 283 in 2018 and 227 in 2017
  • 3,753 tonnes of garden waste was collected
  • 519 fridges were collected
  • 1,330 street cleaning requests
  • 1,855 fly-tipping clearances.

Councillor Rob Anderson, lead member for sustainable transport and the environment, said: “Thank you to everyone in the town who has been sorting their recycling so well. It makes a huge difference to the environment when we can recycle as much as possible. Following our Just Four advice is the best way to ensure there is no contamination of the recycling.”

This year, we will be accepting wrapping paper in the red bins, if it passes the scrunch test. If you can scrunch it and it stays in a ball without springing back, it can be recycled. If it doesn’t stay in a ball, it can’t be recycled. This is because some metallic-looking paper is actually lined with plastic and cannot be recycled.

Cllr Anderson added: “There will be so much wrapping paper used as gifts are exchanged. It’s fantastic we can accept wrapping paper into the recycling this year, but please only put it in your red bin if you have done the scrunch test and it has passed.”

There will be no real Christmas tree collection this year, unless a resident is on the environmental service’s ‘assisted’ list. Residents can take their tree to Chalvey Household Waste and Recycling Centre, compost it themselves, or chop it up and leave it in their green bin until the collections resume in March.

Most cards and envelopes can be recycled in the red bin if they are paper based. Any embellishments such as ribbons or glitter cannot be recycled so please rip off that section before recycling. Batteries should also be removed from musical cards and disposed of at battery recycling points.

The council’s website has a reminder about what goes in your red bin.

Find details of what can and can't be disposed of at the Chalvey HWRC.

Published: 20 December 2021