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Twin Stream Recycling
Recycling in Medway
Kerbside recycling is really easy and by keeping paper and
cardboard separate. It means the council can now collect
household plastic packing, including margarine tubs and yoghurt
pots, but please keep them apart.
Paper and card that is correctly separated from other materials
before collection can help reduce processing costs and help save
around £1million each year.
Your paper and cardboard should be placed inside the blue box or
reusable recycling bags on its own with no plastic bags.
Help keep it clean, by doing your bit for Medway, the
environment, which also helps us keep costs low and continue
offering a high quality service.
Select from the bookmarks below for more on recycling in
Medway:
Blue reusable recycling bag (No plastic please)
- Newspapers/magazines
- Telephone directories
- Envelopes, junk mail and paper
- Flattened cardboard
- Cereal and egg boxes
White reusable recycling bag
- Glass bottles and jars
- Metal food and drinks cans
- Clean metal foil
- Empty aerosols
- Household plastic packaging, including:
Bottles, pots, tubs and trays.
Find
out your recycling collection day
Each household will also receive a pack of 13 clear plastic
bags every 13 weeks to provide additional capacity for your
mixed recycling. Please do not use the clear plastic bags for paper
and card. If you still have a blue box, please use this for excess
paper and card.
Please put your recycling bags out by 7am on
your recycling collection day and no earlier than the night
before. The bags are weighted to stop them blowing away and are
reusable so they will be returned to where you left them by the
recycling crew for you to use again and again.
What should I do with shredded paper?
- You can cut down the amount
you have by only shredding paper that carries data such
as Bank
and National
insurance details. Names and addresses can be found in
phone books and on envelopes, so is not generally regarded as
sensitive information.
- You could always tear off the
part with bank details etc, and only shred that part, then
place it in an
envelope or two for
recycling.
- If you have a brown wheelie
bin for garden waste, you can place it loose in there with the
garden/food waste.
- You can compost it in a
discounted home compost bin (www.medway.getcomposting.com/)
- You can also help cut down the
amount of information you get with your name and address on it by
registering with the Mail Preference
Service.
What should I do with my old blue plastic recycling bags?
You can use any blue sacks, left over from previous
deliveries, for recycling mixed containers.
Does all the recycling go into the back of the same
vehicle?
Yes, however, the collection vehicles are designed with a "split
body", to keep the materials separate.
I live in a block of flats, can I recycle more too?
Yes. Using containers delivered to each blocks of
flats. If your flats doesn't have large recycling containers
in your bin store area, contact the council using the
contact details below for further information on how you can
recycle.
I recycle a lot, can I get extra reusable bags or clear plastic
sacks?
If you need more blue or white reusable bags or clear plastic
bags, these are available at council contact points and libraries.
Can I use carrier bags or boxes for additional materials?
Yes, but only for "mixed containers", that is metal
food and drink cans, glass and plastic bottles and household
plastic packaging.
What happens to non-recyclable plastics in Medway?
Globally, the plastics market is still developing. Working with
our waste contractor Veolia and other locally-based industries, new
outlets for a wider range of plastics are developing but some
plastics will go for energy recovery until these markets are
developed.
I have had my bag or box lost or stolen, what should I do?
Use the contact details below to ask for a replacement bag.
You can mark your house number on your reusable bags to help
identify which ones are yours.
Avoiding problems from high winds
Occasionally, waste collection problems can be caused by high
winds.
This can lead to some recycling material being blown from
collection containers and some containers being blown over.
Therefore, we ask that care is taken when putting materials out
for collection on very windy days. Loose materials can be contained
using the Velcro strap on the reusable recycling bags and, if
possible, containers put in a sheltered spot where they can still
be easily seen at the edge of your property.
Collection crews pick up materials they drop or spill, may
be able to pick up items blown close to containers, but cannot pick
up those blown down the street.
Please do all you can to avoid wind-blown material and report
any serious litter problems to our Customer First team using the
contact information below.
Can I recycle batteries?
Not in your blue or white reusable bags. However, Medway Council
now provides recycling facilities for batteries at Medway's
libraries and three
household waste recycling
sites and you should be able recycle them at all larger
supermarkets or outlets that sell batteries.
Can I recycle Tetra-paks and cartons?
Not in your blue or white reusable bags, although there are five
recycling points across Medway
that allow you to recycle them.
Can I recycle polystyrene?
No, the market for this material is not strong enough, so we are
unable to collect it.
How do I recycle old printer cartridges?
Go to the
IMPACT Inkjet and Toner Recycler website and download a
FREE-post label or send your old printer cartridges to:
Free Post RRAE-YJCY-RRBX
Impact Toners
17 Kingsnorth Industrial Estate
Hoo
Rochester ME3 9ND
Your contribution will help the Kent Air Ambulance Trust.
How can I reduce waste and recycle more?
While recycling is obviously very important, reducing the amount
of waste produced in the first place is just as important. By
making informed choices about what we buy and use, we can all make
decisions that help reduce the amount thrown away.
Missed recycling collections
Please note that if your waste and/or recycling are
missed from a collection round, you must notify the council within
24 hours on 01634 333333.
Download the latest issue of recycling in
Medway (pdf 1,535KB).
To use this file you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do
not have this on your computer please use our advice page.
Video guide to recycling (from the Recycle Now website)
Cans
Paper
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Glass bottles
Plastic bottles
Electricals
Garden waste
Food Waste
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