Recycling - COLLECTION
- Is there a recycling collection in my area?
- How does the collection scheme work?
- How can I join the collection scheme?
- How can I get recycling bags?
- What can I put out for the recycling service?
- When is my collection day?
- What time do I put my recycling out for collection?
- How can I get an information leaflet?
- Are there any guidelines for using the recycling service?
- Why don't we have bins or boxes for recycling?
- What happens to collections at Christmas and bank holidays?
- Contact Us
Is there a recycling collection in my area?
In November 2005 we extended our kerbside collection of recyclables and now operate a kerbside service to 98% of households in Rhondda Cynon Taf. Unfortunately, outlying farmhouses and properties are currently not covered by the scheme but we will be hoping to address this in the future.
We have sent out information to all households joining the scheme for the first time including the day of the week we will be collecting your recyclables and the materials we are able to collect.
How does the collection scheme work?
You have been given clear recycling bags, brightly coloured stickers and an information leaflet.
Please put any recyclable materials into the bags and put the bags put out for collection on the allotted day each week.
Please put paper into one bag, mixed dry recyclables (glass bottles and containers, plastic bottles and containers, metal tins and cans and tetrapak cartons) into another bag and garden waste into another bag.
Small amounts of textiles can be placed in your mixed bag, but for larger amounts please use a separate clear bag.
Please leave the bags containing recyclables on the kerbside near your property.
Refuse and recycling are collected in different vehicles so please keep your recyclables separate from your refuse. You can put clear recycling bags alongside your refuse bin or next to your black bags but please do not put bags of recycling inside the wheelbin you use for refuse.
When you are running short of bags please put a sticker in a prominent position on one of the bags you put out for collection.
Several new vehicles especially for recycling have been purchased using European funds granted under the Strategic Recycling Scheme.
Please note
- We now collect recyclables in refuse type vehicles because this is more efficient. These are totally different vehicles to the ones that pick up your household waste. The material we collect for recycling is recycled and does not go to landfill.
- We have reorganised our collection services so that your refuse and recycling are now collected on the same day. There have been a few changes to established collection days but we have sent a leaflet to everyone who is affected explaining any alterations.
- We can only collect recyclables if they are in clear bags. Please do not use black bags, carrier bags or other bags for recycling.
How can I join the collection scheme?
You can join the scheme by contacting us using our contact details at the end of this page. If you give us your name and address we will sent you bags, stickers and an information leaflet and we will tell you your collection day.
Please read the information leaflet and start putting out your recyclables. We will collect them on your allotted day.
Please do not put your bags out earlier than the evening before your collection day.
How can I get recycling bags?
You can get recycling bags by asking your collection crew or by contacting us using our contact details at the end of this page.
You can also now order your bags online by using the Recycling Bag Request form.
Recycling bags are also available from ...
- One for All Centres
- Communities First Offices
- Libraries
- By calling Customer Care on 01443 494700.
- From the Collection crews
- By leaving a sticker/note on your bags before you run out
We will shortly list details of all outlets on this web page but in the meantime please contact us to find your local collection point.
Please note
- We supply sheets of stickers when we deliver bags. Each sticker has the message ‘more bags please’.
- When you need more bags just peel off one of the stickers and fix it in a clearly visible position on one of the bags you put out for collection. The last sticker on each sheet has the message ‘more bags and stickers please’.
- You can get stickers through any of the contact points listed above.
What can I put out for the recycling service?
Please give us the following materials.
- Newspapers and magazines
- Junk mail
- Office type paper (in any colour)
- Cardboard
- Glass bottles and containers
- Metal tins and cans (including tin-foil if clean and not contaminated with foodstuffs)
- Plastic bottles and containers (including cleaned out yoghurt pots, margarine tubs etc)
- Tetrapak cartons (the waxy type milk & orange juice cartons)
- Garden waste (grass cuttings, hedge clippings etc.)
- Textiles, including bedding and pillows
- Household Batteries (Please see below)
- Polystyrene
Please don’t give us the following materials (we are not able to recycle them at present).
- Anything still containing food or drink
- Crisp packets
- Kitchen roll
- Sweet wrappers
- Other small pieces of paper
- Kitchen waste
- Any rubbish
We are always looking for new markets and new uses for recyclable material and we will collect other items as markets become available.
We are now able to collect tetrapak cartons as we have recently found a market for them. If you want to recycle your tetrapak cartons please put them in a clear recycling bag with your bottles, cans and plastic containers.
We can now also recycle all household batteries, and provide free battery recycling bags, which can be used for all domestic batteries including cell batteries. When the bags are full they can be placed in with the mixed recycling and put for collection. These bags will be available from all libraries and cash desks throughout the Borough from April 2008.
We hope to be able to collect kitchen waste, including meat and fish scraps, in the near future but, due to current legislation, we do not have an appropriate facility to handle this material.
When is my collection day?
You can now find your collection day for any of our waste services by looking on-line. For information on your collection day please click HERE.
What time do I put my recycling out for collection?
Please make sure that your recycling is placed outside on the kerbside NO LATER THAN 7:00AM on the day of collection, and no earlier than 7:00pm the night before collection.
How can I get an information leaflet?
When we initially deliver recycling bags we also provide an information leaflet (the 1-2-3 leaflet) to explain the collection service. You will soon be able to get a copy of the leaflet on-line but in the meantime please contact us by using our contact details at the end of this page.
Are there any guidelines for using the recycling service?
Please do
- Look at the above list of materials that we can recycle and give us as much of these materials as you can
- Give us clean materials (don’t leave milk in plastic bottles or butter in plastic containers etc.)
- Think of your neighbours and put your bags outside your own house
- Stack your bags tidily so they don’t obstruct the pavement
- Contact us if you have any problems
Please don’t
- Give us any rubbish or items we cannot recycle
- Put your recycling bags out too early
- Leave recycling bags in the street all week
- Put out recycling in black bags (our collectors will think its rubbish and leave it)
Why don't we have bins or boxes for recycling?
When we started recycling we carried out a series of large-scale trials to evaluate different collection methods. We selected three methods that were being used by local authorities with good track records in recycling.
Boxes
We quickly realised that methods involving the sorting of materials at the kerbside were impractical in narrow valley streets. The collection vehicle had to move slowly down each street and soon created traffic hold-ups.
We also found that when we gave out boxes, the size of the box limited the amount of material that could be put out for recycling each week. Residents involved in the trial filled their boxes but had to put any additional recyclable material into their waste bags. We thought of supplying larger boxes but realised they would be too heavy to lift.
We also had complaints that as boxes were left out for most of the day they filled up with rainwater, went ‘missing’ or were blown down the street.
Bins
We have many terraced houses in Rhondda Cynon Taf and a large number of these are unsuited to recycling collections using wheelbins. Many of the terraced houses have no front gardens or have steps to the front door.
In areas where front doors open directly onto the street, residents have expressed concerns about wheeling the bins through their houses. In areas with steps, residents expressed concerns about wheeling the bins up and down these steps. In both cases we felt bins would be left on the pavement the whole time and would create access problems
Bags
After evaluating the results of our trials we now believe the best way forward is to use clear bags. We are able to collect bags in a variety of vehicles from all types of housing. We can use any vehicle from a small van to a refuse-type lorry. You can put out as much or as little as you like in bags and we are able to collect many different materials.
As the bags are see-through we can check that no-one uses the recycling service as an additional refuse collection.
What happens to collections at Christmas and bank holidays?
We have recently agreed with our refuse and recycling collection crews that they will work on most bank holidays and there will be no changes to collection days at these times.
The only exception will be during the Christmas period when collections may be delayed by one or two days depending on which days Christmas and New Year fall.
We will notify you of any changes on this website and also in the local press, libraries and Council offices.
Contact Us
The Service Director for Streetcare
Rhondda Cynon Taf Streetcare Services
Ty Glantaf
Unit B23, Treforest Industrial Estate
Pontypridd
CF37 5TT
Tel: 01443 494700
Fax: 01443 827730
Email: Recycling@rhondda-cynon-taf.gov.uk
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Content authorised by: Waste Services
Last revised on: 28/4/2010