Recycling in Cambridgeshire & Peterborough

Your local recycling scheme in
East Cambridgeshire

Kerbside Collections

Changes to your recycling collection
What can I recycle and compost?
How do I get a new black box?
When are my collections and how often?
Where can I recycle my plastic bottles?
Why can't I recycle other plastics?
Batteries
Recycling banks and recycling centres
Got a question?

Changes to your recycling collection

We regret that, due to financial pressures, plastic bottle recycling collections stopped from Friday 26th March 2010.

Residents can continue to recycle plastic bottles in recycling banks around the District and at Grunty Fen recycling centre.

The locations of bring banks, the recycling centre and what can be recycled at each site can be found in our recycling banks and Grunty Fen recycling centre section. Alternatively you may wish to contact East Cambridgeshire District Council directly, using the contact details below.

We apologise for the inconvenience caused by the withdrawal of this service and hope that residents will continue to support recycling by using the plastic bottles recycling banks and Grunty Fen recycling centre.

Questions or problems? Customer Helpline: 01353 665555
E-mail: waste@eastcambs.gov.uk
Website: www.eastcambs.gov.uk

Containers

Black Box - recycling

Brown Sack - garden, food and cardboard waste for composting

Black Sack - rubbish that cannot be recycled or composted

How do I get a new black box?

Please call Veolia Environmental Services on 01353 863864.

Black and brown sacks are delivered to your home as part of your collection service.

When are my collections and how often?

East Cambridgeshire operates a weekly black sack collection and a fortnightly collection of brown sacks and black boxes.

Find out about your black box collections.

Find out about your brown sack collections.

Black Box

Yes please - if it is not listed it is not accepted in this container

PAPER

Newspapers
Magazines
Junk mail
White paper
White envelopes (please remove plastic windows)

GLASS - separate into a plastic bag and placed in your black box

Clean glass bottles of any colour
Clean glass jars of any colour

CANS – separate into a plastic bag and placed in your black box

Clean food cans (squashed if you can)
Clean drinks cans (squashed if you can)
Empty aerosols (do not squash)
Metal jar lids/metal screw caps from wine bottles
Biscuit/sweet tins
Clean foil and clean foil containers (e.g. from pies or takeaways)

No thanks - the following items are therefore not accepted in this container

Cardboard – put this in your brown sack for composting
Telephone directories or yellow pages - put this in your brown sack for composting
Shredded paper - put this in your brown sack for composting
Egg Boxes - put in your brown sack for composting
Any plastic other than plastic bottles
Crisp packets
Plastic/foil pouches (e.g. from pet foods)
Pyrex dishes (they are designed to not melt and therefore cannot be recycled!)
Broken glass
Earthenware, crockery or ceramics - if not broken please take to charity shop
Light bulbs or tubes - take these to your nearest recycling centre (see link below)
Batteries – these are classed as hazardous waste. They should be taken for recycling, either at the collection point in the foyer of Waitrose, Hauxton Road, Trumpington, or taken to your nearest recycling centre (see below)
Milk and juice cartons
Paint cans
Motor oil containers
Hypodermic needles
Brown envelopes and brown paper

Where can I recycle my plastic bottles?

You can recycle your plastic bottles at bring banks located in towns and villages around the district and at Grunty Fen recycling centre. Find out the locations of your nearest bring bank for plastic bottles.

To support the recycling process for plastic bottles, please remember to...

Rinse bottles out
Squash bottles if possible
Remove lids

Why can't I recycle other plastics?

These items are made from different types of plastic, which means they need to be treated differently. At present the technology and markets in this country are not developed enough to enable local authorities to recycle them effectively.

Brown Sack

Yes please - if it is not listed it is not accepted in these containers

FOOD WASTE

All cooked and uncooked food waste (including meat (raw/cooked) and bones)
Coffee filters and tea bags

GARDEN WASTE

Grass and hedge cuttings
Flowers and weeds
Twigs, bark and small branches
Windfall fruit
Straw and sawdust from rabbits and guinea pigs

CARDBOARD/OTHER

All types of cardboard including cardboard food packaging (not waxy cartons (e.g. milk) or food/drinks cartons (foil lined)
Phone books and yellow pages
Catalogues
Shredded paper
Low quality/fibrous paper such as craft/sugar paper
Brown envelopes with plastic windows removed
Soiled newspaper (unless contaminated with chemicals, oil/fuels)

No thanks - the following items are therefore not accepted in this container

Unfortunately, biodegradable bags are not accepted in your green bin/brown sacks as they do not break down sufficiently in the composting system used by local authorities to compost household waste collected in Cambridgeshire
Food and drink cartons (these can now be taken to some recycling centres around Cambridge, see links to recycling banks below)
Plastic bags or sacks of any kind
Plant pots and seed trays
Soil
Cat or dog litter
Food and drink cartons (e.g. milk cartons)
Ash – please home compost where possible
Nappies of any kind
Rubble, stones and bricks (take this to your nearest recycling centre (see link below)
Glass, cans or textiles
Painted or treated wood

Black Sack

This should be used for everything that cannot be recycled or composted.

Batteries

Please do not place batteries in any of your bins, boxes or sacks at home. They contain hazardous materials.

You can recycle batteries at your local recycling centre.

Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment

you can recycle your old electrical and electronic waste at your local recycling centre. However, if it can be reused, consider donating it to a charity shop or swapping & selling it.