Did you know that in 2007/08, households in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough produced over 390,000 tonnes of rubbish and over 195,000 tonnes -, roughly 50% of this, was recycled and composted. Not bad, but we know that potentially 60% or more of our rubbish can be recycled and composted. Your local council provides three ways to recycle and compost rubbish. They are through:

  • Kerbside collections
  • Recycling sites
  • Household Waste Recycling Centres

Does recycling make a difference?

The short answer is yes; even the smallest amount of recycling can make a difference:

  • Recycling Aluminium requires only 5% of the energy it takes to make new aluminium and produces only 5% of the CO2 emissions. (Alupro)
  • Just one recycled aluminium can saves enough energy to run a television set for three hours!
  • Producing steel from recycled material saves 75% of the energy needed for steel made from virgin material (Scrib)
  • The energy saving from recycling one glass bottle will:
    - power a 100 watt bulb for an hour
    - power a computer for 25 minutes
    - Power a colour TV for 20 minutes
    - Power a washing machine for 10 minutes (British glass)
  • Recycling just one plastic bottle saves enough energy to power a 60W light bulb for six hours (Recycle now)

Kerbside collections

Every partner council has now established a three-stream collection system for recycling, composting and rubbish that cannot be recycled or composted.

We need your help and participation for these recycling collections to be successful.

To request a recycling box or bin please contact your local recycling officer using the number on our Contacts page.

Recycling banks

There are over 300 recycling bank sites throughout Cambridgeshire and Peterborough where you can take paper, glass, cans, aerosols, textiles, books and plastic bottles.

Household Waste Recycling Centres

Most people refer to this as the Tip! Well, did you know that there are 11 Household Waste Recycling Centres in the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough area where you can recycle glass, engine oil, organic green material, soil, cans, paper, cardboard, scrap metal, batteries, aerosols, textiles, fridges, freezers (and other white goods), timber, plate glass, books, mobile phones, cartridges and fluorescent tubes. Plastic bottles are collected at Grunty Fen, Milton, Bluntisham and Whittlesey Household Waste Recycling Centres.

Household Waste Recycling Centres in Cambridgeshire are now also collecting used cooking oil which will be used to generate green electricity.

How is my local authority area performing?

The table below shows you how much household waste each councilmanaged in 2007/08, how much of it was recycled, composted and sent to landfill. Thanks to everybody's efforts, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are performing really well with an average 50% of household waste being recycled and composted across the partnership.

However, far more can be done to raise recycling and composting rates in the area. Local studies on household waste have revealed that 28% of the waste that households in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough put out as residual waste (waste that cannot be recycled or composted), could actually be recycled or composted.

List of Partner Councils and their household waste recycling performance figures for 2007/08, shown as approximate tonnes and percentage of total household waste
Partner Recycled Composted Recycled and composted Land filled Total amount of household waste
Cambridge City Council 8,084
17.94%		 10,786
23.54%		 18,870
41.48%		 26,513
58.52%		 45,384
Cambridgeshire County Council (Household Recycling Centres only) 17,082
30.59%		 14,109
25.27%		 31,191
55.86%		 24,649
44.14%		 55,837
East Cambridgeshire District Council 4,990
16.84%		 5,640
18.76%		 10,630
35.60%		 19,038
64.40%		 29,668
Fenland District Council 8,855
22.42%		 11,380
27.98%		 20,235
50.40%		 19,645
49.61%		 39,881
Huntingdonshire District Council 19,026
27.31%		 20,563
28.04%		 39,589
55.35%		 31,194
44.65%		 70,784
South Cambridgeshire District 11,107
18.89%		 20,503
34.02%		 31,610
52.91%		 27,832
47.09%		 59,443
Peterborough City Council 19,273
20.68%		 24,176
25.94%		 43,449
46.62%		 48,915
52.48%		 92,364
Total Partnership 88,417
22.76%		 107,156
27.24%		 195,574
49.72%		 197,786
50.28%		 393,361