in Medway Inside: Your guide to recycling Kerbside recycling 2 Garden waste 4 Household waste and recycling centres 5 Recycling points 6 Bulky items 8

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01634 333333

www.medway.gov.uk/recyclenow

Inside:

Kerbside recycling

2

Garden waste

4

Household waste

and recycling centres

5

Recycling points

6

Bulky items

8

Your guide to

recycling

in Medway

Dear resident,

Thanks to you, Medway’s recycling is going from strength to strength. We’re now recycling more than ever before – in 2006/07 Medway recycled almost a third of its rubbish.

While this is a great achievement, there are real incentives for us to continue to recycle more. We still bury more than 87,000 tonnes of rubbish in landfill annually – the environmental and financial costs of this increase each year. While recycling is obviously very important, reducing the amount of waste we produce 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 we have to throw away.

This booklet explains how you can recycle more. I hope you find it useful. Please keep it in a safe place for future use.

If you need more information about recycling in Medway, please contact the council. There are contact details on the back of this guide.

■What happens to my recycling after it is collected?

It’s taken to our materials recycling facility in Rainham, Essex. Here the recycling goes through a number of mechanical, electronic and manual processes that separate it into different materials which are then recycled into new products. ■Can yoghurt pots, margarine tubs and

Tetra Paks be recycled?

Recycling depends on people or companies wanting to buy the recycled materials.

Unfortunately, at the moment, there isn’t demand for some recycled plastics, such as those

used for yoghurt pots, meat trays or margarine tubs. This means that it isn’t economically or environmentally viable to collect them for recycling at the moment. We do not collect Tetra Paks in blue boxes or bags, although we are now trialling Tetra Pak recycling at some recycling points. See pages six and seven for more details. ■I always fill my blue box up. Please

can I have another?

Unfortunately we can only provide one blue box per house or maisonette. Don’t forget you can use blue bags for recycling anything that won’t fit into your blue box.

■My blue box has been lost or damaged. What can I do?

Please phone us on01634 333333or email customer.first@medway.gov.ukand we’ll deliver you a new one.

■I live in a flat. Where should I leave my recycling for collection?

Many flats now have large recycling containers in their bin store areas. If this is not the

case, please contact your managing agent or Medway Council for advice.

Your questions

Kerbside recycling – helping y

To help you recycle more, you will now

receive

blue bags for recycling

every 13 weeks.

Please put your recycling out in your

blue box or bags

by 7am

on your

usual recycling collection day. Rubbish

that can’t be recycled should be put out

in black sacks on your usual rubbish

collection day.

You will not receive any more

black sacks and will need to buy these

yourself from local shops.

you recycle more at home

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✔

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Metal cans

Carrier bags

Card

Paper/catalogues

Recycling tips

■Plastic, other than bottles or carrier bags, cannot be recycled by us so please don’t put them in your blue bag/box.

■_{If you have a blue box use it for heavier items like}

paper and cardboard. Blue bags are ideal for lighter or bulkier items like tins or plastic bottles.

■Don’t put extra recycling out in black sacks – these will be treated as rubbish for landfill and will not be recycled. If you run out of blue bags you can collect more, free, from Medway Council contact points, or you can use carrier bags, cardboard boxes or swing-bin liners instead.

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Plastic packaging

(except bottles)

Cartons/

Tetra Paks*

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_✘

What can

and cannot

be recycled at the kerbside?

*Glass, cartons and Tetra Paks are not currently collected in blue bags and boxes but can be recycled at some recycling points.

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Envelopes

Foil

Plastic bottles

Empty aerosols

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Your garden waste

What can be recycled in your brown bin/bag?

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Grass and hedge

clippings

Garden prunings

and weeds

Small branches

Dead plants

■Where should I leave my garden waste for collection?

Leave it at the boundary of your property by 7am on collection day. Brown bins should have their lids closed and be left with their handles facing the road. Once emptied, bin lids will be left open and brown sacks will be left near the collection point where they can be secured.

■Why don’t you collect food waste too? The way we process garden waste to make it into soil conditioner means we can’t accept food or animal waste. Some other councils use different techniques to process garden waste, which means they can accept food waste.

Your questions

Garden waste tips

■Please don’t put out loose garden waste.

■Don’t overload your brown bin. If the bin is too heavy it will not be emptied as itcan break when it is lifted to be emptied.

■_{We can’t accept plant pots/trays/tags,} stones, plastic bags/sacks, domestic waste, logs, soil, hardcore, metal, kitchen waste or vegetable peelings.

Garden waste is collected from homes

in Medway every fortnight on the same

day as rubbish for landfill is collected.

The garden waste collection is made on the opposite week from the recycling collection. Once collected garden waste is turned into a rich soil conditioner. You can put out garden waste in abrown binor brown sack.You can also use other coloured sacks

for garden waste as long as they arenotblue or black. Please leave other sacks untied so it is easy for us to check what is in the sack when it is picked up. If you have a brown wheelie bin we will collect two additional sacks of garden waste. If you do not have a brown wheelie bin, we will collect up to four sacks of garden waste per collection. Brown sacks are available on request by phoning01634 333333 or emailingcustomer.first@medway.gov.uk.

■_{If you have wood or bulky materials, the} smaller you cut it up, the more room you will have in your bin.

■Paint your house number on your bin neatly. ■Compacted garden waste in the bin can

Household waste and

recycling centres

What can be recycled or disposed of?

glass bottles and jars garden waste shoes textiles cans metal

paper and cardboard

tyres (Capstone only) car batteries

plastic bottles/carrier bags electrical equipment (including freezers, fridges, televisions and computer monitors) household batteries

fluorescent light tubes/ energy saving light bulbs wood

hardcore and soil household and garden chemicals (Cuxton only, ask staff on site first) What you can take for recycling at the three sites:

household waste gas bottles asbestos

What you can take for disposal at the three sites:

You can recycle more by taking unwanted

items to one of Medway’s three household

waste and recycling centres.

As well as accepting electrical equipment (including freezers, fridges, televisions and computer monitors), the sites also recycle household batteries and fluorescent or low energy light bulbs. Check out the full list below to see what you can recycle at the centres.

Mon to Fri,8am to 4.30pm Sun/bank hols,9am to 4pm

Mon to Fri,8am to 4.30pm* Sun/bank hols,9am to 4pm

Mon to Fri,8am to 4.30pm* Sun/bank hols,9am to 4pm *Site open until 6.30pm on Mondays between April and September

■Ambley Road, off Hoath Way, Gillingham ME8 OQH

■Shawstead Road,

Capstone, Chatham ME7 3JL

■Sundridge Hill, Cuxton ME2 1LF

Please noteThere is no access to the sites for vehicles taller than 1.85 metres or pedestrians. Transit-type, panel

Recycling points

There are 56 recycling points

throughout Medway providing local

facilities for recycling materials

including glass bottles, paper and cans.

The table below shows what other facilities are available at each recycling point.

Many recycling points are close to homes, so please be considerate and do not make noise between 7pm and 7am when using the recycling points.

Paper:Cardboard boxes can now be placed in the paper banks for recycling. Please fold the boxes flat first to ensure there is enough space in the bank for everyone's recycling.

Cans:Recycle your metal food and drink cans.

Shoes:Please try to deposit them in pairs.

Cartons:Paper-based milk, juice, liquid food and beverage cartons.

Glass:Bottle and jar recycling. Green and blue bottles can be deposited in the green bank and white coloured glass can be deposited in the clear bank.

Textiles:Please note, this does not include duvets, pillows or carpets.

Plastic bags

Isle of Grain, Upnor, Stoke, Hoo,

Cliffe, Cooling, High Halstow

Strood

Main Road (Stoke Road) Hoo Main Road, Cooling

Lower Upnor Car Park, Upnor Mockbeggar Farm Shop, Town Road, Cliffe Woods Parkside, Cliffe Woods Pottery Road, Hoo Village Hall, Hoo Village Hall, High Halstow COMING SOON: Hogarth Inn, Isle of Grain

Brompton Farm Shop, Brompton Farm Road, Strood Civic Centre, Strood Commercial Road, Strood Strood Leisure Centre,Lower Car Park, Humber Crescent, Strood

Sycamore Road, Strood Tesco, Charles Street, Strood The Bounty Pub,

Rochester, Chatham,

Walderslade, Lordswood

Lordswood Lane

Asda,Maidstone Road, Chatham

Bank Street Car Park, Chatham Capstone Farm Country Park, Capstone Road

Christchurch, Luton Road, Chatham

Doust Shipyard Car Park, High Street, Rochester Historic Dockyard, Chatham Homebase, Horsted Retail Park, Maidstone Road Kestrel Road, Lordswood Lordswood Leisure Centre, North Dane Way

Lower Robin Hood Lane, Walderslade

Priestfields Recreation Ground, Rochester Silverweed Road Shops, Chatham

Solomons Road, Chatham St Mary's Island Community Centre Stirling Centre, Maidstone Road, Rochester

The Old Ash Tree Pub, Rainham Road, Chatham Union Street Car Park, Rochester

Warren Wood Social Club, Warren Wood Road, Rochester Wayfield Road Shops, Chatham

Gillingham, Rainham, Twydall,

Hempstead, Brompton

Balmoral Gardens, Gillingham Black Lion Leisure Centre, Mill Road, Gillingham Concorde Pub, Wakeley Road, Rainham

Croneens Car Park, Railway Street, Gillingham Darland Avenue, Gillingham Dewdrop Pub, Begonia Avenue, Twydall Hempstead Valley Shops Car Park

Longley Road Car Park, Rainham

Medway Maritime Hospital Middle Street, Brompton High Street, Rainham (opposite Mierscourt Road) Municipal Buildings, Gillingham

Parkwood Green, Car Park, Rainham

Sappers Walk, Gillingham Splashes Leisure Pool, Bloors Lane, Rainham St Albans Close, Gillingham Station Road Car Park, Rainham

Tangmere Close, Gillingham Tesco, Courteney Road, Rainham

Twydall Shopping Centre, Twydall Lane

Who to contact

Customer First: 01634 333333 8am to 8pm (Mon-Fri) 9am to 1pm (Sat)

Calls may be recorded or monitored for security and staff development purposes.

Customer First, Medway Council, Civic Centre, Strood, Rochester, Kent, ME2 4AU

Email:customer.first@medway.gov.uk Website:www.medway.gov.uk/recyclenow

Minicom:01634 333111

This information can be made available in other formats by calling

01634 333333

If you have any questions about this leaflet and you want to speak to someone in your own language please ring01634 335577

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Getting rid of large

or bulky items

■Armchair

■Barbecue

■Bath (not cast iron)

■Bed

■Bicycle

■Bidet

■Cabinet

■Carpet

■Central heating radiator

■Chairs - dining room or garden (two items)

■Chest of drawers ■Computer ■Cooker ■Cupboard ■Desk ■Dishwasher ■Electric fire

■Extractor fan (kitchen)

■Fridge or freezer ■Garden gate ■Garden table ■Gas fire ■Hi-fi system ■Internal door (without glass) ■Ironing board ■Lawn mower ■Mattress ■Microwave ■Musical instrument ■Ottoman ■Pram ■Settee ■Sewing machine ■Shower tray ■Sideboard ■Sink ■Strimmer

■Table (not glass)

■Television ■Toys ■Tumble dryer ■Underlay ■Vacuum cleaner ■Wall unit ■Wardrobe (not mirrored) ■Washing machine ■WC ■Wheelbarrow ■Worktop (up to 6ft)

Large or bulky items we will collect

Dumping unwanted household goods

makes Medway untidy and is illegal.

Instead you could find them a new

home by advertising with the following

internet-based reuse and recycling

schemes. Goods are given away for

nothing but the new owner collects.

■Freecycle(www.freecycle.org.uk/groups/ unitedkingdom). There are local Freecycle groups in Chatham, Gillingham, Strood and Walderslade.

■Rag and Bone(www.rag-and-bone.co.uk).

■Reuze(www.reuze.co.uk).

■VSkips(www.vskips.co.uk).

If a large or bulky item is beyond reuse, Medway Council can collect it from your home and dispose of it.

■Collections must be booked well in advance by phoning01634 333333.

■We will collect up to three items per collection.

■Items must be left at the boundary of your property by7amon the booked collection day.

■Thefirst collectionbooked in any six-month period isfreebut each additional booking (of up to three items) costs £15 per booking.

■Anexpress serviceis available for collection within 48 hours at a cost of£24.