These are a few of the most frequently asked questions that the
council receives from residents about recycling. We hope that the answers
below will help, but if there is still something you are unsure about please contact us on (01256) 844844 or recycling@basingstoke.gov.uk
If you have a question on waste and recycling which isn't on the list, please let us know what it is at recycling@basingstoke.gov.uk
Recycling FAQs
What can I recycle in my green bin?
What items should I not put in my green bin?
Where is my nearest recycling site?
What happens to my recycling?
What should I do with large amounts of recyclable material?
Why do you not collect yoghurt pots and other plastic packaging?
Why do you not collect shredded paper?
Should I place the recycling in a bag?
Can I recycle plastic carrier bags?
How clean do the recycled materials have to be?
What can I do if I have a large amount of cardboard?
Where can I take glass bottles and jars?
What happens if I put the wrong items in my recycling bin?
Can I recycle my water filters?
Where can I buy products made from recycled materials?
What should I do with my garden waste?
General FAQs
When is my collection day?
My bin has been damaged/lost/stolen. Can I order a new one?
My bin/sack wasn’t emptied. Can you come back and pick it up?
Do the Council offer a service to clean my wheelie bin?
I am unable to put my bin/sack out for collection. Will the council provide assistance?
You can recycle:
Paper - newspapers, magazines, envelopes, junk mail, catalogues, telephone
directories, Yellow Pages but not shredded paper.
Cardboard - cereal boxes, greeting cards, food packaging.
Plastic bottles - all types such a fizzy drink bottles, milk bottles, cleaning products,
shampoo, shower gel. Please remove the lids and place these in your black refuse bin.
Cans - food and drink cans (both steel and aluminium) incl. drinks cans, food or soup cans, pet food cans,
but not aerosol cans
Please make sure your recycling is clean, dry and loose. This will make it easier to sort and keep your bin clean.
We cannot collect:
mixed plastic packaging such as yoghurt pots, margarine tubs, plastic food trays, etc -
at present there are limited facilities to recycle these items in the UK. Please place them in your black rubbish bin. Please click here for more information
juice cartons - Tetra Pak cartons are difficult to recycle because they are mixture of plastic, foil and cardboard and there are no facilities to process them in the UK. Please place them in your black rubbish bin.
shredded paper - in order to process such a large amount of material at our Material Recovery Facilities (MRFs) we use a lot of automatic sorting equipment which recognises different types of material but not very small or shredded pieces. Please place this in your home composter or your black rubbish bin.
aluminium foil – this is made from a different metal alloy to the aluminium in drinks cans and therefore has to be recycled separately. There are 11 aluminium foil banks in the Borough. Click here to find your nearest one.
aerosol cans - These are not the same as food or drinks cans, so should be disposed of with your household rubbish. Never squash or pierce them due to the flammable contents.
food wrappers - although chocolate bar wrappers and crisp packets may say they are "foil wrapped", it is not foil. It is a type of plastic that cannot be recycled. The ‘Scrunch’ test will help you – if it stays screwed up, it’s foil, but if it opens back out again, it’s plastic. Please place these items in your black refuse bin.
plastic carrier bags – unfortunately the lightweight nature of plastic bags means they often get caught in the conveyor belts at the Materials Recovery Facility where your recyclables are sorted. Please place them in your black rubbish bin or in the carrier bag recycling bins at Tescos in Chineham or Sainsbury’s at Hatch Warren and Tadley. The material from these bins is sent straight to a reprocessor and is not sorted through a MRF.
polystyrene and cellophane – unfortunately there are no facilities to process these materials at present in the UK. Please place these in your black rubbish bin. If you have a large quantity of polystyrene, please take this to the Household Waste Recycling Centre on Wade Road.
glass - currently, the Materials Recycling Facility near Alton can not accept glass for safety reasons as recyclables are hand sorted and glass can break and contaminate the rest of the recyclable materials. Glass can be recycled at one of over 75 recycling sites in Borough. Click here to find your nearest recycling sites.
general household waste – this should be placed in your black bin or taken down to the Household Waste Recycling Centre on Wade Road.
There are 75 recycling sites in the Borough, where you can recycle a wide range of items, some of which we cannot collect from the kerbside. Click here to find the nearest recycling site to you. There is also the Household Waste Recycling Centre on Wade Road where you can recycle bulky household waste and other recyclable items, such as batteries and light bulbs. Click here for more information.
After collection, your recycling is taken to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) near Alton where it is sorted. This is done using a combination of mechanical and manual sorting. The separated items are then sent to reprocessors throughout the country to be made into new products. Please click here to learn more about the MRF.
If you have more recyclables than will fit in your bin, please use one of the mixed bins which can be found throughout the Borough. These bins are for the same recyclable materials that we collect through the green bins. Please place your items into these bins clean, dry and loose as they are also sorted at the Materials Recovery Facility. You can also request a larger 240l green bin or a second recycling bin if you have a large family. Please contact the council to order one on 01256 844844.
There are many different types of plastic and items such as yoghurt pots, margarine tubs, plastic food trays and carrier bags are very different from plastic bottles, which we can recycle.
The only market for these mixed plastic exists in Asia and due to the lightweight, bulky nature of these materials it would very damaging to the environment to transport them over such a large distance.
The type of plastic used to produce plastic bottles is different and there are markets in the UK for all types of plastic bottles. These are recycled into a range of items including fleece clothing and drainage pipes. For more information on this question, please click here.
We use a range of mechanical and manual sorting techniques to separate your recyclables from each other. This takes place at a Materials Recovery Facility near Alton. Due to the size of shredded paper, the machinery is unable to separate the shredded paper from the other items and it simply passes through the system and is disposed of. Shredded paper can be placed in your home composter or your black rubbish bin. Please do not place shredded paper in any of the blue and yellow bins at our recycling sites. The materials in these bins are also taken to the Alton MRF and should therefore be used in the same way as your kerbside bin. For more information on this question, please click here.
No, all of your recycling should be placed into your bin clean, dry and loose. This makes it easy for us to sort at the Materials Recovery Facility. Any items that are wrapped in a plastic carrier bag or a black sack will be disposed of.
These should not be placed in your green bin as they will become tangled in the machinery that we use to sort your recycling. Plastic bags can be re-used at supermarkets or around the home. They can be recycled at Tesco's in Chineham and at Sainsbury's in Hatch Warren and Tadley. If you no longer need them, they can be placed in your black bin.
Please consider buying a Bag For Life which are now available at several supermarkets. These are much more durable than plastic carrier bags and help reduce the amount of rubbish you produce.
It is advised that food tins are rinsed using the water that you have washed your dishes in, but take care with sharp edges. There is no need for these containers to be thoroughly cleaned using fresh running water, as long as any large amounts of food residues are taken out. Labels can be removed but it doesn’t matter if they aren’t, as this is part of the reprocessing stage.
There is a skip at the Household Waste Recycling Centre on Wade Road for cardboard, which should be flattened and all contents removed. Alternatively, flattened cardboard can be put out alongside your green bin on your day of collection.
There are over 75 recycling sites in the Borough where you can take a wide range of recyclables, including glass bottles and jars; clothing and shoes; books; the same materials that we collect through your green bins; and aluminium foil. To find your nearest bring site, please click here.
Contaminated green bins will not be collected.
Our crews are instructed to ensure recycling bins have not been contaminated with waste and not to collect those that have been. This is because it will contaminate recyclables when they are sorted and could be dangerous to those who sort the recyclables by hand. Putting items which can't be recycled into your green bin could lead to the rejection of an entire load of recycling, which is about 4 tonnes worth of material.
We will not empty green bins that contain the wrong materials. The green bin is for paper, card, cans and plastic bottles only. The black bin is for all household waste and should not contain recyclables.
Recycling left in black sacks or plastic carrier bags will not be collected and should be placed into the green bin clean, dry and loose.
You can recycle Brita water filters by posting them back to the company at:
BRITA RECYCLING, FREEPOST NAT17876, Bicester, OX26 4BR.
All other types of water filter should be placed in your black refuse bin.
Buying recycled products creates demand for recycled materials and helps to “close the recycling loop.” Click here for more information on recycled products.
Residents have a number of choices for composting their green garden waste. By using a home composter, residents can produce their own compost from grass cuttings, leaves, hedge clippings and kitchen waste. Cut-price home compost bins are available from Recycle Now. Please click here for information on prices.
Alternatively, residents can sign-up to the council's Green Garden Waste Collection service and we will do the composting for you. Please click here for more information.
Green garden waste can also be taken to the Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) on Wade Road, where there is a skip for this material. Please click here for more information on the HWRC.
General Questions
Your rubbish and recycling bin should be placed on the edge of your property by 7am on the day of collection. To find out when your bin should be picked up, please ring the council on 01256 844844 or click here.
Sometimes after collection, your bin may have been returned further down your street. If you cannot find your bin, please call the council on 01256 844844. We recommend that people mark their bin with their house number to ensure they know which bin is theirs.
We have developed an online form for residents to report missed bin collection. Please click here to report a missed collection. Alternatively, please call the council on 01256 844844.
No, we do not offer this service. You can either clean the bin yourself using a long handled brush and some soapy water or find a private company by looking in your local telephone directory.
The Council provides an assisted collection for residents who are unable to put their bin/sack out for collection due to disability or infirmity. Please ring the council on 01256 844844 to request this service.
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