Over 40% of what is found in the borough's rubbish bins can be recycled using the services we provide. Maximise your recycling by following the advice across the different sections highlighted below.
For help on how to reduce, reuse, recycle or correctly dispose of items you have, check our A to Z of waste and recycling.
Recycling bins containing items we do not collect may not be emptied.
Recycle the items below in your green recycling bin or communal recycling bin. They must be clean, dry and loose (not in bags).
Recycling collections are fortnightly and take place between 6am and 6pm.
Flatten cardboard and squash plastic bottles and cans for more space in your recycling bin. You can also order extra containers for recycling.
Extra recycling can be put out next to your green bin in clear liners, available from supermarkets. If it is a one off we can send you two clear recycling sacks.
If you have a smaller 140 litre green recycling bin, you can exchange this free of charge for a larger 240 litre bin.
Request a larger 240 litre bin
If you regularly fill your recycling bin, you can order an extra recycling bin free of charge.
Only the items listed above can go in your recycling bin. For everything else please visit our A to Z of waste and recycling for advice on whether items can be recycled, reused, reduced or how to dispose of them correctly.
We can only collect plastic bottles in your recycling bin at home. These include squash and fizzy drinks bottles, washing up liquid bottles, detergent bottles, shampoo or body wash bottles and toilet cleaner or bleach bottles.
Even if it carries a 'can be recycled' message or symbol, do not put mixed plastics like plastic pots, tubs, tray, tubes or cartons into your recycling bin at home. These cannot be processed at Hampshire County Council's recycling sorting facility currently.
The county council is responsible for sorting and processing recycling materials collected by the borough council from your bins at home. We can only collect those materials that the county council's recycling facility can sort. The county council is building a new sorting facility which will allow us to collect more recyclable items from homes including plastic pots, tubs, trays, tubes and cartons from 2028.
Find more information on New materials recovery facility (MRF) for Hampshire visit Hampshire County Council's webpage.
If you are keen to recycle more now, we have introduced temporary recycling banks for mixed plastics at our six council-owned recycling sites. This means you can take your clean and empty plastic pots, tubs, trays, tubes and cartons to these sites if you wish to. We have sourced a local company to collect and recycle these items through sustainable markets.
Alternatively, continue to put them in your rubbish bin at home. Squashing , stacking them or filling them with other rubbish will make more space in your rubbish bin until we can collect these from your home.
If the wrong items are put into your recycling bin, glass box or food waste caddy we may not collect them.
The wrong items put into recycling is called contamination and this reduces what can actually be recycled. For example, if our recycling trucks contain items that cannot be sorted and processed at the county council's sorting facility, the whole load could be rejected. This could mean recycling collected from an entire neighbourhood is sent to the incinerator.
Glass recycling collections are fortnightly and take place between 6am and 6pm.
Households with individual bins will have a green glass box. They can also buy a red glass bin. Residents who share waste and recycling bins will have a communal bin for glass.
Yes please
No thank you
Call us on 01256 844844 to buy:
Food waste is collected every week.
Households with individual bins will have a silver indoor caddy and a larger green outdoor caddy. Residents who share waste and recycling bins will have a silver indoor caddy and a brown communal food waste bin.
All food waste must be contained in liners or reused plastic bags, like bread bags. This protects our collection staff and reduces mess and smells.
You can recycle all of your food waste including:
Yes please
No thanks
Do not put these items into your food waste caddies or shared communal food waste bins:
For new, additional or replacement outdoor food waste caddies please contact us by emailing customer.service@basingstoke.gov.uk or by calling 01256 844844.
Check our simple steps to get you going:
All food waste must be contained in liners.
Top tip: You can buy caddy liners from the supermarket or reuse plastic bags like bread bags.
Put your food waste into your silver inside caddy. Tie up your liner and pop it into your outside caddy or shared food waste bin.
Top tip: to reduce the risk of liners breaking, change frequently, don't overfill them and let your food waste cool before putting it into the caddy. Wet food may need to be double bagged.
Tie up your liner and put it in your green outdoor caddy or shared food waste bin if you have communal bins.
Top tip: store your green outdoor caddy in the shade if you can with the handle in the upright position. This will prevent smells and lock the lid of your caddy.
Put your large green outdoor caddy at the kerbside each week. Please make sure it can be clearly seen by our crews.
Food waste is collected by a separate vehicle to your waste, recycling and glass.
Tip tip: write your house number or name on your outside caddy so our crews know which home it belongs to.
The food waste we collect is taken to Re-Gas Energy Ltd in Herriard, Basingstoke. It is fed into digester tanks where it breaks down and creates biogas which is then converted into heat and electricity. The broken-down food waste is processed into a nutrient rich bio-fertiliser, which is supplied to local farms. All liners are removed before the food waste is recycled.
Could you reduce the amount of food you throw away to help save you money and cut your carbon emissions?
The average family throws away £83 of edible food waste each month. Get help to reduce this by visiting Love Food Hate Waste website for top money-saving tips and budget friendly recipes. There’s also lots of advice on how to make your food last longer.
Sign up today and earn Green Points by taking action to cut your food waste with Hampshire County Council. The hero with the most green points at the end of the month can choose from a selection of prizes including a £20 Love2Shop or M&S voucher!
You will be provided with easy activities to help cut down your food waste, such as:
You can recycle more at our recycling sites around the borough. Take your small electrical items, clothes, shoes, aluminium foil and other items to one of our recycling sites. There is also the Household Waste Recycling Centre on Wade Road which accepts an even greater range of recyclable material including batteries, fluorescent lamps, wood and garden waste.
Targets have been set nationally to help the environment and boost a circular economy where we waste less and make more use of the items we buy. This means we need to more than double the amount we recycle over the coming years and half the amount we throw away. Of the waste collected in the borough's rubbish bins, around 40% of the items found can be recycled. Maximise your recycling and reduce what gets put in your rubbish bin by following on this page. Find out more about our approach through our recycling and waste strategy.
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