Recycling

Food waste, textiles, electricals - 3 services in 1 weekly

Your recycling is collected every two weeks. Place rinsed items loose in your bin and not in plastic bags. On your collection day, put your light green bin kerbside with the handles facing the kerbside by 6am with the lid closed. Once empty, please move your bin back onto your property as soon as possible.

If your property has its own individual bins we recommend that these are clearly labelled with the house name or number.

Find your collection day or report a missed bin

In Spelthorne, food waste is collected weekly from your caddy and recycled into fertilizer and electricity. Textiles placed in tied bags are collected weekly to be reused or recycled. Small electricals placed in carrier bags are also collected weekly and recycled into their component materials. There are textile and electrical recycling banks around the Borough if you do not have kerbside collections.

Using our collection services for these materials' means they are disposed of in a more responsible way rather than being incinerated or landfilled. Separating these items will save space in your rubbish bin.

What can go in my bin?

Yes please

• glass
• paper and card (clean and dry)
• metal cans and tins
• plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays

No thanks

• carrier bags or bin liners (recycling must be loose)
• food (use your food waste caddy)
• drinks cartons (Tetrapaks)
• crisp packets/sweet wrappers/plastic film
• pizza/take-away boxes (cardboard must be clean and dry)
• polystyrene
• hard plastics e.g. toys or coat hangers

If in doubt, use the recycling search tool or PDF guide

 to check if an item can or cannot be recycled.

Check your recycling

If you place the wrong items in your recycling bin, it might not be collected, as the whole truck load could be rejected at the recycling plant. You will have a sticker on your bin advising you which items cannot be recycled, please remove these before your next collection. Drinks cartons, which have a waxy surface, can be recycled but only at the Community Recycling Centre (tip) and some of the recycling bank sites. 

Missed collections

If you think your bin has been accidentally missed, contact us within one working day by completing the online form above or contact Customer Services. Either we will return to collect your bin or you will need to wait until your next scheduled collection date.

Order a new bin

To request an additional or replacement please complete the order a new bin form.

Re-useable recycling bags which are free to residents

Recyclables must be placed in your recycling bin loose. To help you, we offer free, re-useable recycling bags to transport your loose recyclables from your home to your recycling bin.  They have a handle underneath allowing you to easily empty the contents into your recycling bin.  Printed on the side of the bag is a list of what you can and can't recycle or you can look up individual items using the recycling search tool.

You can collect a recycling bag (along with a range of informative recycling leaflets) from any of the locations below:

• Benwell Centre, Sunbury
• Council Offices (Knowle Green), Staines-upon-Thames
• Fordbridge Centre, Ashford
• Greeno Centre, Shepperton
• Staines Community Centre, Staines-upon-Thames
• White House Depot, Ashford

Plastic bags

Carrier bags, films or sandwich bags cannot be recycled even if they have the recycling logo on (this means that they are made out of recycled material). You can use plastic bags to line your food waste caddy, put them in your rubbish bin or most large supermarkets have carrier bag recycling facilities close to the main entrance.

Excess recycling

If you have excess recycling, this may be placed in a plastic bag (preferably clear) and left at the side of your recycling bin on your collection day. The collection crew will empty the bag of recycling and then, as it cannot be recycled as part of the kerbside collection, put it back into your recycling bin for you to dispose of in your rubbish bin. If your recycling bin is often overflowing you can request a second recycling bin. Please note, we will only collect household recycling. Commercial or business recycling will not be accepted.

Cardboard

Dry cardboard can be left neatly folded next to your bin unless it is raining, we cannot accept it wet.

Recycling service

Some properties may not be part of the recycling service because there is no space for bins, this is usually high rise flats.

Recycling garden waste in Spelthorne

You can subscribe to our Garden waste collection service to have your green waste collected and recycled into compost. 

Why recycle more?

By recycling, you are helping to protect natural habitats and the environment. Using recycled materials to make new products uses less energy and avoids the need to mine for raw materials or cut down trees and rainforests. Try to avoid disposable or single-use plastics.

Why recycle right?

It is important to recycle right.  If you put the wrong items in your light green bin, it can contaminate the full load of recycling, which will be rejected by the sorting facility. When waste is incinerated, it costs much more than recycling it. By recycling correctly, we can spend more of your council tax on essential services.