Reducing waste: creating a new waste strategy
UPDATE, JANUARY 2024:
In line with our Executive's decision in March 2023, we'll be changing how we collect rubbish and recycling from most households in mid-August.
Please visit our dedicated webpages to find out more, and subscribe to our Rubbish & Recycling newsletter for more updates as the changes get nearer.
The below information, including the attached leaflets, are for historic purposes only and may no longer be up to date.
For the latest information on rubbish and recycling in Wokingham Borough, including how you can play your part, visit our website or our partners at re3.
If you want to know how or where to recycle a particular item, you can also visit the Recycle Now page for some free and helpful advice.
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Our current waste collection contract expires in 2026, which gives us the opportunity to change how we collect all rubbish and recycling.
As part of our work to become carbon neutral by 2030, and to meet the Government's expectations for all councils, we want to significantly increase our recycling rate from the current figure of 57 per cent.
To get there, we'll need to make some changes.
We're working on a waste strategy that will shape our future waste collections. We have three key priorities to consider as part of this work:
- our recycling rate and reducing waste
- resident satisfaction
- our cost
Due to the financial pressures we've been facing since 2022, we need to make changes sooner than 2026.
Phases
Phase 1: Early engagement
We launched the first phase of our journey to a new waste and recycling service by asking residents for their views.
The borough’s current waste and recycling collection contract expires in 2026 and, to make sure we get the right service for the future, we started early engagement with residents to understand their priorities. This early engagement was followed by further consultation in late 2022 to make sure our residents' views were considered at every stage of our new Waste Strategy.
Survey results
More than 2,000 residents responded. The key findings are:
- 54 per cent said the environmental benefits are most important
- 98 per cent said it's important to reduce the amount of waste we produce
- 86 per cent are willing to recycle more
To see the results of the survey, see the PDF document below.