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 7: Executive approval
At its 21 March meeting, our decision-making Executive approved the proposed changes to rubbish and recycling collections including:
- Move rubbish and recycling collections from weekly to fortnightly on alternate weeks, meaning collecting general rubbish one week and recycling the next, while keeping food waste collections weekly
- Introduce wheeled bins to store general rubbish
The proposals were also reviewed by our overview and scrutiny management committee on 22 February.
Exceptions
Residents living in flats or properties with narrow access will be excluded from the changes. We'll be doing further survey work to look at how suitable certain property types are for the changes.
Exceptions will be made for those with genuine concerns about the changes, like large families with children. The details of the changes will be considered and shared with residents before roll out.
Timeline
We will start planning for the changes to start in late summer or early autumn 2024, with delivery of wheeled bins to residents before then.