Frequently Asked Questions
We can provide additional landfill bins to residents on the weekly landfill collection, however there is a charge made for the hire and weekly collection of the bin.
How often will collections take place?
Your bins will be collected once a week. Please see our bin collection day page to find out what day we collect from your property.
Why do I have to put my bin out for collection by 7am?
Our landfill collection crews start at 7am. You will need to put your bins out at the boundary of you property by this time to ensure collection.
What do I do if I have extra landfill waste that won't fit in my bin? Will it be collected if I place it on top of or next to my bin?
The Council's policy is to only empty one bin of landfill waste per household. The collection crews are therefore instructed to leave any extra bags of landfill waste that are placed on top of or next to the bin. It is the householders responsibility to take any additional refuse to a Household Waste Recycling Site for disposal. However, the idea of the landfill waste collection is not that residents should have to dispose of their waste on a regular basis. If you find you are creating additional waste on a regular basis please follow our advice on how to reduce your waste.
My bin smells and I have got problems with flies and maggots
Please see our advice on wheelie bin hygiene tips.
Will the council be putting microchips in my bins to monitor my waste?
No, the Council has no plans to microchip the bins, if this was to be considered residents would be consulted in advance of any decisions being made.
Why don't you provide a kerbside recycling collection?
We do operate a recycling collection called CROWN (Composting and Recycling Our Waste Now) in the main towns within the Wealden district. This service includes a fortnightly green waste collection with cardboard (alternating with the landfill bin), and a fortnightly collection of waste paper, cans, foil and, in some areas, plastic bottles. This scheme now covers 37,000 properties out of 63,000.
The Council is aware of the concerns expressed by rural communities and those not on the CROWN service in the District who would like this type of recycling service to be provided within their areas. A Best Value Service Review was therefore carried out in 2003 to consider options for both extending the service and/or increasing the range of materials collected. This identified a desire to expand the service further but recognised the unfavourable current economic conditions which would prevent further expansion.
A significant proportion of the funding for the service comes from “recycling credits” paid to us by East Sussex County Council for each tonne of waste that has been diverted from landfill for recycling. The County Council will not pay recycling credits when our recycling rate exceeds 33% and thus the cost of expanding our recycling service will then be significantly higher, as we currently have an overall recycling rate of 30% (based on 2006/2007 figures). Wealden is currently discussing how we can increase this 33% “ceiling” for recycling credits with the County Council and their contractor Veolia so that it will then be beneficial to all parties.
However, recent national legislation will require all households to have at least 2 materials collected from the kerbside by 2010, and in addition national targets to divert biodegradable waste from disposal at landfill are both driving the Council to consider other options for collecting recyclables in rural areas.
We have recently started to introduce a kerbside service to 3,000 properties in Forest Row, Chelwood Gate and Danehill which will also tackle waste minimisation. Each household is issued with another bin for green waste and cardboard, a blue caddy for paper and a red caddy for cans, plastic bottles and beverage cartons. The collection is an alternate weekly collection and will only require one split compartment lorry to collect all the materials over the fortnightly period instead of the current setup, where a second vehicle is collecting the dry recyclables. If the scheme is successful we hope to use this as a template to expand the scheme to all rural areas who are currently not on the CROWN scheme.
Please take your recycling to your local Neighbourhood Recycling Point or Household Waste Recycling Site.
Our family produces lots of disposable nappies
Please flush / sluice all solids down the toilet and securely wrap nappies in plastic bags. You may be interested in the modern alternative washable nappies with Velcro or ‘pop’ fasteners. Washable nappy starter packs are available from just £5.00, loan packs are available to those in receipt of benefits and there is a trial pack available free of charge for a month to allow parents to try different types of washable nappies before they buy.
Why do I pay so much Council Tax for my bins to be collected?
In 2006/07 the cost of the waste collection in Wealden was £52.48 per household per year. This works out to £1.00 per week, which we think is great value for money. The target for this financial year(2007/08) is £54.
Due to the other Councl's in the area operating various different schemes, we are unable to directly compare our costs to the other Council's in East Sussex.
