How to deal with additional waste and recycling
Not Enough Space In Your Landfill Bin?
On average each household produces over a tonne of waste every year and this amount is increasing. The Crown recycling scheme aims to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill by recycling and composting, as well as reducing the overall amount of waste we produce. However, we appreciate that there will be households producing more waste than average, or who are struggling with the Crown scheme for other reasons.
There are several steps to reducing the amount of waste you are producing.
Step 1
Ensure you are separating out all the waste that can be recycled and composted on the crown scheme and that they are being placed in the correct container
- Bin for green waste
- Garden Waste - Grass cuttings, prunnings (up to 6" in diameter), dead plants, leaves, rotten fruit and vegetables from your
garden, kitchen towels, paper bags and bedding from rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs and other vegetarian pets can be placed in your bin for green waste.
- Cardboard - Almost all cardboard is suitable, including thick corrugated cardboard boxes, cereal packets, cat food boxes, washing powder boxes, toilet roll inner tubes, glossy looking boxes for pizzas and other frozen or chilled meals, packaging for toys, electrical equipment, other consumer goods, beer and wine bottle cases.
- Other items - shredded paper, wrapping paper providing there is no tape, glitter or other contaminants on it, greetings cards providing they have no glitter or other contaminants on them, paper bags.
- We can not accept the following in the bin for green waste - fruit and vegetables prepared in the kitchen as they may have come in contact with infected meat which could pass on foot and mouth or swine fever. Waxed liquid food and drink cartons used for items such as milk, fruit juice, yoghurt and some types of ice cream. This type of packaging is made up of several layers including foil and plastic. Dog or cat litter, Plant pots, Japanese Knotweed or Giant Hogweed, Plastic Bags, Compostable bags or Biodegradable bags.
- Blue Caddy
- Mixed Paper - As well as newspapers and magazines this includes all other types of paper such as junk mail, shopping catalogues, glossy paper, leaflets, BT phone books, letter paper and envelopes.
- We can not accept the following in the blue caddy - Yellow pages, wrapping paper, cardboard, shredded paper
- Red Caddy
- Plastic Bottles - We can currently take any plastic bottle with the recycling symbol numbers 1, 2 and 3. This includes bottles for milk, drinks, shampoo, water and household cleaning products. Please remember to wash and squash your bottles.
- Food and Drinks Cans - We can accept both Aluminium and steel cans for recycling, including items such as coke cans, baked bean tins, pet food cans and lids from glass jars. Please ensure you wash your cans out before placing them in the red caddy.
- Aerosols - Please ensure the cans are empty and do not pierce or squash them.
- Aluminium Foil - Kitchen foil, milk bottle tops, cream and yoghurt bottle tops, food trays from pies, take away's etc. If you are not sure if an item is made of just foil try the following test: squash the foil and if it doesn't bounce back it can go in the red caddy. If it does bounce back it is not the foil we want. Please bag foil separately before placing it in the red caddy.
- Beverage Cartons - we are now able to accept these in the red caddy for recycling. These cartons are used for items such as Milk, Juice, some types of yoghurt and ice cream, some soups. Some people know this type of packaging as "Tetra Pak's" which is one of the companies who produce them. Please remember to wash and squash your cartons before placing them in the red caddy.
- We can not accept the following in the red caddy - Plastic food trays, plastic bags (except to bag up your foil) , plastic yoghurt pots, margarine tubs , plastic ice cream tubs, cling film, bubble wrap, polystyrene, pesticide and chemical bottles, glass bottles.
Step 2
Identify any other materials that can be recycled at one of the Neighbourhood Recycling Points or Household Waste Recycling sites. If you are not sure where your nearest recycling facility is please visit out Neighbourhood recycling Point List or East Sussex County Council's Household Waste Recycling Sites.
- Glass - Glass bottles and jars can be taken to bottle banks for recycling. Please remember to remove any metal or plastic lids.
- Textiles and shoes - Old clothes, sheets, blankets, wrags and shoes can be recycled in the salvation army textile banks where it is sorted in to items that can be reused, items that can be repaired and anything else that is then recycled in to furniture padding, industrial cloths or paper. Alternatively, you can donate any reusable clothes to a charity shop of your choice.
- Electrical Items - Due to the new Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, electrical items can no longer be placed in the landfill bin. These need to be taken to one of the Household Waste Recycling Sites for recycling. Mobile phones are also accepted but you can donate these to certain charities.
- CD's & DVD's - These can be taken to one of the Household Waste Recycling Sites, they can be taken to the Council office at either Crowborough or Hailsham where they are sent to Beacon Press in Uckfield for recycling. Alternatively they can be taken to the Neighbourhood Recycling Point at Tesco's in Uckfield or placed in the Salvation Army book bank in Croft Road, Crowborough or CO-OP, Heathfield.
- Printer Cartridges - These are accepted by several charities for recycling.
- Books - Books are accept at the Household Waste Recycling Sites, the Neighbourhood Recycling Points at Croft Road in Crowborough, Co-op Car Park in Heathfield or Tesco's Car Park in Uckfield or can be donated to certain charity shops.
- Batteries - These can be taken to one of the Household Waste Recycling Sites or sent back to the manufacturer. Alternatively why not try using rechargeable batteries.
- Other Items accepted at the Household Waste Recycling Sites - The Household Waste Recycling sites accept additional materials for recycling from wood to furniture to cooking oil. They also retrieve any items that are in good condition to sell on site.
- Plastic Bags - Most Supermarkets are now accepting these back for recycling.
Step 3
Reduce the amount of waste being placed in the landfill bin.
- Washable Nappies - From birth to potty, one baby uses enough nappies to fill up about 12 wheelie bins. These can take up to 500 years to rot down when buried in the ground. Washable nappies are made from soft cotton and fasten with velcro or poppers. They are cheaper in the long run and are kinder to the environment because they are washed and reused rather than thrown away. Wealden District Council is currently working with East Sussex County Council and the Real Nappy Network to provide offers on washable nappies. We currently have Washable Nappy Starter Packs available from £5, a Washable Nappy Loan Scheme for residents on low income. Wealden also have a scheme where residents can trial different types of nappies free of charge for a month.
- Home Composting - Rotten fruit, vegetables and peelings, tea bags, coffee grounds and kitchen towels can be composted at home if you have space in your garden. Alternatively you could try one of the food digesters which allow you to compost not only your fruit and vegetables but will also allow you to compost cooked food, meat, fish and bones.
When we first introduced the Crown Caddy scheme into Forest Row, Danehill and Chelwood Gate we provided home compost bins free of charge (R.R.P 39.95) and Green Johanna food digesters for £15 (R.R.P 113.74). We have extended the offer for the free home compost bin but we have now sold out of the Green Johanna's. If you would like to obtain your free compost bin (offer is limited to one compost bin/Green Johanna per household), please fill in the application form (pdf 78.8KB) or contact the Waste Management Team on 01892 602626.
If you have already purchased a compost bin or Green Johanna from Wealden but would like another one, East Sussex County Council are running offers on Compost bins, Green Johanna's, Green Cones, Wormeries and Kitchen Caddies.
If you don't have enough room in your garden for a compost bin, why not try the Kitchen Caddy which can be purchased through the County Council offer. The kitchen caddy allows you to compost your kitchen waste, including meat and bones, and bury the contents in the garden after a fortnight.
- Plastic Packaging- Try to reduce the amount of plastic packaging by buying fruit and vegetables lose, use the butchers or meat counter in the Supermarkets instead of buying pre packed meat.
Step 4
Ensure that all waste left in the landfill bin is squashed down as much as possible. Try using carrier bags instead of black bags as you will get better results.
Step 5
If you are still having problems with the capacity of the landfill bin please contact the Waste Management Team on 01892 602626 to discuss the options available to you, larger wheelie bins are available in certain circumstances.
Not Enough Space In Your Red Caddy?
Step 1
Ensure all plastic bottles and liquid food and drinks cartons are squashed.
Step 2
Ensure that you haven't placed any items such as food trays in the red caddy which are not recyclable
Step 3
Place any additional recycling by the side of the bin in a suitable container or take the cans and plastic bottles to your nearest Neighbourhood Recycling Point.
Not Enough Space In Your Blue Caddy?
Step 1
Ensure that you haven't placed any items such as cardboard or shredded paper in the blue caddy which should be placed in the bin for green waste.
Step 2
Take any additional paper to your nearest Neighbourhood Recycling Point, we are currently unable to take additional paper recycling due to the capacity on the vehicles. Alternatively, you can home compost some of the paper if it is broken up into smaller pieces.
Not Enough Space In Your Bin for Green?
Step 1
Ensure all your cardboard packaging is flattened down. Cut any large hedge cuttings into manageable sizes.
Step 2
Ensure you haven't placed any items in your bin for green waste which are not suitable for composting. E.g. plastic packaging, beverage cartons, food waste.
Step 3
Consider home composting or alternatively take your additional cardboard or garden waste to one of the Household Waste Recycling Sites.
When we first introduced the Crown Caddy scheme into Forest Row, Danehill and Chelwood Gate we provided home compost bins free of charge (R.R.P 39.95) and Green Johanna food digesters for £15 (R.R.P 113.74). We have extended the offer for the free home compost bin but we have now sold out of the Green Johanna's. If you would like to obtain your free compost bin (offer is limited to one compost bin/Green Johanna per household), please fill in the application form (pdf 78.8KB) or contact the Waste Management Team on 01892 602626.
If you have already purchased a compost bin or Green Johanna from Wealden but would like another one, East Sussex County Council are running offers on Compost bins, Green Johanna's, Green Cones, Wormeries and Kitchen Caddies.
