How to deal with additional waste

Not Enough Space In Your Landfill Bin?

On average each household produces over a tonne of waste every year and this amount is increasing. By limiting the amount of landfill waste we collect we hope to encourage residents to reduce the amount of waste they produce and recycle.

There are several steps to reducing the amount of waste you are producing.

Step 1

Identify any 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 (pdf 178KB) or East Sussex County Council's Household Waste Recycling Sites.

Mixed Paper - As well as newspapers and magazines, we can also accept other types of paper such as junk mail, shopping catalogues, glossy paper, leaflets, BT phone books, letter paper and envelopes.

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 recycling bins.

Aerosols - These can be placed in the can recycling bins. 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 can recycling bin.

Glass - Glass bottles and jars can be taken to bottle banks for recycling. Please remember to wash the glass and remove any metal or plastic lids.

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.

Beverage Cartons - Beverage cartons can be taken to one of the Neighbourhood Recycling Points at Croft Road in Crowborough, Victoria Road, Hailsham, Mill Road in Heathfield or Luxford Field in Uckfield. 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 recycling bin.

Textiles and shoes - Old clothes, sheets, blankets, rags 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.

Garden Waste - Grass cuttings, prunnings (up to 6" in diameter), dead plants and leaves can be taken to the Household Waste Recycling Sites for composting.

Cardboard - Almost all cardboard is suitable for recycling at the Household Waste Recycling Sites, 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.

Electrical Items - Due to the new Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive, electrical items should 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 - These can be taken to one of the Household Waste Recycling Sites or 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.

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.

Step 2

Identify other items that can be recycled.

Printer Cartridges - These are accepted by several charities for recycling.

Plastic Bags - Most Supermarkets are now accepting these back for recycling.

Other items - please see our recycling directory.

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.

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.

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 you can have an additional bin, however, a charge is made for the hire and weekly collection of the bin.