Household waste and recycling collection

In line with its Climate Change Strategy, Woking Borough Council has introduced a wheeled bin waste collection scheme.

The aim is to cut down the amount of waste which residents in Woking send to landfill every week and make it easier for everyone to recycle as much rubbish as possible.

The EU landfill directive sets out targets for the reduction of bio-degradable municipal waste being sent to landfill. There are likely to be heavy penalties for councils who fail to meet the directives targets. The target by 2020 is to reduce bio-degradable municipal waste going to landfill to 35% of the 1995 levels. An additional requirement is the recycling and composting targets that have been set for local authorities throughout the country. Woking's combined recycling and composting target is 30% by 2005/2006.

How the scheme works

Two wheeled bins have been issued to most households in the Borough: a black bin for general rubbish and either a black bin with a blue lid or blue bin for items which can be recycled such as paper, cans and plastic. There is an alternate weekly collection of waste which means that the black bin is collected one week and the blue bin the next.

Full details about what can and can't go in your bins, plus a list of frequently asked questions are available on this site.

The benefits of the scheme

  • A significant improvement in the Borough's recycling rates to meet government's target of 30% by 2005/2006 - Woking's performance level has previously been 23.6%.
  • A significant reduction in the amount of waste going to landfill and a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions will contribute to the key targets of the Borough's Climate Change Strategy.
  • A reduction in street litter. Animals are unable to 'break into' plastic bins in the way that they can with the black plastic sacks.
  • The provision of a household recycling collection service for a variety of recyclables from residents' homes. (This excludes glass, textiles and aluminium foil which residents will still be asked to take to recycling facilities as usual.)
  • The wheeled bins are easy to manoeuvre. They have a 240 litre capacity and take up no more ground than a traditional dustbin.
  • Greater safety and ease of operation for the refuse collectors.