Woking Borough Council
Civic OfficesGloucester SquareWokingSurreyGU21 6YL
Telephone: 01483 755855
Changes to your waste and recycling collection schedule
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How do I find out what has changed for me?
From Monday 14 September, it is likely that your collection day will change. All residents will receive a letter in early September outlining details of this change. This will also include an information leaflet on the planned changes to the garden waste collection service, battery recycling and food waste collections.
A road show is arranged in the Town Centre on Saturday 29 August, with further road shows planned on Thursday 17 September, Thursday 15 October and Thursday 17 December. These will give people an opportunity to find out more and prepare for the new garden waste and food waste collection services.
If you can't find your letter, your new collection schedule will be available to view from our website from Tuesday 1 September. Changes will be implemented from Monday 14 September. Please carry on as usual until this date.
Will the alternate weekly service be removed?
No - you will still receive an alternate weekly collection of waste and recycling. This means you will still be asked to present your general waste and recycling containers on alternate weeks.
Why is my collection day changing?
During the contract re-tender, it was clear that by collecting residual waste from all households one week and recyclables the following week, the Council can reduce the environmental impact of operating the service.
The Borough will be split into five zones, one for each working day. The entire fleet will work within a single zone on a daily basis. This will allow for the balancing of properties serviced per round and enable crews to work together to clear each area at a time. This new structure will also enable us to introduce separate food waste collections, which will commence in January 2010.
Problems occurring on any round will be more easily resolved by nearby crews, thereby reducing vehicle movements and, with all crews collecting the same material type each week, there will be no need to go to the tip first to empty.
Why do I have to put waste out by 6.30am?
Collections start at 6:30am to allow sufficient time for our contractor to collect waste from around 8,000 households each day and deliver this to waste treatment facilities in Guildford or Leatherhead, which are regulated by opening restrictions outside of the Council's control. This start time also accounts for any disruptions that may occur during the day, such as road works or vehicle breakdowns, and also reduces the chance of vehicles visiting busy roads during rush hours.