Kerbside recycling collection service

What can I recycle at kerbside?

The Forest of Dean District Council currently provides a fortnightly recycling box collection service for each household.  You can currently recycle:

• Glass bottles and jars (no broken glass, no Pyrex, no window glass, no light bulbs)
• Steel and aluminium tins and cans (please squash if possible and rinse)
• Aerosol cans (aerosols must be empty.  Remove lids.  Nozzles can be left on.  Do not crush or pierce the can.  Please note we cannot accept any aerosols containing hazardous materials (i.e. car spray paints, pesticides))
• Newspapers and magazines
• Junk mail and flyers (please remove any polythene outers)
• Yellow Pages
• Telephone directories
• Soft backed catalogues (i.e. Argos, Ikea)
• White office paper
• White envelopes (windows can be left in)
• Household batteries (AA, AAA, C, D, 6v, 9v, button batteries and mobile phone batteries).  Please use the battery bag which was sent out with your information pack and place the bag into your kerbside box.  Once you have used your bag, continue to recycle your batteries by putting them in any unwanted plastic bag and placing this in your box ready for collection.  We cannot accept car batteries as part of this service.

Recycling boxes (and black paper baskets if you have one) need to be left out at the kerbside by 7.30am on your collection day.  Although boxes need to be clearly visible from the roadside please take care not to cause any obstruction to pedestrians or vehicles. 

If you have more materials for recycling than your box will hold please use additional boxes to contain the materials.
 

When will my box be emptied?

To find out what day your recycling is collected, please use this link and select your property from the drop down menu.  Please remember that collections will take place a day later than stated during weeks where a Bank Holiday Monday falls due.

If you would like a calendar sent to you detailing all the dates that your waste and recycling will be collected , please contact our Customer Services Team on 01594 810000.

For information about how collections are affected by Bank Holidays, Christmas and New Year please visit Bank Holiday Collections.

What do I need to do if my kerbside box is not collected?

If your kerbside box has not been collected please call 01594 810000 or complete the online form.  Please report missed collections to us by 12.00pm the following day (or Monday if your collection was due on the preceding Friday) and we will endeavour to return to your property and pick up the missed waste as soon as possible.  To enable us to make the collection, please leave your recycling box out ready at the kerbside.

Remember all waste and recycling must be presented at the kerbside by 7.30am.

In adverse weather, please ring 01594 812666 (recorded message) or visit the Recycling, Rubbish and Waste home page for up to date information.

What happens if I am are unable to carry my box to the kerbside?

If you are elderly, infirm or disabled and cannot manage to take your box to the kerbside then it may be possible to arrange an assisted collection service for you.  Please telephone us on 01594 810000 and we will send you a form which will need to be completed and returned to us before your collections can begin.  Alternatively, complete our online form and one of our Customer Services Team will contact you.

To find out more, please read our Assisted Collections leaflet.

How do I get a new or additional recycling box?

If you need a new or additional recycling box please call 01594 810000 to order one.  Delivery may take a couple of weeks, however, if you need a recycling box urgently this can be collected from any of our five leisure centres by prior arrangement with our Customer Services Team who can be contacted on 01594 810000.  Recycling boxes are free of charge.

If you do not currently have a recycling box or you have ordered one from us and are waiting for it to arrive, you can use any plastic box that is similar in size to ours (please remove the lid so that the crews can see what is in it).

The Council now only supplies 55ltr green recycling boxes to residents, however, if you still have one of the old-style black baskets (in which to recycle your paper) you are welcome to continue to use this.

Recycling boxes can also be ordered online using this form.

What happens to the materials once they have been collected?

All the materials we collect at kerbside or at our recycling banks are sent to reprocessors. From there the materials are made into new products either for commercial use or returned back to the domestic market as new cans, bottles and jars for example.  To view a list of our current reprocessors, please click here.

Why doesn't the council collect plastic and cardboard at the kerbside?

This was investigated at the time of the service change which took place in 2012.  However the costs of providing this were prohibitive at that point in time.  Both plastic and cardboard are bulky and would consequently fill the vehicles very quickly.  This would mean a lot more time spent on the road travelling  to the diposal sites as the vehicles would need to tip more frequently.  This would mean more money being spent on fuel, vehicles and crew.  Also, as we are a large, primarily rural district, we simply cannot achieve the same economies of scale as say a more urban authority.

We do realise that our residents are keen to be able to recycle both plastics and cardboard at the kerbside and we will continue to look for opportunities within the district which may enable us to offer this service in the future.  In the meantime, residents can recycle their plastic bottles and cardboard at our local recycling bank facilities.

Why should I recycle?

Quite simply, the more that is recycled the better it is for the environment. Since our new service was introduced in July 2012, the amount the district recycles has risen from 40% to close to 50%.  However, the waste which is not recycled, equating to about 400kg per household per year, still ends up in landfill.  Not only does this waste take up space at the landfill site but also biodegradable waste - such as food and paper – once buried will produce harmful methane gas that contributes to climate change. 

Much of the waste still going into landfill sites could be recycled.