recycling programs

Just curious: what recycling program does your area have? When we lived on the university campus, the glass, tin and newspaper receptacles were just a stone's throw away, but I have no idea what they did in the rest of the city. Do they vary quite a bit from one region to another?

It varies by council.  My council has door to door pick up of glass, tins, cardboard and plastic bottles.  There is also arrangements you can make for garden waste and they sell cheap compost things. 

There are places to drop off glass, tins, cardboard, plastic, clothes, shoes, books at the local supermarkets and at the tip. 

Our council (Wycombe District) picks up glass, can (maybe plastic, too? they just started up the non-compost bit this month) and compost materials for recycling every other week.  We've got a black box for the glass, can, etc and a big green wheelie bin for compost materials such as grass, animal bedding, food, etc.

My council has door to door pick up of glass, tins, cardboard and plastic bottles.

Mine too.  The council provided little green bins.  There are also some blocks of flats in the area, so there are also a few large community recycling bins for the same materials.

we have got 3 full-size wheelie bins - 1 for garden/vegetable waste, 1 for paper & recyclable plastic, and a third one for just about everything else.

North Norfolk District Council now provides two "wheelie bins" as standard.  Green is for recyclables, which at the moment is paper, cardboard, tin cans, and plastic bottles.  Everything else goes in the general gray bin, except for garden waste.  A separate brown bin is provided for the latter only if you pay an extra fee (most people who only have small amounts just "hide" it in black bags and put it in the gray bin).

We also have "bottle banks" for the collection of brown, green, and clear glass, but there are no separate curbside collections for these, so if you don't have a collection point nearby glass still goes in the general gray refuse bin.

A separate brown bin is provided for the latter only if you pay an extra fee (most people who only have small amounts just "hide" it in black bags and put it in the gray bin).

It's ridiculous that they make you pay.  A lot of people can't be bothered to go to the effort especially if they have to pay.  If the infrastructure is in place to take this kind of waste, why not just do it for free?  God knows most councils charge enough in council tax!

It sounds like the programs vary a bit, but most areas seem to have curbside pickup of some sort. Good to know. Thanks!

airmom...Here is one link for a Bath area council recycling program:

http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/BathNES/environment/wasteandrecycling/Recycling/default.htm

I saw somewhere you're going to Bath, but not sure if that's the right council for where you will be.  If you know where you are going to live, you can look up your council's website & see more specifically what kind of recycling program you might have available.

Carolyn b, thanks so much for that. That is the right council and the link has all the information I need!

God knows most councils charge enough in council tax!

Amen!     

There has also been a nutty idea floating around about councils charging households separately for refuse disposal based upon the weight or volume.    If they think that would work, they must really be living in cloud-cuckoo land. 

By the way, most areas also have sites to which larger items such as old furniture, washers, fridges, etc. can be taken for disposal.  Sometimes there's a separate charge, sometimes not.    Some sites also have facilities to accept liquid waste which should not be disposed of via the drains (e.g.old engine oil, strong acids, etc.).

Our county council has no provision for any recycling pick-up at all. There are big bottle banks (as well as huge bins for paper, plastic, etc.) at a couple of locations, though. I have to admit that I'm not very good at recycling paper, but I do drop off bottles every now and then.

Our council will also pick up big items like furniture, etc. at no charge, which is great.

Belindaloo, I think virtually every supermarket has a recycling area and they all accept paper and generally bottles and cans.  Oddly, a few places don't accept plastic bottles.  Foil tends to be the one where we have to do a bit more searching.

The one I'm having trouble with now is asbestos cement disposal.  The council will take small amounts but when you have to get rid of your old garage roof they will only put you on to contractors who charge an arm and a leg.

Belindaloo, I think virtually every supermarket has a recycling area and they all accept paper and generally bottles and cans.  Oddly, a few places don't accept plastic bottles.  Foil tends to be the one where we have to do a bit more searching.

Yes, I know that supermarkets have recycling, but the ones around here are really small. The places with the giant skip-like things for glass, paper, etc. are easier for me -- one's on my way to the supermarket, so pretty easy to stop at. Thanks, though!