Bin collection times
An alternate weekly collection for recycling is run in St Edmundsbury. The day and times of collections do not change from week to week. Please make sure your bins are at the collection point by 7am on collection day.
Use our Bin collection round search to check which day your bins are collected and find out which bins will be collected each week. If you have any questions, please phone the waste management team on 01284 757320.
Bank holiday bin collections
Please see our Bank holiday bin collections page for information.
What can I put in my blue bin?
Your blue bin is for paper, magazines, cardboard, plastic (bottles and tubs only), cans and tins. For a full list please see Your guide to recycling (PDF 137Kb) for information.
Please note plastic bags and plastic film should not be put in the blue bin. Tetra Paks can now be taken to your nearest household waste recycling centre.
What happens to the waste I put in my blue bin?
It is taken to a transfer station at Lackford where it is bulked up and then transported to the Materials Recycling Facility in Great Blakenham. It is then sorted using a combination of mechanical separators and hand sorting before being sent for recycling. The majority of the plastics we collect are sent to China for reprocessing via shipping containers which would otherwise go back empty. At this time, plastic reprocessing facilities are still developing in the UK. You can see a slide show and video clip of this process on How it is done.
What plastics can I put in my blue bin?
All packaging plastics are accepted through the scheme with the exception of plastic bags (supermarket carrier bags) and plastic film (crisp and sweet wrappers). Other plastics that are not accepted through the scheme are described as 'hard plastics', for example CD cases and guttering. All other plastic packaging is suitable for this scheme. Polystyrene should be put into your black bin as there is currently no outlet for recycling this type of material. Waxed cartons (Tetra paks) should be taken to the household waste recycling centre or put in your black bin. We would like to remind you to remove the tops from bottles before disposal.
Please be aware that the collection crews will treat blue bins that contain bagged waste as contaminated and will therefore not empty them.
Why can’t glass go into the blue bin?
At this time the sorting facility does not have the equipment to separate glass from the other waste streams. Glass can be recycled at your local Recycling centre or, if you are unable to get to one of these sites, please put in your black bin.
Why can’t shredded paper go into the blue bin?
Shredded paper becomes wrapped around machinery at our sorting facility, causing jams and can stop the facility from running. Small amounts of shredded paper can be disposed of through your brown bin or home composter. Alternatively shredded paper will be accepted in paper banks, details of which can be found on our Recycling centres page.
Blue sacks for extra recycling
Blue sacks are available to buy from the council offices in Western Way, Bury St Edmunds and Lower Downs Slade, Haverhill; at a cost of £1 for ten sacks. The sacks are exclusively for household waste and only these additional official St Edmundsbury sacks will be accepted. A maximum of two sacks will be collected per property on your recycling week.
Blue sacks for additional recycling can also be purchased from our online form for a cost of £2 for ten sacks.
Why are the bins micro-chipped?
All blue bins and some brown bins have RFID (radio frequency identification) tags on them. The tags were installed when the bins were built as it is cheaper than having them retro-fitted to existing bins. The only information the tag can record is the weight of the bin related to a particular property, although this is not accurate enough for us to use. The information gathered can be used to target areas that are not participating frequently and therefore help to target educational campaigns more efficiently.
My bin is damaged or split
Periodically wheeled bins may split. If this has happened to one of your bins please contact us and report the damage. A replacement bin will be delivered as soon as it can be arranged.
Do you have a question which is not covered above?
If so please email: waste.management@stedsbc.gov.uk or phone 01284 757320
