All householders in England have a legal responsibility to ensure that all of their waste is disposed of properly. If you are not disposing of your waste yourself and are passing it on to a carrier (such as a skip hire company) then check their details to make sure they are authorised to carry waste and will be disposing of it correctly. Under the waste Duty of Care regulations, all householders need to make sure their rubbish is passed to authorised carriers only. Householders not taking reasonable measures to do so could face fines of up to £5,000.

If you are using a waste carrier other than the council to remove household, garden or construction waste, then ask for their waste carriers number and if in doubt check their details with the Environment Agency. You can do this by:

• phoning the Environment Agency on 08708 506506 and request an instant Waste Carrier Validation Check; or
• check online at www.environment-agency.gov.uk

Household waste recycling centres

Household waste can be disposed of at household waste sites free of charge. A wide range of materials can be recycled at any one of the 18 household waste recycling centres throughout Suffolk. Only household waste (subject to some restrictions) is accepted for recycling or disposal. Please do not bring trade or commercial waste to these sites. 

Please see our link to find your nearest Household waste recycling centre and the material accepted at these sites.

If you are unable to take bulky items to the site, St Edmundsbury Borough Council can collect and dispose of these items for a fee. For more information please see our Bulky Items page.

Residual waste treatment

Due to tough Government targets and because landfill space is running out (not to mention the detrimental effect on the environment), Suffolk County Council, as the waste disposal authority, is looking at alternatives to landfill.

It is estimated that 60% of wheeled bin waste can be recycled, however, much of what goes into your black bin cannot be recycled at the moment. One solution to this problem is Energy from Waste (EfW). This is a process which extracts energy stored in waste and is then used to generate electricity. Research into technologies to do this are ongoing and we keep an open mind to find a final solution to this problem. For more information please see The future of Suffolk's waste

Do you have a question which is not covered above?

If so please email: waste.management@stedsbc.gov.uk or phone 01284 757320