Recycling in Southwark

Recycling news

• Recycling Rewards - want to win £200? Start or continue recycling and you could be in with a chance of winning one of our five monthly prizes in our new Recycling Rewards scheme.
  
  
• Give and Take Day - do toys, kitchenware, baby items, small electrical appliances or unwanted presents clutter your cupboards? Are you looking for something useful for free? 
  
  There will be a Give and Take Day on January 24 2009, at East Dulwich Community Centre, 46-50 Darrell Road, London, SE22 9NL. It's a great opportunity for you to clear out unwanted items in the new year and get something in return, for free.
  
  To find out more about forthcoming events, please contact environment@southwark.gov.uk or call 020 7525 2000.
  
  
• We will be organising 'Nappuccinos' across Southwark so parents and expectant parents can find out about reusable washable nappies. If you want to receive more information, please contact environment@southwark.gov.uk or call 020 7525 2000.
  
  
• You can now recycle your Yellow Pages phone directory and paper of any colour using either your blue reusable bag, clear bag, or local recycling centre.
  
  
• Food and drink cartons, eg Tetra Paks, can now be brought to be recycled at Manor Place Household Waste Reuse and Recycling Centre and the Sainsbury's located on Dog Kennel Hill.
  
  
• The opening hours of Southwark's Household Waste Reuse and Recycling Centre have been extended, to make recycling even easier for residents.
  
  
• Household battery recycling facilities are located at all libraries across the borough, accepting most types of household batteries, such as standard, rechargeable, mobile phone and laptop batteries.
  
  
• Textiles recycling banks are increasingly accessible in Southwark, with more banks for recycling clothes and shoes (pdf 40kb) having been recently installed.
  
  
• Recycling facilities locator - Recycle for London has updated their recycling facilities locator, simply enter in your postcode to check all recycling facilities near you.

To deal with the growing waste problem we have launched the resource programme to make sure we recycle half of our rubbish by 2020/2021.

Recycling has never been easier

Reducing, reusing and recycling means sending less of your rubbish to landfill. This is better for the environment and means that the money we save through avoiding disposal charges can be spent elsewhere. If you haven't recycled before, now's the time to start. And if you're already a keen recycler, see if you can do more.

Everyone in Southwark can recycle paper, card, cardboard, plastic bottles, cans, and glass. The different recycling services make it easy for you to recycle, wherever you live in the borough.

Southwark's recycling services

Your local recycling centre

Take your recycling to your nearest local recycling centres. There are over 500 centres across Southwark, helping to make it easy for you to recycle. At most local recycling centres you can recycle paper, card, cardboard, plastic bottles, cans, and glass bottles and jars. Some of the centres also have textiles and shoe banks (pdf 40kb).

The blue box and bag scheme

If you live at a street based property you can use a blue box and bag to recycle. Use your blue bag for paper, card, cardboard and your blue box for glass bottles and jars, food and drink cans, plastic bottles, food trays, pots and tubs.

The clear bag scheme

If you are part of the clear bag recycling scheme you can use your clear bag to recycle paper, card, cardboard, cans, plastic bottles, glass bottles and jars. Find out whether you are part of the clear bag recycling scheme.  

The garden waste scheme  

If you live in a property with a garden we can collect garden waste from you every two weeks, throughout the year as part of our garden waste collection scheme. You can use a green reusable bag, brown wheelie bin or single use paper bag, depending on your needs.

It doesn't stop there. There are a lot of other things you can recycle. Find out about other ways to recycle.

Report a problem or request a container for recycling

Use our online forms to report a missed collection or that a recycling bank is full.  You can also complete a form to request a new container to use a recycling service.

Report a problem

• Report non collection of a blue box or blue bag
• Report non collection of your garden waste
• Report non collection of your clear bag
• Report full recycling banks or other problems at recycling centres

Request a container for recycling

• Request a new or replacement blue box, blue bag or accessories
• Request a new garden waste bin or bag
• Request a clear bag

Identity fraud

Please be aware that to protect yourself from identity fraud you should not throw away or recycle entire bills, receipts, credit or debit card slips, bank statements or even unwanted post in your name.

Destroy unwanted documents, preferably by using a shredder or deleting your name, before placing them out for recycling. All shredded documentation must be placed in the paper and cardboard recycling bag and placed outside your property in a visible area ready for collection.

If you are taking part in Southwark Council's Tag It To Bag It competition, please note that you do not need to put your name on your tag, only your address. Here you can find more information on identity fraud.

Contact us

For further information on Southwark's recycling services, please contact us.

Recycling unit
Tel: 020 7525 2000
environment@southwark.gov.uk
30-34 Penrose Street
London
SE17 3DW