Waste management in the Borough

The Council is committed to reducing the amount of waste that is generated locally. As a local authority we are responsible for collecting bins and waste in the Borough.

We provide three waste collections:

black bins for household rubbish
green bins for recycling
brown bins for garden waste (subscription service)

The Council has implemented a Waste collection policy which details how the various collection services operate and any rules relating to utilising these services.

We are also a member of Norfolk Recycles, a scheme run by Norfolk County Council and local authorities in the area aimed at:

providing a quality recycling service across the whole of Norfolk
reducing the amount of rubbish collected in the residual waste bins

You can find out more about the scheme, including ways you can recycle more at home and at work, on the Norfolk Recycles (opens new window) website.

What to put in each bin

Green bin

This is for your recycling items:

paper and card
plastic bottles
steel and aluminium food and drink cans
aerosols
glass bottles and jars including lids
plastic pots, tubs and trays (including yogurt pots, margarine tubs, plastic meat and vegetable trays)
Tetra Pak® containers (like the ones containing juices and soups)
envelopes (including window envelopes)
kitchen foil and foil trays (like the ones containing takeaways and ready meals)

You should make sure that items are clean and loose - you cannot recycle black sacks or carrier bags.

We collect your green bin once a fortnight - please make sure it is outside for collection by 6.30am on your collection day.

You can put extra recycling beside your green bin on collection day, but the items must be in a cardboard box. Try to shelter any additional recycling from wet weather (for example, place it behind your bin). Please make sure that all glass bottles and jars are placed within the bin to comply with health and safety.

Check the 'Reduce My Rubbish' page on Norfolk Recycles (opens new window) guide to see how you can recycle other items.

The recycling process

You can now look around the Main Recycling Facility at Costessey, with a 360 Video, showing what happens to your recycling after it has been collected from your home.

You can see inside the recycling centre and follow how items from your green bin are sorted by hand and by machine. There is also information on the locations where the various categories of recycling end up for processing, both in the UK and overseas.