Recycling, household rubbish and garden waste subscription collection policies

Under Section 46 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (Part 2) the Waste Collection Authority (Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council) has the power to specify the containers to be used and the power to say where household waste containers are presented for collection. Non-compliance is an offence under the Act.

Using the Controlled Waste Regulations (2012) the borough council reserves the right to charge for the removal of some types of domestic waste.

This council has a service which collects household rubbish every two weeks from most properties and limits the amount a resident can present to the contents of the standard wheelie bin. The service is designed to collect ‘everyday’ waste generated through daily occupation of a property, rather than material from house-clearances or other big clear-outs or DIY. All waste must be contained inside the bin - not beside it loose, in bags or boxes - and the lid must be fully closed.

You can put garden waste into your household rubbish bin if you have space, but the lid must be fully closed on collection day. If the contents are too compacted we may not be able to empty the bin.

Containers

The standard wheelie bin provided to every house is a 180 litre capacity one, which is emptied every fortnight. Over half your waste can be recycled through our other collection services, so this size is appropriate for almost every household. This is equivalent to 2 black sacks of household rubbish.

If we judge that your property is unsuitable for a wheelie bin because has no outside storage space, is up/down steps from the pavement, has deep gravel, or is inaccessible for our vehicle fleet, we may have to collect your household rubbish in bags rather than a bin. In this situation we will provide you with bags, and you shouldn’t provide your own. Where possible we’ll then offer you a bin for storage of the bags.

If you produce little household rubbish, or have little space, we can provide a 140 litre bin on request.

You must not put extra bags or boxes out with your bin for collection.

We do not guarantee that any bin we provide will be new. We may supply a clean, good-quality one which has been used before.

We charge for delivery of containers replacing those which are lost or stolen, and for containers for new properties.

Extra capacity

We may be able to provide residents with more household rubbish capacity (a bigger, or extra bin) in certain circumstances.

If your household has 6 or more permanent residents then a 240 litre bin can be provided on request. If you recycle as much as you can, but still find that your bin doesn’t hold all your household rubbish, please contact us so that we can discuss your situation. We will ask for some personal information to understand how we can help. Arrangements can be made where a member of the household uses incontinence pads, catheter or stoma bags, home dialysis, ‘peg-feeding’ or anal plugs. The decision to authorise any additional household rubbish capacity will be made by an officer.

We will review the provision of the extra household rubbish capacity from time to time. If circumstances change in your household then you must advise us as soon as possible.

We will not make a charge for delivering these bins in the first instance.  However, if the bins are lost or stolen, we will levy our usual charge. 

Contamination

If you put into your bin something which is ‘clinical waste’ (something actually infectious for which you are taking antibiotics) it will be seen as ‘contamination’. This sort of waste needs special collection and disposal separate from ordinary waste, and this can be arranged through your doctor. Incontinence pads, catheter or stoma bags, home dialysis, ‘peg-feeding’ or anal plugs are not ‘clinical waste’ and should be put into your household rubbish bin in bags.

Building, decorating or DIY waste, bricks, rubble, soil, hazardous waste (such as televisions), are all ‘contamination’, and we do not collect them at all. You need to dispose of these materials yourself.

Business waste (from a commercial activity) is also called ‘contamination’ when in your household rubbish bin. This sort of waste requires a collection from a ‘trade waste’ service because of the legislation applied to it. The council offers a flexible and competitive trade refuse service, and private contractors are also available.

If you put things which are not household rubbish in your bin we will not empty it. We’ll put a bright sticker on your container advising you that it contains the wrong materials and record it on our in-cab devices.

You must bring the container back within your property boundary. We will follow up the sticker with an advice letter to your property. Persistent contamination may lead to enforcement action being taken against you.

If you remove the contaminating item we will empty the container on the next scheduled collection day.