Refuse & Recycling - Frequently Asked Questions

Residents will receive their new recycling boxes during the weeks commencing 9 and 16 August. If you have not received your new boxes by 23 August, please contact 01803 207900.

Residents will receive their new kitchen food waste caddy and food waste bin alongside their recycling boxes during the week’s commencing 9 and 16 August. If you have not received your kitchen food waste caddy and food waste bin by 23 August, please contact 01803 207900.

From 16 August 2010 after the new recycling containers have been delivered residents on the Twin Bin Scheme will start to see stickers securing their green recycling wheeled bin informing them they will be removed for refurbishment and reuse. The old green recycling bins will then start to be collected from 23 August 2010 and will be collected by 6 September. Please leave your old recycling bin at the kerbside visible for collection during this period.

To ensure your old recycling bin is collected before your new services start, please leave it empty at the kerbside visible for collection.

You will receive a collection calendar in late August which will state your collection day and will also include a calendar of all your collection dates for the next year.

To ensure all residents are ready for the change in their recycling and waste services and have the opportunity to ask questions, a team of ‘Waste Doctors’ will attend roadshows and speak to local community and interest groups between July and October 2010. They will also visit homes to talk to residents and offer assistance to those who might need extra help to get going with the new services. You contact a Waste Doctor by calling the Customer Call Centre on 01803 207900.

All food waste will be collected separately and is anaerobically digested (this means it is broken down without the presence of oxygen), in a sealed system. The process uses naturally occurring micro-organisms to break down the organic matter into fertiliser. The biofertiliser is used on farm land to grow crops and compost is also produced.

It is difficult to home compost all food waste. Uncooked vegetables are great home composting material, but cooked vegetable material and baked goods can compost slowly and inefficiently and attract vermin. It is strongly advised that you avoid putting cooked or raw meat/fish and bones in your garden composter, as they may fail to compost, generate smells and attract vermin.

You can use this for whatever you like, as your paper will now be collected from your recycling box. For instance you could chose to use it for storing odds and ends in your garden shed or for keeping your wellie boots in.

If you feel you do not have space for a residual wheeled bin you can contact the Customer Call Centre on 01803 207900, who will be happy to review this with you and if possible suggest alternatives.

If through age, illness or infirmity you are unable to move your bins on collection day, the Council will arrange for the recycling and waste collectors to come onto your property to collect your bin from your chosen storage area, empty it and then return it to your storage point. Please note that the Collect and Return service can only be provided to you if there is no other person living in your house who can move the bin/boxes for you. In certain cases the Council may require evidence of the need for the service. If you feel you require this service, please call 01803 207900 for details.

When it comes to the environment, even the smallest individual action really does make a difference. Torbay has a number of recycling sites/banks, to find out where these are, visit the Recycling Banks page.

Yes, this does not cause a problem because steel cans are easily separated from aluminium using a magnet.

Yes, these do not cause us any problems.

White envelopes without windows may be recycled via the green bin in the Twin Bin Scheme, the bag in the Box & Bag Scheme and paper banks around Torbay - see Recycling Banks. Unfortunately, at present we are unable to recycle envelopes with windows or brown envelopes (due to the high wood content of the paper).

Yes, junk mail can be placed in your green wheeled bin/box for recycling, or put into a paper bank. Please remove any plastic coverings etc. first.

Yes, yellow pages can be placed in your green wheeled bin/box or a paper bank for recycling.

No, this is not necessary; they get burnt off in the recycling process.

This is because your green bin or box was found to be contaminated with non-recyclable items by the refuse collectors. If recyclable materials in the refuse lorry become mixed with dirty non-recyclable waste from contaminated bins, they become spoiled and can’t be recycled. The wrong sort of waste also makes life extremely unpleasant and hazardous for our workers at the sorting plant who separate all the waste you put in your green bin by hand.

Visit the Twin Bin Scheme page for details of what can and can't be recycled.

Black Glass can be put in with brown glass in a bottle bank.

Blue glass can be put in with the green glass in a bottle bank.

Food tins can be placed in your green wheeled bin for recycling or can be placed in a can bank - see Recycling Banks.

Glass should not be put in your green wheeled bin, but should be taken to a bottle bank - see Recycling Banks. This is because all the recyclable rubbish we collect from you is sorted by hand, and broken glass is a real hazard to our staff at the sorting plant.

This is because mixed coloured glass cannot be recycled back into its’ original colours. This is especially important with clear glass.

Plastic bottles may be recycled via the green bin in the Twin Bins Scheme and at various Recycling Banks around Torbay.

Yes, but there is a small charge depending on the quantity of items you wish to have removed. Please call 01803 207205 for a quote and to book a collection time or visit the Special Collections page for more information.

If the residents in your road do not currently have a wheeled bin then you are not on a twin bin collection. Simply continue using your normal dustbin for all your household waste. At present, Torbay Council has no immediate plans to expand the wheeled bin areas beyond the current number of users.

Yes, call 01803 207205 and they will be able to assist you with changing to a more suitably sized bin to cater for your requirements.

Simply call 01803 207205 and a new collection time will be arranged for your rubbish to be collected

If through age, illness or infirmity you are unable to move your bins on collection day, the Council will arrange for the refuse collectors to come onto your property collect your bin from your chosen storage area, empty it and then return it to your storage point. Please note that the Collect and Return service can only be provided to you if there is no other person living in your house who can move the bins for you. In certain cases the Council may require evidence of the need for the service. Please ring 01803 207205 for details.

Your wheeled bins or boxes should be placed at the boundary of your property where it joins the road or pavement.

Your wheeled bins are emptied on alternate weeks to keep down the cost of the collection service. If we provided a collection of non-recyclable refuse every week we would have to purchase extra collection vehicles and take on extra staff, which would mean significant increases in your Council Tax bill.

Visit the Composters page for details of where to buy these items.