COUNCIL RECYCLING

Household recycling and waste
Most households have recently been given a green wheelie bin for waste that cannot be recycled, plus two recycling boxes – one blue and one green. Special arrangements have been made for properties that cannot use a wheelie bin. The garden waste collection scheme gives one free reusable bag to every resident with a garden. Recycling and refuse are collected on alternate weeks. A calendar tells you whether you are in the ‘orange’ or the ‘purple’ collection area, and so which containers go out on which week.See below to find out what goes into which container.

Plastic and Tetrapaks (drinks cartons)

There are bins for plastic of all kinds (excluding plastic bags and plastic film) and drinks cartons at the Ferry Centre recycling point.

Waste Recycling Centre
Oxfordshire County Council runs a large Household Waste Recycling Centre at Redbridge, just off the Abingdon Road, behind Redbridge Park & Ride. It is open from 8am-5pm Monday to Sunday. From April to September, it remains open until 8pm on Thursdays. It is closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year's Day. Please contact the Oxfordshire County Council waste management team on 08450 50 45 50 or see their recycling centres web pages for more information. Redbridge recycles many items that are not currently collected, including computers, batteries, wood, rubble, car oil, cardboard, plastic bags, and furniture. There is also a useful A-Z directory of where you can recycle goods

Bulky waste items
You can arrange for bulky items that are beyond reuse or repair, such as cookers, beds and computers, to be collected by the City Council.

 

COMMUNITY RECYCLING

Green Balloon Days or Greencycling

Green Balloon Days are organised by individual streets or groups of streets. Residents put unwanted items outside their houses and show that they have done so by hanging up a green balloon. Anyone is welcome to come along, see what is available and take away anything they like. Reuse is the greenest form of recycling.

Plastic bags
There is a collection bin for recycling plastic bags in Somerfield supermarket, Banbury Road. They can also be taken to the Redbridge Waste Centre.

Brita water filters
Brita water filters can be taken to Cargo for recycling.

Charity shops
There are several charity shops in Summertown that are glad to receive unwanted items in good, saleable condition, such as Oxfam, Scope, Blue Cross and Animal Sanctuary. No electrical goods.

Oxford Freecycle
The Oxford Freecycle™ Network is open to all in the local area who prefer to recycle to others, rather than throw away unwanted items such as bicycles, pianos, electrical goods, furniture, just about anything. You post a message listing items you are either offering free or looking for yourself. Charity organisations will be informed of this site so they too may be in touch to pick up your things. Rules: all items must be free, and no commercials. Click this link for more information.

Oxfordshire Community and Voluntary Action
OCVA will collect furniture in reasonable condition and white goods in working condition to pass on to people on benefits, low incomes and students. For more information tel. 763698 or go to: www.ocva.org.uk

Daily Information
You can advertise items for sale, to swap or to give away in Daily Information. This is published as a broadsheet at least once a week (three times a week in university term time) and displayed all over Oxford. It is also available online.

Noticeboards
You can advertise items for sale or to give away by putting a notice in the window of Pen to Paper or Martin’s newsagent, for a small weekly charge.

 

Here's what you can put in the recycling boxes and bags:

Green box

Yes	No
glass bottles	broken or sheet glass
glass jars	plastic bags
newspapers	cards and cardboard
magazines	envelopes
office paper	directories
	food/drink cartons

Blue box
If you are in any doubt about any item, please put it into your rubbish container.

Yes	No
Plastic
plastic drinks bottles	polystyrene
plastic milk bottles	clingfilm
plastic shampoo bottles	plastic food trays
plastic cleaning products bottles	plastic sandwich packaging
plastic bottle tops	plastic carrier bags
	marg tubs
	yogurt pots
	ice cream containers
	plastic toys/gadgets
	bubble wrap
Cans
aluminium drinks cans	food-soiled foil items
aluminium foil	metal lids from glass jars
metal food tins	metal bottle tops
Card/Cardboard
any clean cardboard and greetings cards	Tetra-pak cartons
any cardboard labels
toilet roll inner tubes
Low-grade Paper
junk mail	kitchen paper (even clean)
brochures	tissues (even clean)
wrapping paper	jiffy bags
art paper (pencil or pen)	art project paper (painted)
coloured office paper	glued collage projects
directories (inc Yellow Pages)
catalogues
envelopes (inc window ones)

Garden waste bag

Yes	No
grass cuttings	cardboard
hedge trimmings	soil/stones/hardcore
garden prunings	food/drink cartons
leaves	flowerpots
small shrubs	timber/logs
plants and weeds	metal
cut flowers	plastic
branches no larger than 7.5cm (3") in diameter	all kitchen food waste
	household waste
	pet waste
	paper

For more information go to the Oxford City Council recycling page.