Where does your recycling go?
We take your recycling to the transfer station in Maresfield, where it is bulked up for onward transport to a Materials Reclamation Facility (MRF) in Crayford, Kent. Here the materials are separated using a combination of manual and automatic processes, including magnets, conveyor belts and lasers, before being baled up and sent to different re-processors in the UK and abroad to be made into new products.
What happens to the materials we collect
See how the recycling collected from Wealden residents’ homes is dealt with by visiting
Cardboard and paper
Cardboard and paper are processed in the UK and abroad. Cardboard usually ends up as packaging materials. Paper is pulped, cleaned and made into new paper products.
Plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays
Plastics are sorted into different grades at sites in the UK. The plastic is turned into a raw material to make food packaging.
Glass bottles and jars
Glass bottles and jars end up at different UK plants and after sorting are used to make new bottles and jars.
Food Tins and Drinks Cans
Metal is sorted locally, then processed and made into new products.
Aluminium cans are sent to Wales or Cheshire and melted down to produce new aluminium products such as cans. Steel cans are sent to various UK plants ending up as new cans or other steel products, such as white goods and bicycles.
Garden Waste
This is taken directly to Veolia’s Woodlands Composting Facility in Whitesmith. The garden waste is shredded and piled into large rows called ‘windrows’. Natural micro-organisms break it down into compost which is screened, sieved and used as soil conditioner in the agricultural industry. The soil conditioner is also available for residents to buy at all the household waste recycling sites in East Sussex.
Watch a short video to find out what happens to the garden waste we collect.
General Rubbish
After the rubbish is collected from your home, it is taken to the waste transfer station in Maresfield which is run by East Sussex County Council’s contractor, Veolia. It is then taken to the Energy from waste facility – Newhaven. This uses the heat from burning up to 210 thousand tonnes of waste, per year, to generate electricity for the National Grid to power about 25,000 homes.
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What and when we collect
Your collection day for rubbish and recycling is on the same day on alternate weeks. We collect:
- green recycling bin* one week
- black rubbish bin the following week
The brown garden waste bin (chargeable service) will also be collected fortnightly, but this may be on a different day from your other collections.
*Some of the older recycling bins might still be black
What Goes in Each Bin
Information relating to what items should be placed in your bins
Waste Collection Service – Frequently Asked Questions
Crew Safety
