Recycling guide

Where does your recycling go?

Once we have collected your waste, we handle it in the most environmentally friendly way possible. We try to ensure that our collected items are composted, recycled or re-used wherever possible.

The next best option is to ‘recover energy’. For example, we use waste to make fuel to replace fossil fuels. The least favourable option is to send waste to landfill. Swindon is a leader in minimising landfill.

Most of Swindon’s waste is passed on to other companies to treat.

Recyclable waste

We send the recycling we collect to various different companies. Some materials generate an income for us to offset disposal costs. Other materials, such as plastics, cost money to send for processing.

The list below shows where we sent your recyclable waste in 2019:

  • Paper and card - Recycled by DS Smith, Kraft and Parth at mills in the UK and EU, Thailand and India  
  • Steel cans - Recycled by AMG Resources in Llanelli, Wales
  • Mixed glass - Recycled by Recresco in Wales
  • Plastics - Recycled by Viridor Polymers in Rochester, UK

Black wheelie bin/blue bag collection

This is tipped at Waterside where it is loaded onto bulkers destined for Energy from Waste plants in the South West. These plants produce power which feeds the National Grid.

Help us to improve this website

Use this form to provide feedback on this webpage. Don't use it to contact us about a service or make a complaint. We will not reply, even if you include personal details such as your name and address. If you want us to reply, you should contact us in a different way.

What is your feedback for this webpage?

Give feedback about this page