As a result, Oxfordshire County Council is temporarily limiting the number of these items it can accept at its household waste recycling centres (HWRCs).

The council has written to government to ask for action to be taken.

Residents booking a fridge or freezer slot will see the daily availability online up to one week in advance, rather than the normal two-week window. Other materials and HWRC bookings are not impacted by this.

Households will be limited to one fridge or freezer booking every three months, although they can bring up to two of these items with each booking.

The council has also asked Oxfordshire’s district and city councils to make similar temporary restrictions on the collection of fridges and freezers to their bulky waste services. Residents will need to check the situation in their area with their district or city council.

Councillor Laura Gordon, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy, said: “We are exploring every avenue to address the backlog and support residents to continue recycling. I have written to the government to suggest steps they could take to alleviate the situation at a national level.

“Unfortunately, our capacity for treatment nationally has been reduced by a third and we have now had to introduce temporary restrictions at our HWRCs to help manage a growing backlog as we seek to maintain the service for residents.

“We would also like to thank residents for their understanding and working with us through this nationally challenging period.”

People are reminded they can use retailer takeback schemes when buying a new appliance or resell or donate working units. Retailers must offer a like-for-like collection service, although they may charge for collection from the home.

Last week, Oxfordshire County Council announced it was temporarily stopping accepting the items from people living outside the county to prioritise Oxfordshire residents.

All the measures will be kept under constant review, and the council will make existing customers aware of any updates through the HWRC booking system.

Customers are reminded to book a slot online on the council’s website before visiting their HWRC.

Residents without internet access can book slots by phone by contacting the council’s customer service centre on 01865 519800 between 8.45am - 5pm, Monday - Thursday, and 8.45am - 4pm on Fridays.

Oxfordshire customers are also reminded to bring proof of address with them when visiting an HWRC – such as a driving licence or recent utility or council tax bill – as visitors from outside the county will be charged £15.

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Oxfordshire County Council has again been named the top performing waste disposal authority in the two-tier system in figures published last month. In 2024 - 25, residents recycled, reused or composted 56.6 per cent of their household waste.

The total amount of household waste produced in Oxfordshire was 292,738 tonnes for 2024 - 25, with 165,694 tonnes being reused, recycled and composted.

Oxfordshire’s city and four district councils, which operate the kerbside collections for householders, also achieved good results in their national category.

Out of 197 waste collection authorities in England, South Oxfordshire District Council is second in the table for the percentage of waste recycled (61.3 per cent), the Vale of White Horse is 8th (58.9 per cent), West Oxfordshire is 16th (57 per cent), Cherwell is 37^th (51.5 per cent), and Oxford City Council is 51^st (48.2 per cent).

Along with the county council, the city and district councils make up the Oxfordshire Resources and Waste Partnership (ORWP) which works together to improve recycling and waste management services for residents.

Vicky Beechey, ORWP Manager, said: “The sustained high performance collectively by Oxfordshire councils is notable, particularly against the backdrop of challenging financial times for everyone. To see ORWP partners’ and Oxfordshire residents’ hard work continuing to be reflected in these figures is testament to the commitment of everyone to deliver positive environmental outcomes.

“Our residents deserve congratulations and thanks for all their consistent hard work and commitment in achieving this landmark. However, we are certainly not complacent and one area we would like to improve is reducing food waste. Wasting less food is good for our finances, and the food waste we do recycle is anaerobically digested, making methane to replace fossil gas to heat our homes and cook our food.

“ORWP partners recognise that there is more to do to improve reuse, repair, recycling and composting figures. We can all take positive action through reducing  food waste, keeping items in use for longer and reducing the amount of waste we produce – for the benefit of everyone. Using tools such as the Waste Wizard can really help put the items we have in the right place – whether that’s for reuse, composting or to throw away.”

Visitors to Oxfordshire’s seven household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) are reminded that a booking system is now in operation.

Customers must book a slot online on Oxfordshire County Council’s website before visiting their HWRC. Bookings are available up to two weeks in advance or 30 minutes prior, subject to availability.

Residents without internet access can book slots over the telephone by contacting the council’s customer service centre on 01865 519800 between 8.45am - 5pm, Monday - Thursday, and 8.45am - 4pm on Fridays.

Oxfordshire customers are also reminded to bring proof of address with them when visiting an HWRC – such as a driving licence or recent utility or council tax bill – as visitors from outside the county will be charged £15.

Oxfordshire residents can also dispose of limited amounts of DIY waste for free at the county’s HWRCs if they book online in advance .

For those looking to reduce their waste further, Oxfordshire’s Community Action Group network and Replenish project have lots of opportunities for people to get involved with local schemes and tips on how to reduce waste and improve their local environment.

Residents can also visit Climate Action Oxfordshire for ideas on the practical things they can do to reduce waste and make better climate choices with the time they have available. 

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New information regarding the likelihood and potential impact of a fire at the site means that an exceptional decision has been made to progress work to entirely clear the site of waste.

The Environment Agency expects to fund the clearance efforts through making efficiencies in its operations, without impacting or scaling back any of its other services. However, it is not funded to clear up waste sites nationally and will only make these decisions under truly exceptional circumstances.

Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: “This is the news that the residents of Kidlington and the surrounding areas have been longing to hear, and we thank the Environment Agency for finding the resources for the waste to be cleared in these exceptional circumstances.

“While we agree with the principle that the polluter should pay for any clear-up, the scale of this waste and its proximity to the A34, the River Cherwell and rail infrastructure means that there is a unique level of risk compared with similar sites around the country.

“To prevent any increasing chance of long-term environmental damage and potentially major impact on nationally significant infrastructure it is vital that the waste is removed as soon as possible.”

New advice from Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service indicated the possibility of a fire on site, which could have widespread impacts on the community, including closing the A34, raising air quality issues from the smoke and interrupting electrical supplies.

Cllr Roberts added: “We will continue to assist the Environment Agency in any way we can to bring the criminals who created this blight on the community.”

Following the appalling large-scale dumping of waste earlier in the summer, partners, including Oxfordshire County Council, have been monitoring the site, restricting access to prevent further dumping, installing environmental safeguards and considering next steps to ensure the community is protected.

The Environment Agency said the scale of the fire risk sets this case apart from other illegal waste dumps in England and presents an overriding public imperative. As such, preparatory works for clearance will begin imminently.

Further details on the timeframe for clearance will be set out shortly.

Philip Duffy, Environment Agency chief executive, said: “The brazen criminality at Kidlington has appalled all of us at the Environment Agency. Our local teams have been at this site working with partners to reduce harm and minimise risks while we pursue those responsible.

“This week, new information on the risk of fire was received from the fire and rescue service and the police and a decision made to clear the site as soon as possible on a wholly exceptional basis. The EA and our local partners are now working through the most effective way to manage this work.

“We will update the public on progress with that as soon as we are able. We are determined that waste criminals will see justice for this serious offending.”

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Oxfordshire County Council’s cabinet today agreed the recommendations which include changes to opening hours, although these will not come into effect until late 2027.

Oxfordshire’s HWRCs are currently open 63 hours a week (8am to 5pm daily), and this will remain the case until winter 2027.

From then onwards, summer opening hours (1 April - 30 September) will be 9am to 5pm (56 hours a week), and winter (1 October - 31 March) opening will be from 9am to 4pm (49 hours).

In addition to Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day when all sites close, from winter 2027 sites shall also be closed on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve.

The amended opening hours still compare favourably to those in many other parts of the country and are in line with feedback provided by the public.

More than 5,800 people provided feedback in a public consultation in the summer that guided the proposals.

Other changes that will come into force from early 2026, alongside the introduction of a booking system, which was approved in 2024, include:

• The requirement for customers to separate all recyclable material from any unsorted mixed waste brought to HWRCs. Having all waste sorted prior to attending an HWRC is preferred, although on-site sorting areas will be provided.
• Customers from outside Oxfordshire will be charged £15 per visit per vehicle.
• Updates to the procedure for acceptance of cement bonded asbestos, including the addition of this waste stream to the list of chargeable items 
• Updates to the current van and trailer permit scheme, which will not affect the majority of customers.

Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: “Our officers have listened carefully to what people have said and we thank the public for such detailed and thoughtful feedback this summer. These minor changes to hours and days, supported by the consultation, won't be implemented until winter 2027.

“Other changes, which will come in early 2026, will see a reduction in van and trailer permits to 10 per year, and a charge for HWRC users from outside the county, the costs of which are currently funded by Oxfordshire’s residents.

“This will keep the HWRCs open at the times they are most used, provide greater value for money for our council taxpayers and improve our residents’ already excellent recycling rates.”

Unlike many other parts of the country, including neighbouring areas, Oxfordshire does not currently limit the use of HWRCs to county residents only. In other areas, fees can range from £94.50 for a medium sized car boot full in Buckinghamshire to £10 per visit in Kent.

The council has a situation where Oxfordshire residents are prevented from using neighbouring authority facilities, while their residents are still able to use those in Oxfordshire – leading to increased service costs for Oxfordshire County Council.

The introduction of a reasonable fee for residents from outside of Oxfordshire will help the council to meet those extra costs, without ruling out access altogether for residents residing outside of Oxfordshire who may live close to its HWRCs.

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For the second year, the theme of Recycle Week, which is running from 22 - 28 September, is ‘Rescue Me! Recycle’.

The county has a 57.69 per cent recycling and composting rate, making Oxfordshire residents the best in England for 11 years in a row.

However, to continue to tackle the climate emergency, Oxfordshire County Council is calling on people to try to increase that figure as around half of the average rubbish bin is made up of items that could have been recycled.

Recycle Week aims to highlight common types of recyclable waste that residents often don’t recycle and ask them to rescue at least one of these items from their rubbish bin.

These could include toilet roll tubes, empty aerosols, old toothpaste tubes, trigger sprays, shampoo bottles, foil, yoghurt pot and toilet roll tubes – all of which can be collected in kerbside waste collections throughout Oxfordshire.

Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: “We know that Oxfordshire residents are already great at recycling, but there is always room for improvement.”

Oxfordshire County Council’s online Waste Wizard search tool can help people put the right items in the right bin. Available on the council’s website, residents can type in their postcode and the item they no longer need to find out where it could be repaired or donated, or which kerbside bin or recycling centre skip it can go in.

“With busy lives and so many different types of items, packaging and materials, we appreciate there are times when householders can be unsure if something is recyclable or not,” added Cllr Roberts. “But if everyone can check the Waste Wizard and rescue at least one more recyclable item from general waste, it will make a big difference across the county.”

More advice and information about reducing the amount of waste produced can be found through Oxfordshire Recycles, which provides updates through different channels including Facebook and X/Twitter.

The partnership, which is made up of the county, city and district councils, works together to improve Oxfordshire’s recycling performance.

Recycle Week is organised by Recycle Now, part of international climate action charity WRAP, and is now in its 22nd year.

Catherine David, Chief Executive of WRAP, said: “Recycle Week continues to be a powerful moment to inspire action across the UK, and this year’s ‘Rescue Me! Recycle’ campaign is no exception.

“By highlighting everyday items like shampoo bottles, foil, and toothpaste tubes – things we often overlook – we’re helping people see the real impact of small changes. Thanks to innovation and collaboration, more of these items can now be recycled than ever before.

“Together with local authorities and communities, we’re making it easier to do the right thing and keep valuable materials in use. Let’s rescue these items from the rubbish and give them a second life.”

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Oxfordshire County Council has again been named the top performing county council waste disposal authority. In 2023 - 24, residents recycled, reused or composted 57.6 per cent of their household waste – up from 57.2 per cent in the previous year.

The total amount of household waste produced in Oxfordshire was 292,234 tonnes for 2023 - 24, with 168,232 tonnes being reused, recycled and composted.

Oxfordshire’s city and four district councils, which operate the kerbside collections for householders, also achieved excellent results in their national category.

Out of 197 waste collection authorities in England, South Oxfordshire District Council is at the top of the table (62.9 per cent), the Vale of White Horse is fourth (60.7 per cent), West Oxfordshire is 16^th (57.2 per cent), Cherwell is 36^th (53.2 per cent), and Oxford City Council is 55^th (48.3 per cent). The provisional national average is 42.2 per cent.

Along with the county council, the city and district councils make up the Oxfordshire Resources and Waste Partnership (ORWP) – a collaborative organisation that works together to improve recycling and waste management services for residents.

Vicky Beechey, ORWP Manager, said: “Oxfordshire’s residents have long been recognised as consistently high performers when it comes to recycling, reusing and composting, and we owe them another huge thank you.

“These figures are also a testament to local authorities’ hard work and ongoing commitment to delivering positive environmental outcomes for Oxfordshire residents.

“ORWP partners know times are really challenging for residents. By taking proper action, we can all reduce food waste, keep items in use for longer and reduce the amount of waste we produce – for the benefit of everyone. Using tools such as the Waste Wizard can really help put the items we have in the right place – whether that’s for reuse, composting or to throw away.”

Oxfordshire residents can dispose of limited amounts of DIY waste for free at the county’s household waste recycling centres by using an online booking system.

The system means householders wanting to use their free DIY waste allocation will need to book online in advance .

For those looking to reduce their waste further, Oxfordshire’s Community Action Group network and Replenish project have lots of opportunities for people to get involved with local schemes and tips on how to reduce waste and improve their local environment.

Residents can also visit Climate Action Oxfordshire for ideas on the practical things they can do to reduce waste and make better climate choices with the time they have available. 

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The council already operates a booking system for residents wanting to dispose of small quantities of DIY waste and, in the future, this will be extended to all users. Currently, people can visit the sites during opening hours without pre-booking.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment and Future Generations, approved the measure today (14 November) at his cabinet member’s decision meeting.

Cllr Sudbury said: “Our residents have helped Oxfordshire top the national recycling, reusing and composting table for 10 years in a row, so we know they are committed to reducing waste. We are confident that they will see the benefits of this new system, which will help them avoid long queues by booking a time slot in advance, and lead to better customer service from our HWRC employees.

“Booking systems have already been successfully introduced in many other parts of the country, including Swindon, West Berkshire, Suffolk, Kent and Gloucestershire, for several years. We consulted other authorities where similar systems are in place and received strong feedback about how it can improve the service.”

Advantages of a booking system include better traffic management, reduced queues, better recycling rates as staff can help visitors separate their recyclable from their non-recyclable waste, and more targeted communication with customers about their scheduled visit.

It will also save council taxpayers’ money by helping to prevent trade waste from being illegally disposed of at the HWRCs.

A study carried out in 2022 revealed there was no evidence that the introduction of booking systems led to an increase in fly-tipping.

Although the booking system will be online, residents without internet access will be able to book slots over the telephone.

The booking scheme is due to come into operation on 14 January 2026. The council aims to have it in place before the temporary closure of Oxford’s Redbridge HWRC for around three months to enable essential stabilisation work to be carried out. This work is expected to begin around May 2026.

As Redbridge would normally receive 40,000 customers in these three months, it is anticipated that these people would go to their nearest alternative site instead, increasing demand and queuing times. Therefore, a booking system would help alleviate any short-term issues arising from the temporary closure.

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More than 100 community action groups (CAG Oxfordshire) and Oxfordshire County Council have scooped a national award for their joint efforts to improve recycling and reduce waste.

They won the partnership category at the 2024 Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee awards on 10 October.

The award recognises the work of the partnership, which has been going strong for over 20 years. It supports grassroots efforts to reduce, reuse and repair across Oxfordshire communities, and diverted around 2,000 tonnes of material from disposal in 2023/24.

Councillor Dr Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment and Future Generations, said: “It’s wonderful to see the strong partnership between Oxfordshire County Council and CAG Oxfordshire recognised at these national awards.

“Community groups play a crucial role in creating the social cohesion that is central to the resilience of societies when they are subject to sudden unpredictable shocks, like the pandemic, or increasingly extreme weather events. That's one of the reasons we doubled our funding support to the CAGs a year ago. 

“We are delighted to support local communities to act on the environmental issues that matter to them. We would like to thank the 112 groups across the county for doubling their impact over the last year, holding 8,800 events, putting true sustainability and the circular economy into real world action and making a positive impact on the environment and society.”

Katherine Chesson, Director of CAG Oxfordshire, said: “We are proud of our ongoing partnership with Oxfordshire County Council as we've seen the network grow and flourish over that time.

“The partnership has allowed us to support the amazing volunteers and community champions advancing important environmental and social initiatives in every corner of the county. This award is as much a recognition of their efforts as it is our partnership.”

In 2023/24 the CAG network delivered near 9,000 events and activities thanks to the support of 220,000 volunteer hours – in both cases, double the impact of the previous year.

These activities resulted in approximately 1,654 tonnes of non-food waste being reused and repaired. Another 678 tonnes of food was diverted from waste to be redistributed, cooked, eaten or processed, preventing nearly 1,695 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Events and activities have included:

• A riverbank clean-up which collected over 100kg of plastic.
• Over Christmas, one community fridge redistributed more than 14 tonnes of surplus food to families in need.
• Cooking classes supported people to eat and buy more sustainably, exploring food miles, how to eat on a budget, and how to cook using surplus ingredients.
• Five ‘libraries of things’ and swap shops, which reused over three tonnes of products.
• Over 260 repair cafes.
• Refill shops and pop-ups helping to eliminate waste, including repairing more than 2,000 bikes.

The partnership enables the council to support local communities to tackle the issues that impact them. The enthusiasm of local communities championing the projects they have identified and developed helps to ensure their success, widen the impact and, in many cases, helps the initiatives grow.

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The county has a 57.2 per cent recycling and composting rate, making Oxfordshire residents the best in England for 10 years in a row.

However, to continue to tackle the climate emergency, Oxfordshire County Council is calling on people to do every little bit they can to increase that figure as around half of the average rubbish bin is made up of items that could have been recycled.

The theme of this year’s Recycle Week, which runs from 14 - 20 October, is ‘Rescue Me, Recycle’. The aim is to highlight common types of recyclable waste that residents often don’t recycle and ask them to rescue at least one of these items from their rubbish bin. These could include toilet roll tubes and empty aerosols.

Councillor Dr Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment and Future Generations, said: “Oxfordshire residents are already great at recycling, but there is always room for improvement when it comes to finding the best possible option for an item we no longer need.

“With busy lives and so many different types of items, packaging and materials, we know there are times when householders can be unsure if something is recyclable or not. But if everyone can rescue at least one more recyclable item from general waste, it will make a big difference across the county.”

Vicky Beechey, Oxfordshire Resources and Waste Partnership Manager, said: “Oxfordshire’s councils work really hard to make sure that our waste is recycled and reused as much as possible, but we need your help.

“Why not take one more look at what you’re about to throw away to check if anything else could be rescued and put into the recycling – this could be your empty shampoo bottle, the cardboard toilet roll tube or the empty aerosol can. More of the right stuff in the right bin is better for the planet and for all of us.”

Oxfordshire County Council’s online Waste Wizard search tool can help people put the right items in the right bin. Available on the council’s website, residents can type in their postcode and the item they no longer need to find out where it could be repaired or donated, or which kerbside bin or recycling centre skip it can go in.

More advice and information about reducing the amount of waste produced can be found through Oxfordshire Recycles, which provides updates through different channels including Facebook and X/Twitter.

The partnership, which is made up of the county and district councils, works together to improve Oxfordshire’s recycling performance.

To encourage younger people to get involved in Recycle Week, Oxfordshire County Council is running a design activity and prize draw for residents. To take part, entrants need to design a recycling superhero character to rescue recyclable items from the rubbish bin.

People can enter by sending their design before midnight on 20 October 2024.

Fifty entrants who submit a design will be selected at random to receive an Oxfordshire Reuses aluminium water bottle and some other waste reducing goodies.

Designs submitted may also be used in some social media posts during Recycle Week to help inspire others to recycle.

Entrants can submit their picture by direct message to @OxfordshireRecycles on Facebook, @OxonRecycles on X/Twitter, or email their entry to waste.management@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Entries should include the words ‘Design a recycling superhero’ in the message or subject and must include the entrant’s name and address. Under 16s should ask a parent or guardian to enter for them.

More details about how to enter, including terms and conditions, are available on Oxfordshire County Council’s website.

Recycle Week is organised by Recycle Now, part of international climate action charity WRAP, and is now in its 21^st year.

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For safety reasons, Oxfordshire County Council will be shutting the centres for two days – although never at the same time – to allow for deep cleaning and essential maintenance.

This includes jet washing the sites and structures, repainting lines and safety areas, as well as other general work to improve the customer experience.

The closing dates are:

• Stanford in the Vale, near Faringdon: Monday 2 and Tuesday 3 September
• Ardley, near Bicester: Thursday 5 and Friday 6 September
• Drayton, near Abingdon: Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 September
• Oakley Wood, near Wallingford: Thursday 12 and Friday 13 September
• Dix Pit, Stanton Harcourt: Monday 23 and Tuesday 24 September
• Alkerton, near Banbury: Monday 7 and Tuesday 8 October.

All closures are on quieter weekdays to minimise disruption and sites will reopen at 8am the following day.

Residents are asked to plan ahead, ideally holding onto their waste until the site reopens or, if that is not possible, visiting one of the neighbouring sites.

The deep clean for Redbridge HWRC in Oxford will be carried out later in the year and full details will be provided in due course.

More information can be found on Oxfordshire County Council’s website, including details of alternative sites during the closures.

Users are reminded that to use their free DIY waste allowance, they need to book an appointment for their visit on the council’s website.

Residents with van or trailer permits can use these at any of the HWRCs.

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The seven centres, operated by Oxfordshire County Council, had previously opened until 8pm every Thursday between April and September. However, the extra service is being discontinued this year.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Deputy Leader of Oxfordshire County Council with Responsibility for Climate Change, Environment and Future Generations, said: “We realise this decision will disappoint some people but unfortunately it is not financially viable to keep it going. However, users should remember that all of our HWRCs will remain open from 8am - 5pm seven days a week, 362 days a year, to meet everyone’s waste and recycling needs.”

The decision follows increased financial pressures placed on local authorities, including Oxfordshire County Council, in waste management.

Councils can no longer charge for the disposal of small quantities of DIY waste, while costs have doubled for disposing of persistent organic pollutants, often found in upholstered furniture, after these materials were banned from being placed in landfill. Together these amount to £1 million a year, which has to be found from savings in other areas.

Full details of the county’s HWRC sites and the services available can be found on Oxfordshire County Council’s website.

People can also find alternative ways to reuse and recycle their items through the Waste Wizard tool or through the comprehensive kerbside collections services offered by Oxfordshire’s city and district councils.

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Oxfordshire County Council has again been named the top performing county council waste disposal authority. In 2022 - 23, residents recycled, reused, or composted 57.2 per cent of their household waste, according to the latest government figures.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “We want to say congratulations and thank you to our residents for all their hard work and commitment in making it 10 in a row. It is quite an achievement.

“We have successfully kept our waste per household down, and the biggest area for improvement would be food waste. A lot of that is still not being recycled. Wasting less food is good for our wallets and for the planet, and the food waste we do recycle is anaerobically digested, making methane to replace fossil gas to heat our homes and cook our food.

“In tough times, we can all remember the old adage ‘waste not, want not’. Waste less food, keep items in use for longer and reduce the amount of rubbish we produce – which benefits everyone financially and environmentally.”

The total amount of household waste produced in Oxfordshire was 278,857 tonnes for 2022/23, with 159,732 tonnes being reused, recycled and composted.

In other good news, the overall amount of non-recyclable waste produced by each household in Oxfordshire dropped, as did the amount of waste sent to landfill.

Oxfordshire’s city and four district councils, which operate the kerbside collections for householders, also achieved excellent results in their national category.

Out of 210 waste collection authorities in England, South Oxfordshire District Council was top of the table (61.6 per cent), the Vale of White Horse was third (60.9 per cent), West Oxfordshire was 14th, Cherwell was 31st, while Oxford City Council was 49th.

Along with the county council, the city and district councils make up the Oxfordshire Resources and Waste Partnership (ORWP) – a collaborative partnership, which works together to improve recycling and waste management services for residents.

Vicky Beechey, Oxfordshire Resources and Waste Partnership (ORWP) Manager, said: “The sustained high performance by Oxfordshire local authorities is remarkable, particularly against a backdrop of challenging financial times for everyone. To see ORWP partners’ hard work continuing to be reflected in these figures is a strong indication of the commitment of those involved to deliver positive environmental outcomes and excellent services for Oxfordshire residents.

“ORWP partners recognise that there is more to do to improve recycling, reuse, and composting rates. We all have a role to play in maintaining and improving on how recycling and waste is managed correctly; using tools such as the Waste Wizard to help put the items we have in the right place – whether that’s for reuse, to repair or to throw away.”

Oxfordshire residents can now dispose of limited amounts of DIY waste for free at the county’s household waste recycling centres by using an online booking system.

The booking system, which was launched by Oxfordshire County Council earlier this year, means householders wanting to use their free DIY waste allocation will need to book in advance through the website.

For those looking to reduce their waste further, Oxfordshire’s Community Action Group network and Replenish project have lots of opportunities for people to get involved with local schemes and tips on how to reduce waste and improve their local environment.

Residents can also visit Climate Action Oxfordshire for ideas on the practical things they can do to reduce waste and make better climate choices with the time they have available. 

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The booking system, which was launched by Oxfordshire County Council today, means householders wanting to use their free DIY waste allocation will need to book in advance through the website.

The move follows a change in government legislation which now permits small amounts of household DIY waste to be disposed of for free. The legislation came into force last week.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “We hope people will quickly get used to this new way of doing things and find it a convenient way of disposing of their free allocation of DIY waste. By ensuring that people book in advance, we can make sure the system is not abused and the costs to our council taxpayers are minimised.

“The change in legislation is aimed at small amounts of DIY waste produced by a householder as part of home improvements they are carrying out themselves.”

Online bookings for free DIY waste only are for a single visit. Oxfordshire residents will need to register their address, vehicle registration number, email address, and the date they wish to visit, along with the site they want to use.

They will then receive an immediate email confirmation of their booking, which must be shown to site team on arrival. It is important residents stick to their booked date otherwise they may be charged, and only authorised bookings will be accepted. 

Free allocations are limited to five standard DIY items for free, or one plasterboard sheet, once every seven days. Where more than the allocated free allowance is presented, the cheapest items will treated as free.

Any DIY waste above this level or deposited more frequently than every seven days will remain fully chargeable at the advertised rates. Full details and examples of charging scenarios are available on the Oxfordshire County Council website and will be available on site.

Examples of DIY waste include baths, sinks, toilets, cisterns, and a 20 litre bag of rubble or tiles. Five of these items would make up a household’s free seven-day allocation.

The booking system for free DIY waste will only permit residents to make one visit every seven days. For example, if a free booking is made for a Tuesday, the next free allocation will not be permitted until the following Tuesday.

However, all residents can visit more often than every seven days, but the DIY waste brought on those visits will then be fully chargeable at the advertised rates. 

The booking system and free DIY allowance is only for Oxfordshire residents. Non-Oxfordshire residents can still use the county’s sites for DIY waste without booking but will be charged in full at the advertised rates.

To give people time to adjust to these changes, site teams will operate flexibly during the first month. Residents will, for their first visit with DIY waste during January, be able to deposit their free allowance of DIY waste without booking, although they may be asked to make a booking on site, through a smartphone, or reminded to make one for any subsequent visit.

Full enforcement of the booking system will go live from 1 February 2024.

Booking is only required for the free allocation of DIY waste. Any other chargeable DIY waste, or other household waste, does not require a booking, apart from the existing booking system for asbestos.

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Three Oxfordshire councils today unveiled their plans for new recycling services for vapes.

Oxfordshire County Council, Cherwell District Council and Oxford City Council will together provide new vape recycling services across the county. They want to prevent the disposal of single-use vapes in litter bins, general waste or mixed recycling where they can contaminate other recycling and, in some instances, cause fires in bin trucks or waste facilities.

New vape recycling points in public spaces offer convenient and easy access for recycling vapes. This is one of more than 40 UK projects funded by Material Focus, the not for profit leading the Recycle Your Electricals campaign who have provided over £40,000 for Oxfordshire to be one of the first county council’s to lead the way by recycling vapes. The funding is part of a wider initiative to make it easier for 10 million UK residents to recycle their electricals.

The Recycle Your Vapes campaign will:

• Add up to 60 new recycling collection points for vapes at small retailers, shopping areas, bars and cafes across Oxford, Banbury, Bicester and Kidlington. Look out for the three-feet high, clear plastic tube vape recycling collection points. The tubes have bright pink recycle your vapes posters and images of vapes on the posters. 
• Provide new public recycling bright pink bins at each of the seven household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) in Oxfordshire.
• And introduce a new separate kerbside collection for vapes in Cherwell.

The new household waste recycling centre (HWRC) bright pink vape bins will be installed on Wednesday 29 November, which will also start the roll out of collection points in other locations.

In all other areas of Oxfordshire, vapes can be recycled at the kerbside with other small electrical items. How they are collected in each district council area varies, residents should check the Waste Wizard or their district council's website to check the local area’s collection service. 

Residents will also be made aware of how and where they can recycle their vapes through information on leaflets, and on posters featuring HypnoCat. Keep an eye out for HypnoCat, the Recycle Your Electricals mesmerising pink, fluffy mascot, he is on a mission to hypnotise local residents into recycling their vapes.

The Material Focus Electricals Recycling Fund is making it easier for consumers to recycle their electricals. The projects that have been funded by Material Focus include a variety of recycling methods, from kerbside collections to more drop-off points in schools, community centres and bring banks. Overall, there will be over 400 new collection points plus kerbside collections for 5.5 million UK residents.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “Partly because of their environmental impact, we would support a ban on the sale of disposable vapes and encourage reusable vapes where possible. However, while vapes are still being used and thrown away, this project will expand the range of services for residents to safely recycle them.”

Councillor Andrew McHugh, Portfolio Holder for Cleaner and Greener Communities at Cherwell District Council, said: “Cherwell District Council is always looking at developing ways to make it easier for residents to dispose of their waste appropriately and recycle more.

“We are pleased to offer residents the option to recycle disposable vapes in addition to other small electrical items at the kerbside. All residents need to do is place the vapes in a clear plastic bag on top of their blue or green bin on collection day, it’s important not to dispose of these items in the green or blue bins as the batteries can, and have, caused serious fires.”

Councillor Nigel Chapman, Oxford City Council's Cabinet Member for Citizen Focused Services and Council Companies, said: "One small act, like putting disposable vapes in general waste or recycling, can cause immense disruption, considerable damage to our collection vehicles, and create danger to the public and our operators.

"Only last summer we had a fire in one of our waste disposal vehicles that was probably caused by a discarded vape. It led to significant damage to the vehicle and inconvenience to the public.

"It’s important to dispose of vapes appropriately so that they can be properly treated and not cause a hazard.”

Scott Butler, Executive Director of Material Focus, said: “We are pleased to support ‘Recycle Your Vape’ as it will help address the pressing issue of vape waste. This project could be an example for other initiatives across the UK, to make it easier to recycle vapes by providing public recycling points. By investing in improved collection and drop-off services and exploring new recycling methods, we are taking a significant step towards creating a more sustainable future by making it easier for 10 million more people to recycle their electricals.”

To find your nearest recycling point search recycle your electricals or the council’s Waste Wizard search tool.

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Oxfordshire County Council has again been named the best performing county council waste disposal authority in England. In 2021 - 22, residents recycled, reused or composted 58.2 per cent of their household waste, according to the latest government figures.

But despite this success, the council said it is not complacent and will continue to look for ways to improve its figures even further.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “I want to thank our residents and waste management teams for once again putting Oxfordshire at the top of the table.

“However, we’re not recycling over a third of what we could, and we need to look for ways of really shifting the dial on that. We know this is what the people of Oxfordshire expect of us.”

The total amount of household waste produced in Oxfordshire was 301,902 tonnes for 2021 - 2022. And 150,086 tonnes were reused, recycled and composted, which created a carbon benefit equivalent to 121,308 tonnes of carbon dioxide compared to disposing of it through landfill.

Oxfordshire’s five district and city councils, which operate the kerbside collections, also achieved excellent results in their national category. South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse came second and fourth respectively with recycling rates of 62.7 per cent and 61.9 per cent, while West Oxfordshire, Cherwell, and Oxford City councils were all in the top performing 22 per cent.

Along with the county council, the district and city councils make up the Oxfordshire Resources and Waste Partnership (ORWP) – a collaborative partnership which works together to improve recycling and waste management services for residents.

Vicky Beechey, ORWP Manager, said: “Oxfordshire local authorities have long been recognised as high performing in recycling and their ongoing delivery of excellent recycling and waste management services. To see partners’ hard work reflected in these figures is testament to the commitment of those involved to deliver best value and positive environmental outcomes for Oxfordshire residents.

“As ever, we will not be resting on our laurels with more to do to improve recycling, reuse, and composting rates. Everyone has a role to play in maintaining and improving on how recycling and waste is managed correctly; using tools such as the Waste Wizard to help put the items we have in the right place – whether that’s for reuse, to repair or to throw away.

“ORWP partners know times are really challenging for residents and by taking proper action we can all reduce food waste, keep items in use for longer and reduce the amount of waste we produce – for the benefit of everyone.”

For those looking to reduce their waste further, the Community Action Group network and Replenish project have lots of opportunities to get involved with local schemes, and tips on how to reduce waste and improve their local environment. Residents can also visit Climate Action Oxfordshire for ideas on the practical things they can do to reduce waste and make better climate choices with the time they have available. 

Visitors to Oxfordshire’s seven household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) were recently asked to separate recyclable material from their general waste before disposing of it.

By sorting their mixed rubbish out before their visit, residents can prevent items that can be recycled from ending up in the general waste and bulky skips – increasing the county’s recycling rates further.

Users are also reminded that the cost to customers of disposing of DIY and other chargeable waste at Oxfordshire’s HWRCs has risen from 1 April. While most items can still be left free of charge, DIY waste is legally classified as industrial waste and incurs a small charge.

The county council is currently carrying out a consultation into its HWRC strategy for the next 20 years. One of the aims is to provide places where people can give things to be used again, recycle things easily and safely, and throw things away in the right way.

People can have their say on the strategy on the council’s Let’s talk Oxfordshire website by 8 May.

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While most items brought to Oxfordshire County Council’s seven household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs) can be left free of charge, DIY waste – items such as rubble, soil, fence panels, work tops and sinks – is legally classified as industrial waste and incurs a small charge.

From 1 April, all items currently charged at £1.50 will now cost £2. This covers most waste generated through home and garden renovations, including loft insultation, guttering, decking and fitted furniture. A list is available on the council’s website.

The cost of disposing of bags of plasterboard will rise from £2.50 to £3.50, tyres from £5 to £6, but plasterboard sheets will remain at £10.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “Although we are not legally obliged to accept these items, we like to provide this service as it gives residents a cost-effective way of disposing of their own DIY waste. It’s a cheaper alternative to hiring a skip or a commercial waste collector when dealing with small amounts of waste.

“This is the first time the prices to the public have risen since 2017, despite our own disposal costs increasing. Our prices remain some of the lowest in the country and the money raised goes directly towards offsetting the cost of recycling, treating and disposing of this waste and operating our HWRCs.”

Cash is not accepted, so visitors are asked to ensure they can pay electronically before travelling. If you are unable to pay for items, you will not be permitted to deposit them.

Regrettably, site teams are regularly abused while taking these charges. This will not be tolerated and may lead to refusal of entry and even banning orders. The council asks member of the public to be courteous to staff at all times.

Commercial waste cannot be disposed at the HWRCs. This includes any waste generated by businesses, landlords or charities. Waste also becomes commercial waste where payment is made for the work. Details about how to dispose with this waste can also be found on the council’s website.

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For safety reasons, Oxfordshire County Council will be shutting each of its centres for two days – although never at the same time – to allow for deep cleaning and essential maintenance to take place. This includes jet washing the sites and structures, repainting lines and safety areas, as well as other general work to improve the customer experience.

The closing dates are:

• Alkerton, near Banbury: Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 March
• Ardley, near Bicester: Thursday 23 and Friday 24 March
• Dix Pit, Stanton Harcourt: Monday 24 and Tuesday 25 April 
• Drayton, near Abingdon: Thursday 30 and Friday 31 March
• Oakley Wood, near Wallingford: Thursday 20 and Friday 21 April
• Redbridge, Oxford: Monday 17 and Tuesday 18 April
• Stanford, near Faringdon: Monday 27 and Tuesday 28 March.

All closures are on quieter weekdays to minimise disruption and sites will reopen at 8am the following day. Residents are asked to plan ahead, ideally holding on to their waste until the site reopens or, if that is not possible, visiting one of the neighbouring sites.

More information can be found on Oxfordshire County Council’s website, including details of your nearest alternative site during the closures.

Residents with van or trailer permits can use these at any of the HWRCs.

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Oxfordshire County Council wants residents to sort their mixed rubbish out before their visit, in a bid to prevent items that can be recycled from ending up in the general waste and bulky skips.

Visitors are encouraged to separate their recycling so it can be put into the relevant containers which are on site, including plastics, card, textiles and shoes, metals and electrical items, before setting off.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “We know that our residents are in favour of this. It will help us reduce our carbon emissions, and cut the amount of recyclable waste that goes to energy recovery.

“A little bit of effort can make a big difference to improve Oxfordshire’s already excellent recycling rates.”

Analysis of the general waste skip showed that up to 60 per cent of the items disposed there could have been recycled instead. Items which often get thrown in the wrong skip include plastic chairs, saucepans, ripped clothing, blankets and towels, all of which could have been recycled.

The campaign follows a recent consultation in which the council asked residents their views on how to increase recycling rates further. The feedback called for visitors to HWRCs to sort their mixed waste and recycling before their visit.

Other benefits will include enabling quicker visits and reducing traffic queues at the sites.

Oxfordshire has topped the national table when it comes to recycling, reusing, and composting for eight years in a row. Oxfordshire County Council was named the best performing county council waste disposal authority in England in 2020-21, with residents recycling, reusing, or composting 59.5 per cent of their household waste, according to the most recent government figures.

Details of where to find your nearest HWRC is available at oxfordshire.gov.uk/recyclingcentres.

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The free liners are available from the following locations during December, while stocks last:

• All Oxfordshire libraries
• County Hall, Oxford
• Abbey House, Abingdon
• Bodicote House, Banbury
• The Marsh Road Depot, Oxford
• Welch Way - Town Centre Shop, Witney
• Bicester Green
• Oxford Wood Recycling, Abingdon
• The Wantage Mix
• Share Oxford.

Customers who use the Home Library Service will be offered a roll of food caddy liners with their book delivery.

All households receive food waste recycling collections from their district council. Oxfordshire County Council arranges for the collected food waste to be recycled. Although most households already recycle their food waste – the council recycles nearly 25,000 tonnes of food waste annually – it estimates that a similar amount wrongly ends up in general waste.

If all of the food waste that is still thrown away in general rubbish bins was recycled, it would save Oxfordshire County Council more than £2 million a year.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate change and Environment, said: “The best thing people can do – especially during this cost of living crisis – is to minimise the amount of food that gets thrown away. Where that’s not possible, home composting or recycling food waste using the kerbside collection really help to reduce the impact of waste disposal on the climate.

“That’s why we are giving away these caddy liners to make it easier for residents at a time when we know that food waste is likely to increase significantly. Reducing the amount of food waste that ends up in general rubbish could save the council millions of pounds – money that would be better spent on other projects to improve people’s lives.”

General rubbish in Oxfordshire is burnt to generate energy, which already reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared to landfill, but recycling food waste doubles the climate change benefit.

The recycling process generates green electricity and a fertiliser that is used on farmland across the county.

Residents are also being reminded that Oxfordshire’s seven household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs) will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, and New Year’s Day. They will be open on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve from 8am - 3pm. Details of where to find HWRCs is available at oxfordshire.gov.uk/recyclingcentres.

There are also tips on reducing waste and making savings over the festive period, from zero waste gift ideas to sustainable Christmas jumpers, on our Reducing waste with a green Christmas webpage, which also includes details of its #ReuseLikeScout colouring competition for under-16s. Entrants will be entered into a prize draw, with five winners receiving book tokens.

More information about how to reduce your food waste and recycle more this festive season – including links to the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, which contains money-saving tips, storage hints, and recipes to make the most of your leftovers – is available on the Oxfordshire Recycles’ Facebook and Twitter accounts.

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In Oxfordshire, we have a 59.5 per cent recycling and composting rate, which is above the national average of 44.4 per cent. However, to continue to tackle the climate emergency, Oxfordshire County Council is calling on people to do every little bit they can and get involved.

This includes checking in on if they are ‘wishcycling’ – putting something in the recycling bin in the hope that it will be recycled, even though it might be unsuitable, contaminated or only partially recyclable.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “Oxfordshire residents are already great at recycling, but there is always room for improvement when it comes to finding the best possible option for an item we no longer need.

“With busy lives and so many different types of items, packaging and materials, we know there are times when householders can be unsure if something is recyclable or not. Wishcycling can affect the combined quality of the recycling collected, and undo recycling carried out by your neighbours.”

Oxfordshire County Council’s online Waste Wizard search tool can help people put the right items in the right bin. Available on the council’s website, residents can type in their postcode and the item they no longer need to find out where it could be repaired or donated, or which kerbside bin or recycling centre skip it can go in.

There are many reasons why an item may not be suitable for recycling. Sometimes the machinery cannot identify and separate the material, or only part of an item may be recyclable.

Recycle Week is organised by Recycle Now, part of international climate action charity WRAP, and is now in its 19^th year.

Sarah Clayton, Head of Citizen Behaviour Change at WRAP, said: “Last year was the most successful Recycle Week ever in terms of changing behaviour, with 82 per cent of people who saw the campaign content saying they had changed their behaviour as a result. We need to see that momentum continue.

“In 2022, we want to show why recycling is important in the battle against the climate emergency. We are focusing on helping people recycle more effectively at home, showing people how to overcome barriers and providing simple support.”

More advice and information about reducing the amount of waste produced can be found through Oxfordshire Recycles, which provides updates through different channels including Facebook and Twitter.

The partnership, which is made up of the county and district councils, has worked together to produce videos and key messages to highlight common contamination culprits in the recycling process.

These messages include promoting the SCRAP fly tipping campaign, which was launched earlier this year. It explains to people that they have a duty of care to ensure when they give their waste to someone else to remove, that it is managed appropriately and not dumped.

Asking for details of their waste carrier’s licence, a copy of the waste transfer note and for a receipt can all help ensure that waste doesn’t end up being fly tipped.

The county, city and district councils have also been working in partnership to support climate action as a whole and residents can find out how they can do their bit on Climate Action Oxfordshire within their budgets and busy lives.

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FCC Environment, which runs Oxfordshire County Council’s Dix Pit Household Waste Recycling Centre, will be opening its first pop-up reuse shop for the day, from 8am - 1pm.

Located in the car park of the site in Linch Hill, Stanton Harcourt OX29 5BB, the pop-up shop will sell good quality preloved items at bargain prices.

With the school summer holidays almost upon us, visitors can expect to find a range of children’s toys and games including electronic games, board games and books, and sporting goods ranging from bicycles and golf clubs to exercise equipment, rackets and bats.

There will also be garden tools, pots and planters, and a selection of furniture – including items which will be perfect for upcycling.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change Delivery and Environment, said: “Keeping items in use for as long as possible, donating what we no longer need and purchasing preloved goods wherever possible is something we can all do to reduce our impact on the environment and keep our carbon footprint as low as possible.

“Residents often comment that they have spotted something that they can make use of at our sites, and we are hoping that this trial event is a great success and helps us plan more reuse from our sites in the future.”

Steve Longdon, FCC Environment’s Operations Director, said: “As we all strive to do our bit, reducing and reusing waste has got to be our ultimate goal and this trial event will give us insight into how we can make use of preloved goods brought into the site to avoid waste in the first place. We are really interested to see how this trial works as we look to create more reuse and recycling opportunities for our site users.”

Rob Harris, FCC Environment’s Contract Operations Manager, said: “Every day at Dix Pit we receive amazing items that have lots of life left in them. We understand that it’s easy to bring everything to us in one go for recycling or disposal, but we wanted to provide residents with an alternative, so we are trialling a pop-up reuse shop this weekend to see what people think of the concept.

“We have been putting great items from bikes and golf clubs to books and electronic devices to one side for some time and these will be available for sale to residents who can put them to good use.”

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Residents are being urged to follow the SCRAP code, developed by the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership, to avoid fines and prosecution:

• Suspect all waste carriers.
• Check with the Environment Agency through its website or on 03708 506 506 that the provider taking waste away is licensed.
• Refuse unexpected offers to have waste taken away.
• Ask what will happen to your waste.
• Paperwork should be obtained – such as a detailed invoice, waste transfer note or full receipt.

Vicky Beechey, Oxfordshire County Council’s Waste Partnership Manager, said: “This is an excellent opportunity to build on the successful Hertfordshire-led campaign to rid Oxfordshire of the blight and crime of fly tipping. Oxfordshire’s county and district councils, along with Thames Valley Police and the Environment Agency have teamed up to work with our residents to #SCRAP fly tipping. We want to support them in making responsible decisions in dealing with their waste.”

There were more than 6,000 instances of fly tipping in Oxfordshire in the last 12 months – an increase on the figures of around 4,200 in both 2018/19 and 2019/20. As well as blighting the countryside and local amenity areas, fly tipping costs local council taxpayers hundreds of thousands of pounds every year to clean up.

The campaign will make residents aware that they can face both an unlimited fine for fly tipping as well as prosecution, or a fixed penalty notice if their waste has been found fly tipped after arranging for it to be removed.

Stuart Hutchings, Thames Valley Police’s Rural Crime Inspector, said: “Fly tipping is an offence: one that poses a risk to people and the environment. This campaign offers practical and helpful advice on how people can dispose of their unwanted items correctly and stay on the right side of the law. We would encourage members of the public to contact their local council if they have any concerns about the issue in their area.”

There are many options to get rid of waste responsibly. For example, finding drop off points on the Waste Wizard search tool, using district council bulky item collections or  local household waste recycling centres.

Steve Molyneux, Head of Waste Regulation at the Environment Agency, said: “Oxfordshire has seen a disturbing rise in fly tipping over the past year by almost 43 per cent – and it is waste criminals with an utter disregard for the environment and for our communities who are to blame.

“The Environment Agency and councils are ready to take action to stop waste crime. The Environment Agency has taken tough action across the country, prosecuting nearly 100 individuals and companies for the most serious waste crime offences, with fines exceeding £900,000, 28 custodial sentences and £1 million of confiscation orders.

“By working together we all have a role in stopping waste going to criminals in the first place. Following the SCRAP code, checking a firm is registered and asking for paperwork are steps we can all take to help prevent waste crime.”

Residents can anonymously report suspected illegal waste services to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111. Of if you find waste that has been fly tipped, please report it to your local council.

Details, tips and advice will be available on the campaign webpage oxfordshire.gov.uk/flytipping.

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Oxfordshire County Council has once again been named the best performing county council waste disposal authority in England. In 2020-21, residents recycled, reused, or composted 59.5 per cent of their household waste, an increase on the previous year’s figure of 58.8 per cent, according to government figures.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet member for Climate Change and Environment, said: “This is a really solid achievement and I want to thank the people of Oxfordshire, and our waste management teams, for all the work they have done to make this happen.

“The continuing COVID-19 pandemic has made it another very difficult year for everyone, so we appreciate the effort that has gone into keeping our recycling rates so high. However, over half of the waste that is thrown away could have been recycled, repaired or reused. The people of Oxfordshire understand the importance of local action when it comes to climate change and this is a great place to start.”

The total amount of household waste produced in Oxfordshire was 310,479 tonnes for 2020/2021. And 186,052 tonnes were reused, recycled and composted, which created a carbon benefit of 126,603 tonnes of CO2e compared to disposing of it through landfill.

Oxfordshire’s five district and city councils, which operate the kerbside collections, also achieved excellent results in their national categories. South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse came second and fourth respectively, while West Oxfordshire, Cherwell, and Oxford City were all in the top performing 25 per cent.

Vicky Beechey, Oxfordshire Resources and Waste Partnership Manager, said: “This is wonderful news, but we will certainly not be resting on our laurels as we know that more can be done to improve recycling, reuse, and composting rates even further. The Oxfordshire Resources and Waste Partnership, made up of the district, city and county councils, has a target to increase recycling to 70 per cent by 2030.

“You can recycle your food waste so it can be turned into liquid fertiliser and used on local farmers’ fields to help grow more crops, pull the plug on emissions by recycling electricals, or search the Waste Wizard for help to get recyclable items in the right bin.

“We can all influence the recycling and waste we create and which bin we put it in, simply from our own homes. By taking action and recycling everything we can it would save another 60,000 tonnes of CO2e a year – the same climate impact as taking nearly 40,000 cars off the road.”

For those looking to reduce their waste further, the Community Action Group network and Replenish project have lots of opportunities to get involved with local schemes, and tips on how to reduce waste and improve their local environment.

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The HWRCs at Alkerton, Drayton and Stanford in the Vale will be affected, and Oxfordshire County Council is urging people to avoid those sites on these days, if possible. All other sites will be open as normal.

The likely closure times are as follows, although they could potentially change:

Monday 20 December

• Alkerton: closed from 8am - 10.30am
• Drayton: closed for a period of up to 1.5 hours sometime between 11.30am and 12.30pm.

Tuesday 21 December

• Drayton: closed from 8am - 10am
• Stanford in the Vale: closed for up 1.5 hours, most likely between 10.30am and 11.30am.

These times are a guide and may be impacted by localised traffic. Oxfordshire County Council’s website, Twitter and Facebook pages will provide up to date details and times, including exact times for closures and reopening as soon as they are known, with the 8am closures already confirmed.

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Oxfordshire libraries will be giving away free rolls of food waste caddy liners to residents from Wednesday 8 December.

Although all households are provided with food waste recycling collections by their district council, it is estimated that the food waste thrown away in general rubbish bins that could have been recycled costs Oxfordshire County Council more than £2 million extra a year in disposal costs.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate change and Environment, said: “After making sure edible food is not wasted in the first place, home composting or recycling food waste using the kerbside collection are the next best thing people can do to reduce the impact of waste disposal on the climate. That’s why we are giving away these caddy liners to make it easier for residents at a time when we know that food waste is likely to increase significantly.

“I would urge people to pop down to their local library and grab a roll while stocks last. Reducing the amount of food waste that ends up in general rubbish could save the council millions of pounds – money that would be better spent on other projects to improve people’s lives.”

Recycling food waste costs less than a quarter of the price of disposing of it with general rubbish. General rubbish in Oxfordshire is burnt to generate energy which already reduces greenhouse gas emissions compared to landfill, but recycling food waste doubles the climate change benefit. The recycling process generates green electricity and a fertiliser that is used on farmland across the county.

Each year the council already recycles nearly 25,000 tonnes of food waste – such as vegetable peel, bones, eggshells, plate scapings and used teabags – but it estimates that a similar amount wrongly ends up in general waste.

Residents are also being reminded that Oxfordshire’s seven household waste and recycling centres (HWRCs) will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, and will close at 3pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. More information, including details of where to find HWRCs, is available at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/recyclingcentres.

More information about how to reduce your food waste and recycle more this festive season – including links to the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, which contains money-saving tips, storage hints, and recipes to make the most of your leftovers – is available online or from the Oxfordshire Recycles’ Facebook and Twitter accounts.

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For safety reasons, Oxfordshire County Council will be shutting each of its centres for two days – although never at the same time – to allow for deep cleaning and essential maintenance to take place. This includes jet washing the sites and structures, repainting lines and safety areas, as well as other general work to improve the customer experience.

The closing dates are:

• Alkerton, near Banbury: Tuesday 2 and Wednesday 3 November
• Ardley, near Bicester: Thursday 4 and Friday 5 November
• Dix Pit, Stanton Harcourt: Tuesday 23 and Wednesday 24 November
• Drayton, near Abingdon: Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 November
• Oakley Wood, near Wallingford: Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 November
• Redbridge, Oxford: Thursday 18 and Friday 19 November
• Stanford, near Faringdon: Thursday 11 and Friday 12 November.

All closures are on quieter weekdays to minimise disruption, and sites will reopen at 8am the following day. Residents are asked to plan ahead, ideally holding on to their waste until the site reopens or, if that is not possible, visiting one of the neighbouring sites.

More information can be found on the Oxfordshire County Council website, including details of your nearest alternative site during the closures.

Residents with van or trailer permits can use these at any of the HWRCs.

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Oxfordshire County Council is working with its contractor Milestone and its partner OCL Regeneration to make use of the toxic tar-bound material that is removed during road and path resurfacing work.

The recycled material will be used in road maintenance projects at 11 different sites in Oxfordshire between 11 October - 3 November. The process is an example of the ‘circular economy’ – where waste products are utilised, rather than disposed of – and will save money, reduce carbon emissions, and minimises the need for new materials.

Councillor Tim Bearder, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways Management, said: “We know how important the condition of our roads is to the people of Oxfordshire, so to be able to carry out this sort of repair work in a more environmentally friendly way is fantastic. And the fact that we are saving council taxpayers’ money while we are doing it makes it a win-win situation.”

The recycled material is being processed at the council’s depot in Drayton, near Abingdon, following a successful trial period last year. The schemes will involve:

• Treating a total area of 24,160 square metres, which is just over the size of three football pitches.
• Using 765 tonnes of this recycled material, the equivalent weight of around 60 double decker buses.
• Saving 16.8 tonnes on carbon dioxide from being emitted – the equivalent of 3,000 return trips from London to Sydney using direct flights.
• An overall cost saving for this work of around £20,000.

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change Delivery and Environment, said: “Waste is now being recognised as a potential feedstock for the recycling process, rather than something which needs to be disposed of. The circular economy means that instead of following the carbon-intensive linear pattern, where new materials are sourced for projects, we are giving more thought to the use of recycled materials and planning up to a year in advance so that this can be achieved in suitable areas.

“We in Oxfordshire currently consume resources at three times the rate the Earth can regenerate them, so there is a lot to do, and we, at the county council, will be driving forward other schemes across all of our activities.”

All the projects are road surface inlay schemes and will take place at 11 locations in Faringdon, Wantage, Wheatley, Kidlington, Banbury, Bodicote, Little Rollright and Witney.

Tackling climate change and reducing carbon emissions are key aims of Oxfordshire County Council. Last year, it approved its Climate Action Framework, which set out plans to make itself a carbon neutral authority by 2030, and to enable Oxfordshire as a whole to become zero-carbon by 2050.

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As part of the annual nationwide campaign, which runs from 20 - 26 September, Oxfordshire County Council, Cherwell District Council West Oxfordshire District Council, South Oxfordshire District Council, Vale of White Horse District Council and Oxford City Council will be holding a series of green events – both online and in person, including fairs, markets, discussions and roadshows.

This year’s theme is ‘Step It Up’ and focuses on the climate and carbon implications of not recycling correctly, or even at all.

 Recycle Week events in Oxfordshire include:

• Tuesday 21 September: Instagram Live Q&A with Oxford Recycles and Replenish Oxfordshire (8.30am - 9.30am)
• Tuesday 21 September: Thame Market stall (9am - 1.30pm)
• Tuesday 21 September: Oxford Brookes University Activist Fair (10am - 3pm)
• Wednesday 22 September: Henley Eco Business Fair (10am-3pm)
• Friday 24 September: Asda Wheatley Recycling roadshow (8am - 2pm)
• Saturday 25 September: Faringdon Green Day (10am - 2pm)

Councillor Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate Change Delivery and Environment, said: “The climate emergency is finally at the forefront of the world’s attention, and Recycle Week is a great way of reminding us that lots of people making small, everyday changes can have a big impact on reducing our carbon emissions, as well as the way we use the Earth's resources.

“If we ‘Step It Up’ and recycle everything we can, Oxfordshire could reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by more than 60,000 tonnes every year – the same as taking nearly 40,000 new cars off the road.”

Oxfordshire has recorded the highest recycling and composting rate of any county in England for the last seven years – almost reaching 60 per cent last year – thanks to the great work being done by householders. But the aim is to improve that rate even further by encouraging people to keep what they dispose of in their rubbish bins to a minimum.

Councillor Lubna Arshad, Oxford City Council’s Cabinet Member for Parks and Waste Reduction, said: “This Recycle Week we want to encourage residents in Oxford to learn more about recycling and the impact making small changes can have on the climate. Working together with our partners we have organised a range of different events across the county, which will provide information and resources on what you can do to help reduce waste. I encourage anyone who is unsure about what can be recycled, or who wants to find out more to attend one of these events, or to take a look at our Oxford Recycles on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram over the next week for lots of information.”

Recycling bins with incorrect items included, such as disposable nappies, can contaminate the whole load. If a truck load of recycling is rejected because of contamination, it increases the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by more than 12 tonnes.

To help combat this, Oxfordshire County Council is working with the registration service to provide new parents registering the birth of their child with a box of nappy sacks and a card with information to help them recycle correctly, pass items on, and keep disposable nappies out of the recycling bin. There is also help online for those interested in using real, reusable nappies.

Textiles and electrical items should also be kept out of recycling bins as they can get stuck in the machinery, causing tonnes of recycling to be wasted. In some cases, electrical items have even been known to cause fires, while food waste can also contaminate recyclable items.

Small electrical items which may only need a minor repair can be taken to one of six participating libraries. These are collected by local charities, tested, repaired and sold.

Any Oxfordshire residents unsure about how to, reuse, repair, refill, donate, recycle or dispose of an item should go to the Waste Wizard – the online tool which will help them decide which bin to use, where to take it, or how to avoid having to throw it away at all. More than 40,000 people have already searched for an item since it launched last year.

To make the week really shine, Christ Church, Oxford’s famous Tom Tower is expected to be lit up green during the evenings. This building is already illuminated at night, and the green lighting will use low-energy LED bulbs.

Last year Oxfordshire recycled:

• 24,000 tonnes of food waste
• more than 3,000 tonnes of textiles and small electrical items
• more than 35,000 tonnes of plastic bottles, trays, paper, card, drinks cans and food tins.

However, plenty of these materials still end up in the general waste bins. The more that this can be avoided, the higher Oxfordshire’s recycling rate will go – as will all the associated benefits, such as cutting carbon emissions.

Follow Oxfordshire Recycles on Facebook or Twitter for more information.

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Oxfordshire County Council has started a consultation process to find out the views of residents, businesses and other organisations on the service that is provided now and what they might like to see in the future. People can have their say by visiting Let’s Talk Oxfordshire, the council’s new digital consultation and engagement platform.

The council currently provides seven HWRCs for residents to bring household waste for disposal and recycling. The service accounts for 15 per cent of the county’s total household waste.

However, some of the sites are already nearing capacity and, as the county’s population grows, the council wants to ensure that its HWRCs remain affordable and help residents manage their waste in the most environmentally friendly way. The council wants to know people’s views on Oxfordshire’s HWRCs, how people currently use the service and their opinions on ideas for the future.

Councillor Dr Pete Sudbury, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Climate and Environment, said: “We want as many people as possible to get in touch with us to tell us what we’re doing well and what we could do better when it comes to our HWRCs. The feedback we get will be invaluable in helping us move the service forward to meet the future needs of the county.

“Even if you don’t use our HWRCs at the moment, we would still love you to get involved and tell us if there is anything we could do to encourage you to use them in the future.”

The consultation is aimed at finding out what people value about the service and how they use it so that the council can ensure that it prioritises that going forward.

Views are sought on issues including the distance people travel to the HWRCs, what materials they take to dispose of, opening hours, permits, booking systems and vehicle restrictions. Comments and suggestions are also welcome.

The council’s seven HWRCs are based in:

• Alkerton, near Banbury
• Ardley, near Bicester
• Dix Pit, near Witney
• Drayton, near Abingdon
• Oakley Wood, near Wallingford
• Redbridge, in Oxford
• Stanford-in-the-Vale, near Faringdon

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Oxfordshire County Council has restarted the scheme, which was suspended while libraries were operating a click-and-collect service only.

Drop-off points are for unwanted small electrical items that are still in good condition are available at the following libraries:

• Banbury
• Bicester
• Witney
• Oxfordshire County Library in Oxford’s Westgate Centre
• Cowley
• Blackbird Leys.

A crate will be provided at the library entrance for users to donate their unwanted electrical items. The items will be collected by Bicester Green or Orinoco, two local charities who help reuse and recycle waste.

Volunteers at each charity will make minor repairs, test the items for electrical safety and the items will then be sold on to benefit the charities.

The drop-off point is for small electrical items only – such as toasters, kettles and radios – which can be easily carried. The libraries are not able to accept anything large or heavy, including televisions, monitors, microwaves, white goods or fridges and freezers, or anything damaged and beyond repair.

Drop-offs can only be made when the libraries are open – please check opening hours before visiting. To make your donation safely, remember to follow the rules that apply for all library users.

People are asked to ensure any disposable batteries are removed from donations of battery-powered devices. Batteries can be recycled at the kerbside by placing in a clear bag on top of your wheelie bin. If the item has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery – such as the ones in cordless power tools or mobile phones – please leave them in the device when donated.

Small electrical items that are beyond repair can be recycled either at the kerbside or a recycling centre.

To find details of all recycling services, please visit the Waste Wizard online tool: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wastewizard

Sustainable food initiative Good Food Oxford has joined forces with Oxfordshire County Council, Replenish Oxfordshire and other organisations to encourage people to grow their own vegetables and fight food waste.

It is estimated that nearly 13 million pumpkins are thrown away uneaten in the country every Halloween, and the festival aims to get people into the habit of eating squashes, instead of just carving and binning them.

Rachel Burns, Waste Strategy Manager at Oxfordshire County Council, said: “Every year around Halloween we notice that a lot of pumpkins end up in the food recycling bins. This is a shame because they can be delicious to eat.

“We are encouraging everyone to enjoy growing their own pumpkin and making the most of eating them. Remember, any parts of the pumpkin you don’t eat can be home composted too.”

Around 40 community gardens and allotments, primary schools, Girlguiding and Scouts groups from across Oxfordshire are signed up to receive free packets of squash seeds along with growing instructions to run planting activities, seedling swaps and to grow their own edible squashes. Some of them will run their activities as part of the national Good to Grow Day, a weekend of action (formerly known as the Big Dig Day) during 23 – 26 April, so they should be ready to harvest in the autumn.

The popularity of gardening has soared during the coronavirus pandemic. Spending more time at home has led many to rediscover the joy and mental health benefits of growing food in their gardens or balconies.

And people without their own gardens have been able to take advantage of the rise in edible and community gardens. Among those taking part in Oxfordshire Pumpkin Festival Gets Growing and Good to Grow Day 2021 are community growing initiatives in Oxford, Didcot, Wantage, Banbury, North Moreton, Chinnor and Bicester.

Nina Osswald, co-ordinator at Good Food Oxford, said: “Edible gardens directly connect us with our environment and the source of our food. Eating more vegetables and producing them as close to home enables us to shorten supply chains, reduce carbon emissions and increase biodiversity around our homes while eating tastier, fresher and more nutritious food.

 “We know that the majority of people are not getting their minimum of five portions of fruit and vegetables a day, and growing food is a great way to get the whole family interested in eating more veg. Community growing spaces give those who are not blessed with their own garden a wonderful opportunity to get outside, do something meaningful with their hands in a healthy, green environment.”

Good to Grow Day will celebrate the many gardens in Oxfordshire that provide opportunities for people to get their hands stuck into the soil and grow healthy, tasty and fresh food close to home. Find your closest participating garden, or register your garden to take part on the interactive map at www.goodtogrowuk.org/

Oxfordshire Pumpkin Festival Gets Growing is also supported by the national Veg Cities campaign and Community Action Groups Oxfordshire.

From Friday, 26 March, traffic control measures will be introduced at four of the county’s seven HWRCs for a three-week period, and centres will be closed early or for short periods in the day if queues start affecting surrounding roads. Late-night opening on Thursdays is also being reintroduced from 1 April, with centres staying open until 8pm to help the situation.

The HWRCs have been open for essential journeys only during lockdown but are operating at 50 per cent car parking capacity due to COVID-19 restrictions and social distancing.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “Easter is traditionally a busy time for our household waste and recycling centres, but this year we are asking people to defer their visits until after Easter if they possibly can. If you are certain your visit is absolutely essential then you must be aware that you run the risk of facing long queues and the possibility that the centre might be closed early if these queues start to affect nearby highways.”

The traffic control measures are being brought in at the following sites and dates:

Drayton, near Abingdon: There will be no right turn into the site other than for golf club members. Traffic will then be directed and stacked through the Drayton Golf Club car park. Marshalls will be on hand to offer guidance.

These restrictions will operate on the following dates (inclusive):

• Friday 26 March to Monday 29 March
• Friday 2 April to Monday 5 April
• Friday 9 April to Monday 12 April

The site will operate normally Tuesday to Thursday, and at present it is intended to return to normal from 13 April.

Redbridge, Oxford: There will be no direct public access to the site off Old Abingdon Road. Traffic will be directed through the park-and-ride, following the road around the edge of the site and then being held and controlled at the exit which will be single file for the site (right-hand lane will be right turn only for the park-and-ride vehicles). Marshalls will be on hand at the exit of the park-and-ride and on Old Abingdon Road to offer guidance and direction.

These restrictions will operate on the following dates (inclusive):

• Friday 26 March to Monday 29 March
• Friday 2 April to Monday 5 April
• Friday 9 April to Sunday 11 April

The site will operate normally Tuesday to Thursday, and at present it is intended to return to normal from Monday, 12 April, when access to the park-and-ride will not be possible.

Stanford in the Vale, near Faringdon, and Ardley, near Bicester: Restrictions will be in place preventing vehicles turning right into the site. It is intended the signs and restrictions will be in place from Friday, 26 March, until at least 12 April. Residents need to take this into account and only enter both sites from the right-hand carriageway turning left into the site.

Although these are temporary measures, the main message remains that people should only visit the HWRCs for essential journeys and should defer visits until after Easter if they can. 

People who judge their journeys to be essential are urged to be patient and considerate to the HWRC staff and other users. Abuse of our site teams or marshalls will not be tolerated and may lead to refusal of entry and even banning orders. Please wear a mask on site if possible, keep your distance and, most importantly, stay safe.

Late night opening until 8pm on Thursdays are traditionally quieter periods and good way to avoid some of the queues. During the week, 8.30am until 10am and 12 noon - 1pm can also be quieter periods, although this cannot be guaranteed.

Householders are urged to maximise their kerbside collections rather than visit HWRCs. Residents can place additional recycling securely at the side of their bins, small electrical items – up to the size of a toaster – can also be put out separately with recycling collections.

HWRC users are asked to note the current site rules to ensure social distancing. These include: 

• One person allowed out the vehicle (two people if you have a heavy item). 
• We will only accept contactless payments for chargeable waste. 
• Site team members are currently not available to offer assistance, if you need assistance with items please bring someone else with you.

More information can be found in Oxfordshire County Council’s FAQS: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wastereopenquestions 

Oxfordshire County Council has once again been named the best performing county council waste disposal authority in England, according to new government figures released on 3 March 2021. Last year, residents recycled or composted 1.6 per cent more of their household waste than in the previous year. Nationally, the average for recycling in England rose by 0.9 per cent.

Overall, 58.8 per cent of household waste was recycled and composted in Oxfordshire last year, compared to 57.2 per cent the previous year. The national average was only 45.5 per cent according to the latest figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet member for Environment, said: “I would like to thank our residents who have done another great job of recycling so that the county keeps the top spot in the country. Oxfordshire councils provide really good waste collection and recycling services, but it is only because most people use them properly that we’re able to perform so well.”

Oxfordshire’s five district and city authorities have also achieved excellent results above the national average. South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse came second and joint third nationally, with recycling rates of 64 per cent and 63.3 per cent respectively.

Nearly 21,000 tonnes of food waste was recycled in 2019/20. Cherwell, West Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse, and South Oxfordshire district councils, and Oxford City Council, operate the kerbside collections of household recycling and waste, which Oxfordshire County Council then disposes of.

Vicky Beechey, Oxfordshire Resources and Waste Partnership Manager, said: “Residents have done a great job to continue to recycle through this challenging year, and we would like to thank the collection crews and staff at the recycling centres for their amazing efforts in managing so much more waste every week.

“For those looking to reduce their waste further, the Community Action Group network and Replenish project have lots of opportunities to get involved with local projects, and tips on how to reduce waste. Oxfordshire County Council also has the Waste Wizard, an online tool that can suggest places items can be repaired or donated, or which bin it needs to go in.”

Waste officers have said there is still a lot more to be done to improve recycling rates and the county council is keen to see further improvements as part of its goal to becoming carbon neutral by 2030. The Oxfordshire Resources and Waste Partnership of the district, city and county councils has a target to increase recycling to 70 per cent by 2030.

Cllr Constance added: “We’re not complacent. This year, more waste collected for recycling has been rejected than ever before due to the wrong waste being put into the wrong kerbside containers, such as textiles, nappies, and food being put in the mixed recycling bin.

“A huge amount of food waste is still being placed in the general waste bins – indeed, we know that around half the items placed in general waste could have been recycled using the services provided locally. So please check your local council website, make sure you’re recycling everything you can, and look for advice on how to reduce the amount of waste your household produces.”

COVID-19 has impacted how we all live and work, and indications are that with more of us spending more time at home, waste levels may be around five per cent (16,000 tonnes) higher this year. As well as the environmental impact of so much more waste, this has serious financial impacts for councils. Reducing the amount of waste we produce and recycling as much as we can is vitally important to protect our environment and free up funds to be spent on other council services.

Oxfordshire County Council is supporting the national campaign set up by the charity WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme). Throughout the week, there will be tips on making the most of your leftovers, storing food properly, how to shop more effectively by planning your meals, plus the chance to win gadgets that will help you reduce your food waste.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “There really is no downside when it comes to reducing food waste. It saves families money, reduces the amount of rubbish that ends up in our bins to be disposed of, and is the environmentally friendly option. The Food Waste Action Week campaign will highlight small changes we can all make to minimise the amount of food we throw away each week.”

Information will be shared all week on the council’s social media channels – facebook.com/oxfordshirerecycles and twitter.com/oxonrecycles – and people are encouraged to use the hashtag #foodwasteactionweek when they get involved. Residents who get involved by voting in various polls will be entered into a prize draw where they can win gadgets such as:

• Silicone bowl lids to preserve leftovers.
• Bag clips to keep food fresh in cupboards, fridges or freezers.
• Measuring spoons to get portion sizes correct.
• A silicone spatula to scrape all the food out of cans, jars and bowls.
• A magnetic meal planner to plan shopping trips and avoid overbuying.
• A magnetic food storage wheel to show the best way to keep different foods fresh.

Oxfordshire’s district and city councils are also supporting the campaign.

The Replenish Project – run by Oxfordshire’s Community Action Group – will be running some Love Food Hate Waste workshops and activity guides for families, with a prize for people who send in a photo of their activities.

Seventy per cent of all wasted food in the UK comes from our homes – that represents 4.5 million tonnes going to waste.

Every year, 710,000 tonnes of potatoes are thrown away by UK households. If prevented, that would save 330,000 tonnes of CO2 from going into the atmosphere.

Oxfordshire’s Community Action Group is running a challenge throughout the week on Instagram to reduce the amount of food you waste. Its focus is from portion planning to freezing and defrosting safely. Take part by posting a photo relevant to the challenge, tagging them @lfhw_uk, using the hashtag #FoodWasteActionChallenge

Everyone can make a difference, and something as small as saving your leftovers and encouraging friends and family to do the same means you’re doing your part. Visit https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/ to find out how you can get involved, help the planet – and save money too.

The ‘love it’ or ‘hate it’ spread is made using yeast extract, a by-product of the beer brewing process and is an early example of recycling and the ‘circular economy’ – where waste products are utilised, rather than disposed of.

Now Oxfordshire County Council is applying these same principles in a completely different area – road repairs and gully cleaning. Over a four year period, the approach could potentially stop 1,000 tonnes of CO2 being emitted and save £4.3 million of council taxpayers’ money. It will also cut the amount of waste that is sent to landfill sites and reduce the amount of new material that is dug out of the ground.

It's difficult to imagine anything useful being salvaged from the dirty water and solid matter – largely silt – recovered by tankers during the process of cleaning gullies. But you’d be surprised.

Oxfordshire County Council contractor Skanska is currently taking part in a trial with the company Combined Drier Technology to reprocess and reuse the waste, thereby reducing the amount that has to be disposed of expensively.

Using purpose-built de-watering bays in the county council’s depot in Drayton, near Abingdon, water is removed and filtered. Depending on the quality, the water can be re-used or discharged into the foul drainage network under a trade effluent discharge consent.

The de-watered gully waste is then dried, allowing it to be screened and graded, recovering as much of the original waste as possible and removing any non-recyclable contaminants. These recycled materials could then potentially be used in highways works as fill material for resurfacing, topsoil replacement, or be fed into the production of recycled aggregates, subject to appropriate material and chemical testing results and stakeholder agreement. During the trial period, this drying and screening is being undertaken at a third-party permitted facility. However, the equipment used is mobile which would allow it to be deployed to the Drayton depot if the trial proves successful.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “This initiative is a great example of the new thinking and commitment that will be needed to meet our climate action goals. We’re pleased to have been able to collaborate on this with Skanska and their supply chain to reduce both costs and carbon emissions with an innovative solution.”

Oxfordshire produces approximately 1,000 tonnes of gully waste annually. If successful, the new methods of dealing with it could save up to £27,000 a year and prevent four tonnes of CO2 being released into the atmosphere.

Despite only being seven months into the trial, refinements are being made all the time. These include plans for the generators – which were previously diesel powered but now use gas-to-liquid fuel – to run on hydrotreated vegetable oil, cutting emissions by 90 per cent compared to diesel.

The Drayton depot is also home to a mobile plant which processes waste generated from repairs to the county’s roads.

One of the by-products of road and path resurfacing – created as a result of asphalt being removed from a surface sub-base – is known as ‘asphalt planings’. Annual maintenance of Oxfordshire’s highway network produces significant quantities of this material, which can be recycled. However, approximately 8,000 tonnes of this are classified as ‘asphalt waste containing coal tar’ (AWCCT), a toxic material which makes it expensive to dispose of safely and difficult to recycle.

But Skanska – through the efforts of OCL Regeneration Ltd, a company within its supply chain – has found a way of treating and utilising the AWCCT and thereby reducing Oxfordshire County Council’s annual hazardous waste costs.

Asphalt planings are transported to the OCL plant at Drayton where they are crushed, graded and then mixed with foamed bitumen, cement and water to form a cold lay asphalt material, which can then be re-used elsewhere in road maintenance. This means that the scheme minimises the use of ‘virgin’ materials to reconstruct roads.

The process also involves treating the material at Skanska’s Horton-cum-Studley recycling site – specially chosen as journey distances were 60 per cent shorter than those for importing virgin materials. All the parties involved maximise carbon savings by making sure every journey between Drayton and Horton-cum-Studley involves full lorries – transporting material to be recycled one way, and the finished product in the opposite direction.

To a large extent, these changes are as much about altering mindsets as they are about amending working practices.

Waste is now being recognised as a potential feedstock for the recycling process, rather than something which needs to be disposed of as quickly and as cheaply as possible – whilst also adhering to legal requirements. And rather than following the carbon-intensive linear pattern – where new, virgin materials are sourced for projects – more thought is given to the use of recycled materials, and planning of up to a year in advance is carried out so that this can be achieved in suitable areas.

Oxfordshire County Council, along with Skanska and OCL Regeneration Ltd, recently took part in a webinar organised by the Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment to highlight its pioneering work in developing the circular economy.

All these changes, and many more, feed into Oxfordshire County Council’s ambitions to tackle climate change. Last year, the council approved its Climate Action Framework, which set out its plans to make itself a carbon neutral authority by 2030, and to enable Oxfordshire as a whole to become zero-carbon by 2050.

Whether you’re trying to find out what to do with unwanted gifts, discarded Christmas trees, or leftover food, Oxfordshire County Council’s Waste Wizard, and other sources of advice, will tell you all you need to know about how to dispose of it.

Councillor Yvonne Constance Constance, Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “Christmas is going to be different for all of us this year, but we can still celebrate, have fun and, of course, recycle.

“More and more of our residents are reducing, reusing and recycling this Christmas. Please join them. If you have an item which you no longer need and are unsure where to take it or which bin to use, we have an online tool available called the Waste Wizard to help.”

Although many of the usual Yuletide activities may have stopped due to COVID-19, people in their festive bubbles can still enjoy Christmas dinners and other treats. As a result, Oxfordshire expects to produce an extra 2,500 tonnes of household waste over the Christmas period.

This includes waste that can be recycled but cannot be put into kerbside recycling bin, such as batteries which can cause fires in collection vehicles and at recycling facilities and centres, electrical items that need to be recycled separately, and textiles that can get caught up in sorting machinery. The Waste Wizard has all the answers – go to www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wastewizard

And remember that waste doesn’t have to be wasted.

In the UK, over 21 million of us receive at least one unwanted present each Christmas. To reduce this, consider giving alternative gifts to your friends and family this year – donate to a charity of their choice, buy an online class, or re-gift something you already have which you know they will use and love.

A third of food ends up in the general waste bin, and much of this could be eaten, reducing waste and saving money too. You can freeze and store food after the festivities to eat in the months following December – visit Love Food Hate Waste for ideas and recipes.

For food that can't be eaten another day, recycle it directly into your outdoor food and garden waste bin.

You can save bows, ribbons, gift bags and cards for next year and reuse them as gift tags the following year.

Consider if the real tree you bought could be replanted and used again next year. If it can’t be, your district council can collect these from the kerbside if you are signed up to a garden waste collection or check with them if they are operating nearby drop-off points. Alternatively, they can be brought to your local recycling centre to be recycled – there are seven of them spread around the county. Please make sure to socially distance when you visit.

Don’t forget recycling centre opening hours and collection dates vary. The recycling centres close early at 3pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve and are closed all day on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Double-check revised collection dates through your district council’s website, to be sure you don’t miss the crews.

More information can be found at www.oxfordshirerecycles.org.uk/christmas and by following us on social media for updates on Facebook: @OxfordshireRecycles and Twitter: @OxonRecycles

Despite closing on 5 November, Oxfordshire County Council’s library service will continue to offer an array of online resources at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/libraries and residents will still be able to benefit from the home library service. The county council is also investigating the possibility of a click and collect service in some libraries in addition to limited access to public network PCs.

All decisions have been made in line with government guidance.

Residents will still be able to register births and give notice at registry offices and register deaths over the phone in Oxfordshire. Weddings civil partnerships and citizenship ceremonies will be paused. 

The HWRC at Redbridge in Oxford was already scheduled to close 9 - 30 November for essential structural repair work.

Help for vulnerable people

In Oxfordshire (please see below for Oxford City). Help is available on 01865 897820 or email shield@oxfordshire.gov.uk. The service is open 8.30am - 5pm Monday – Thursday, 8.30am - 4pm on Fridays, closed Saturday - Sunday and bank holidays. 

Help for vulnerable people is available in Oxford City on 01865 249811 or by visiting oxford.gov.uk/CommunityAssistance. The service is open 8am - 5pm.

Abide by the rules

The national lockdown comes in the wake of rapidly rising infection levels across the country and a significant rise in hospital admissions.

Councillor Ian Hudspeth, the Leader of Oxfordshire said: “We have taken careful note of the detail that supports the government’s lockdown announcements and configured our services accordingly.

“I would urge people to abide by the rules that are being introduced nationally. By working together, we can stop the spread of the virus. Christmas is unlikely to be anything like normal this year, but it can at least be closer to that normality if we contain the virus during this lockdown period both locally and nationally.”

From 5 November, people must stay at home unless they have a specific reason to leave, such as education, childcare, and work which cannot be done from home. Pubs, restaurants, and non-essential shops and businesses will have to close, although hospitality venues can continue to provide takeaway and delivery services. Schools, colleges, universities and early years settings can remain open.

People must not meet socially indoors or in a private garden with family or friends who are not part of their household or support bubble. People are also being asked to avoid travelling in or out of their local area and to reduce the number of journeys they make. 

However, people are allowed to exercise outdoors or visit an outdoor public place with members of their household or support bubble. A maximum of two people from different households – excluding children under school age – are allowed to meet outdoors for the purpose of exercise or to visit an outdoor public place.

Detailed information about the new restrictions is available on the gov.uk website.

News on other council services

• The Oxfordshire Comet bus service is with immediate effect only providing transport for essential journeys for shopping once a week or for medical appointments for individuals that have pre-booked. All group bookings and timetabled services are suspended.
• The Oxfordshire History Centre in Cowley, Oxfordshire Museum in Woodstock and Museum Resource Centre in Standlake will close.
• Oxfordshire Music Service’s Centre for Music will close to students, but online lessons will continue. Lessons in schools will continue.

Ends

For more information about this release contact the Oxfordshire County Council and Cherwell District Council communications team on 01865 323870 or email press.office@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Oxfordshire County Council is supporting the new national ‘Take Charge’ campaign, which calls on people to only dispose of dead batteries – dubbed ‘zombie batteries’ – by using specialist battery recycling services, and to never throw them away alongside general rubbish or other recycling.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Oxfordshire County Council Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “Everyone can play their part in ensuring the safety of both the public and that of the staff working at our waste and recycling centres by disposing of their dead batteries responsibly. Batteries are accepted at all of our HWRCs. You can also approach staff at your local centre if you have an item with a battery in it which you are unable to remove, rather than placing it directly into the container.”

Dead batteries are likely to be crushed or punctured once the waste is collected and processed. Some battery types, such as lithium-ion and nickel-metal hydride, can ignite or even explode when they’re damaged, causing fires which can set light to other materials in the waste, such as paper and cardboard, putting lives at risk.

Lithium-ion batteries are often found in products like laptops, tablets, mobile phones, radio-controlled toys, Bluetooth devices, shavers, electric toothbrushes, power tools, scooters and even e-cigarettes.

The recycling and waste management trade body, the Environmental Services Association (ESA), which launched the campaign, said that between April 2019 and March 2020, lithium-ion batteries were thought to be responsible for more than 250 fires at its members’ facilities.

Executive Director of the ESA, Jacob Hayler, said: “Unfortunately, the majority of batteries thrown away in the UK at the moment are not recycled properly. Fires caused by carelessly discarded batteries endanger lives, cause millions of pounds of damage and disrupt waste services. We urge consumers to please recycle batteries responsibly by using widely available local battery recycling services.”

All seven of the county council’s HWRCs, operated by FCC Environment and W&S Recycling, accept batteries for recycling, while there are also many other local collection points around Oxfordshire. Batteries are also accepted by Oxford City, Cherwell, West Oxfordshire, South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse district councils. Residents can place them inside an envelope or clear bag on top of their bin on collection days. Waste Wizard can be used to check for specific information about kerbside collections.

HWRCs will remain open to the public during the period of increased COVID-19 restrictions, being brought in from 5 November - 2 December. Residents are asked to continue to maintain social distancing when using the centres, while being mindful of other residents and the teams working across the sites. The site at Redbridge in Oxford will, however, be closed to the public from 9 - 30 November due to essential repair work.

It will remain open to trade customers, as the central area which they use is unaffected and can operate as normal.

Extra staff will operate at household waste recycling centres around Oxfordshire to help with any increase in demand. The aim is to have the Redbridge site open again for the busy Christmas period.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment, said:

“I urge residents to plan ahead for this closure, either by storing their recycling and waste at home until Redbridge reopens or, ideally, by using one of neighbouring household waste recycling centres. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause but these are essential repairs that we can’t ignore. We thank you for your understanding.”

The closest alternative sites to Redbridge are:

• North: Ardley Fields - Brackley Road, Ardley (near Bicester) OX27 7PH
• West: Dix Pit - Linch Hill, Stanton Harcourt (near Witney) OX29 5BB
• South: Drayton - Steventon Road, Drayton (near Abingdon) OX14 4LA
• South: Oakley Wood – Old Icknield Way, Crowmarsh (near Wallingford) OX10 6PW

These sites may experience a higher volume of visits over this period and residents are asked to be patient when visiting them during this time. Full details can be found online including a postcode search function for alternative centres. Permits will be valid at any of our sites.

Residents who need to dispose of asbestos during this time can book into Dix Pit or Ardley recycling centres. Visit www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/asbestos to find out more and book.

For further information contact 01865 323870 or email Press.Office@Oxfordshire.gov.uk

Halloween and pumpkin consumption could be to blame for a big spike in the amount of household food waste. This means that October and November have the second and third highest volume of food waste after the Christmas peak.

A pumpkin can weigh 3-8 kilograms, so even if these were of the largest type, this could equate to 160,000 of them being thrown away in Oxfordshire alone, and a terrifying total of 12.8 million in Britain!

Yet so much of what is scooped out could be eaten. The message is simple: Carve it, Cook it, Eat it – many people are opting for a treat and eating the tasty insides of the scary faced vegetable rather than throwing it away as waste every year – which means money is not wasted and an added bonus it makes a delicious meal.

Councillor Constance, Cabinet member for the environment at Oxfordshire County Council said: “Eighteen thousand tonnes of pumpkin are thrown away across Britain each year.”

“In Oxfordshire, on average over the three-year period from 2017 to 2019 we dealt with around ten per cent more food waste during October and November, compared to September.

“Yet, with a bit of thought and creativity, pumpkins can have a useful life beyond Halloween. There are so many healthy and green alternatives to throwing them away.

“You can make delicious soups, curries, cakes and even pumpkin brownies. Make sure you visit the Pumpkin Festival Good Food Oxford website or Love Food Hate Waste for recipes.

“If you do decide to dispose of your pumpkins, remember to compost them at home or put them in your food recycling bin. Pumpkins and other food waste can be recycled and used for future uses such as electricity and fertiliser for local farm land.”

Festival of Pumpkins

To coincide with Halloween, the Oxfordshire Pumpkin Festival is returning for its seventh year with events taking place across the county run by Good Food Oxford and Hubbub. This year’s festival runs from Friday 23 October to Sunday 1 November 2020.

This annual event is a celebration of food: creatively encouraging people to think about the food they throw away, challenging preconceptions and teaching new skills.

November usually starts with a flood of pumpkins going to waste, but Good Food Oxford organisations are encouraging people to squash food waste by eating rather than discarding the flesh of their Halloween pumpkins.

The festival is packed full of different socially distanced events from start to finish. There is something for everyone, with activities including online cooking demos, farm tour at Tolhurst Organic, pumpkin carving and cooking, pumpkin awareness day, farmers’ and community market stalls.

This year, Good Food Oxford suggest that we look forward to next year and grow our own pumpkins which we will have more incentive to eat because we have put all the hard ghoul-ing work into it, or why not buy a locally grown, tastier pumpkin. All the events will promote seasonal eating and not wasting food, with online recipes and tips to reduce food waste.

The full festival programme is here: https://goodfoodoxford.org/oxfordshire-pumpkin-festival/

Hubbub UK is also hosting some recipes on its Instagram channel from the 26^th October, including ‘Thai pumpkin curry’, ‘How to #EatYourPumpkin’ and ‘Trick or Eating with Kids.’

There are already many ways to recycle small electrical items that are beyond repair either at the kerbside or a recycling centre. Funded by Valpak, these drop off points are provided for unwanted small electrical items that are still in good condition at a number of participating Oxfordshire libraries.

The service will start again at Banbury, Bicester, Witney, Oxfordshire County Library, Cowley, & Blackbird Leys libraries on 28th September.

In the same way that library users can drop off returned books into crates at the library entrance, an extra crate will now be provided for library users to donate their unwanted electrical items.

Once goods have been dropped off, the items will be collected by Bicester Green or Orinoco – two local charities who help reuse and recycle waste – where they will be tested. Minor repairs will be made by volunteers and the items will then be sold on to benefit the charities.

The drop off point is for small electrical items only – toasters, kettles, radios etc – items you can easily carry. The libraries are not able to accept anything large or heavy – such as televisions, monitors, microwaves, white goods or fridges and freezers – or anything damaged and beyond repair.

Drop offs can only be made when the libraries are open – please check opening hours before visiting.

We ask residents to ensure any disposable batteries – i.e. standard AA/AAA/9V batteries – are removed from donations of battery-powered devices. These can be recycled at the kerbside. If the item has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery – like the ones in cordless power tools or mobile phones – please leave them in the device when donated.

To make your donation safely, library users must remember to follow the rules that apply for all library users.

Marian Morgan Bindon, Service Manager for Libraries and Heritage said: “We are delighted to again be able offer residents a convenient way to donate electrical items through local libraries and to save them from becoming waste.”

To find details of all recycling services, please visit the Waste Wizard online tool: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wastewizard

The theme for the Waste and Resources Action Programme’s (WRAP) seventeenth annual Recycle Week is to thank the people of Oxfordshire for continuing to recycle despite all that has happened this year.

Statistics released by Recycle Now show that through lockdown, Britain has become even more environmentally aware, with nearly 9 in 10 households saying they regularly recycle.

Coming out of lockdown, more people are prepared to change their lifestyles to help the environment: 73%, up from 68% in 2019. An amazing 93% of households say they believe that “everyone has a responsibility to help towards cleaning up the environment.”

The figures come from research carried out during lockdown and an omnibus survey completed in July. The four district councils and the city council in Oxford operate the kerbside collections of household recycling and waste, which Oxfordshire County Council then disposes of.

In 2019, 58.62% of household waste was recycled in Oxfordshire overall against a national average of 44.8% according to figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

There is still though more we can all do to recycle more to help defeat both waste and climate change. You can now use a great tool launched this year called Waste Wizard to see what can be recycled where.

Peter Maddox, Director, WRAP, said:

“It’s fantastic to see that despite everything that has been thrown at them this year, more people than ever in Oxfordshire are taking responsibility for protecting the environment by choosing to recycle. This is something we can all do, wherever we live – an individual action that, when performed by everyone, adds up to a huge change.

“Oxfordshire’s recycling and waste workers have been real heroes too, providing the best service possible under the most difficult of circumstances. The recognition they received in the form of friendly waves, notes, cards and gifts left out for them is heart-warming proof of how Oxfordshire has cooperated.

“Recycle Week this year is an opportunity to thank everyone in Oxfordshire for continuing to recycle, whatever their circumstances and to celebrate the way we have all pulled together. There has been a positive leap forward in attitudes that we must capitalise on so Oxfordshire can do even better in the coming year!”

Oxfordshire County Council, businesses and other organisations are joining in with a range of activities to highlight the importance of recycling. Everyone – organisations and individuals - can support Recycle Week by using #RecycleWeek on social media.

Cllr Yvonne Constance, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment said:

“Oxfordshire is doing well at recycling and we thank residents for helping us but there is still a lot more to be done to improve recycling rates. Better recycling involves all of us and this will help us to attain our goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2030. The Oxford Environmental Partnership of the Oxfordshire district, city and county councils has a target to increase recycling to 70% by 2025. You can help us reach this goal by separating out your food waste as well as your plastics, glass metals and cardboard to make a real difference! Our Waste Wizard tool available on our website here can also advise you on what can be recycled and where.”

For more information about recycling and waste in Oxfordshire, please visit: www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/environment-and-planning/waste-and-recycling

For more information on Recycle Now, visit: www.recyclenow.com

The extended service will mean that from Tuesday 26^th May, the centres at Alkerton, Ardley, Dix Pit, Drayton, Oakley Wood, Redbridge and Stanford in the Vale will now open at 8am and close at the later time of 5pm. This applies seven days a week. Please note the current 4pm closing time is still applicable across the Bank Holiday weekend.

Please note that that late-night opening on Thursdays and the acceptance of trailers and hire vans remains suspended for the time being.

The revised service comes as Oxfordshire County Council continues its recovery phase from the COVID-19 emergency.

The council and site teams would like to thank residents for their continued patience and understanding whilst using our sites, and also asks residents to remember the following important points:

• Residents must self-police and abide by social distancing of two metres from site teams and other residents at all times.
• Please follow any instructions given by site teams to ensure queues and sites are managed safely
• Vehicle numbers and parking bays are reduced on site, and once the maximum is reached the site will operate on a one-out one-in basis. PLEASE NOTE the potential for delays and queues.
• We will continue to charge for non-household waste brought to sites and this will be by contactless card payment only. If you are unable to pay by contactless means you will not be able to deposit non household waste at the site.
• Site teams will be there for guidance only and will not be able to assist residents in unloading their waste.
• Only one resident is permitted out of the vehicle, unless it is to remove a heavy load which would otherwise be unsafe to remove. Visits are best made by just one person per vehicle.
• In line with Public Health England guidance, residents who are vulnerable, or who are showing symptoms which may indicate coronavirus, should not visit household recycling centres.

Unsure what to recycle at our HWRCs? Residents can check if a HWRC can deal with their material by using our new online tool Waste Wizard: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/environment-and-planning/waste-and-recycling/household-waste/repair-reuse-or-recycle

The sites at Alkerton, Ardley, Dix Pit, Drayton, Oakley Wood, Redbridge and Stanford in the Vale have been extremely busy since they opened at 8.00am this morning but Cllr Constance said it was encouraging that residents had understood the importance of the social distancing measures the Council had introduced.

“We were committed to get these seven sites open and we knew today would be very busy with people bringing in their essential waste. As expected, traffic queues have built up but our residents have played their part by being considerate and adhering to the revised site layouts.

“We know things at the recycling sites will be busy for the foreseeable future, so I hope people will continue to be patient. My main plea to residents is to consider whether they can wait a few days or longer before visiting their nearest site. The more we can stagger waste coming in, the less traffic will queue and the easier it will be for everyone.”

The council asks residents to remember:

• You should only visit the site if you cannot safely store your waste at home.
• Revised opening hours: All sites will open at 8am and close at 4pm to allow them to be cleaned for the following day. Please do not arrive before 8am.
• For an initial period, no hire vans or trailers will be permitted onto sites.
• Vehicle numbers and parking bays are reduced on site, and once the maximum is reached the site will operate on a one-out one-in basis. PLEASE NOTE the potential for long delays and queues.
• Please follow any instructions given by traffic marshals to ensure queues are managed safely
• We will continue to charge for non-household waste brought to sites and this will be by contactless card payment only. If you are unable to pay by contactless means you will not be able to deposit non household waste at the site.
• Residents must self-police and abide by social distancing of two metres from site teams and other residents at all times.
• Site teams will be there for guidance only and will not be able to assist residents in unloading their waste.
• Only one resident is permitted out of the vehicle, unless it is to remove a heavy load which would otherwise be unsafe to remove. Visits are best made by just one person per vehicle.
• In line with Public Health England guidance, residents who are vulnerable, or who are showing symptoms which may indicate coronavirus, should not visit household recycling centres.

Specific rules and restrictions will vary by site. Please refer to the county council website before leaving home to familiarise yourself with these and to avoid frustration and delay:

www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wastereopenquestions

The reopening applies to all Oxfordshire HWRCs: Alkerton, Ardley, Dix Pit, Drayton, Oakley Wood, Redbridge and Stanford in the Vale.

The seven sites will operate with reduced opening hours. They will open at 8am and close at 4pm. The sites will be open seven days a week as long as they are not overwhelmed and can operate safely.

The number of vehicles allowed onto the site will be reduced by approximately 50% to allow for social distancing. This means that queues are highly likely, especially at peak times such as weekends.

Residents are therefore being urged only to visit the site if their trip is essential and they cannot safely store their waste at home.

Government guidance says that trips to a HWRC should only be made if ‘essential’ – that is if the waste cannot be stored safely without harm to health. The Government guidance states: “It would be reasonable for residents to undertake a journey to a HWRC if the waste or recycling could not be stored safely at home or disposed of through other legitimate routes such as a dedicated collection. By this we mean that the waste/recycling could not be stored on their property without causing a risk of injury, health or harm to the resident or other members of their household or harm to public health and amenity.”

Things to remember when visiting the reopened centres: 

• You should only visit the site if you cannot safely store your waste at home.
• Revised opening hours: All sites will open at 8am and close at 4pm to allow them to be cleaned for the following day. The summer evening opening hours are suspended.
• Vehicle numbers and parking bays will be reduced on site, and once the maximum is reached the site will operate on a one-out one-in basis. PLEASE NOTE the potential for long delays and queues.
• Please follow any instructions given by traffic marshals to ensure queues are managed safely
• We will continue to charge for non-household waste brought to sites and this will be by contactless card payment only. If you are unable to pay by contactless means you will not be able to deposit non household waste at the site.
• Residents are expected to self-police and abide by social distancing of two metres from site teams and other residents at all times.
• For an initial period, no hire vans or trailers will be permitted onto sites.
• Site teams will be there for guidance only and will not be able to assist residents in unloading their waste.
• Only one resident will be permitted out of the vehicle, unless it is to unload a heavy load which would otherwise be unsafe to remove. Visits are best made by just one person per vehicle.
• In line with Public Health England guidance, residents who are vulnerable, or who are showing symptoms which may indicate coronavirus, should not visit household recycling centres.
• Residents are requested to ensure all waste is pre-sorted before arriving at site to ensure minimum time on site.

Specific rules and restrictions will vary by site. Please refer to the county council website before leaving home to familiarise yourself with these and to avoid frustration and delay:

www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wastereopenquestions

Oxfordshire County Council has been heartened by the support and respect shown to its refuse collection services. The council respectfully asks during these difficult times that the same level of courtesy and respect is shown to our site teams. Please expect delays along with the risk of being turned away after 4pm irrespective of the size of any queue for entry.

Unsure what to recycle at our HWRCs? Residents can check if a HWRC can deal with their material by using our new online tool Waste Wizard: https://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/residents/environment-and-planning/waste-and-recycling/household-waste/repair-reuse-or-recycle

You may find that you can recycle some of your goods without having to make the journey to one of our Household Waste Recycling Centres.

Although the council sincerely hopes they will not be needed, residents are reminded that all sites have CCTV and site teams are issued with bodycams. There will be zero-tolerance of abuse and threatening behaviour to site teams and anyone found to do so may be banned from our sites.

Cllr Yvonne Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment said:

“I’d like to thank our residents for their patience in holding their waste for recycling at this difficult time. I would also like to ask the people of Oxfordshire to use the sites with care as they reopen and consider if they are able to store their waste for a bit longer as we all adjust to continued social distancing.”

All councils in Oxfordshire are appreciative that residents continue to show understanding of the changes that need to be made during these difficult times. All district councils are currently running good collection services and are able to collect and dispose of the vast majority of ‘everyday’ waste produced by residents. Please check your local councils’ website for the latest information and advice.

We would ask that residents store any waste that cannot be placed into their kerbside collections until HWRCs are open again. Where storing your waste is not practical, local businesses can remove your waste for an appropriate charge.

To ensure rogue traders are not used please always pay by card and ask in advance for contact details including vehicle registration and their Waste Carriers Certificate. Yellow pages, trust a trader and Which Trusted Traders are just some of the ways you can research a suitable trader. You may also want to consider taking a photo of the vehicle used to collect your waste, which no respectable contractor will object to. This will help prevent the risk of your waste then being flytipped.

The work forms part of the council’s planned approach to maintenance, and is designed to keep sites safe, looking clean and fresh and helping improve the customer experience when using these important environmental facilities.

Only one site will be closed at any one time and all other sites will be open on those days. Residents are asked to plan ahead for these closures, ideally holding on to your waste until the site reopens or if that is not possible visiting one of the neighbouring sites.

Site closure dates:

Alkerton 3^rd & 4^th March 2020

Redbridge 10^th & 11^th March 2020

Ardley 17^th & 18^th March 2020

Dix Pit 24^th & 25^th March 2020

Oakley Wood 31^st March – 1^st April 2020

Stanford 21^st & 22^nd April 2020

Drayton 28^th & 29^th April 2020

For those residents with permits, please note that these can be used at any of the sites.

Steve Burdis, Principal Officer for the Oxfordshire County Council Waste Team said: “The deep cleans of our sites enable us to carry out essential cleaning and maintenance including pressure washing the sites and structures, repainting lines and safety areas, along with other general and grounds maintenance ahead of the busy summer months.

“All closures are on quieter midweek days to minimise disruption and sites will reopen at 8am following the two-day closure. For practical and safety reasons we need to close the sites for this short period and apologise for any inconvenience this may cause and thank residents for their understanding.”

Further information:

All sites included in this plan are operated under contract by W&S Recycling, other than Dix Pit which is run by FCC Environment. This work is a contractual requirement and was introduced when the Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) contract was re-let in October 2017.

List of Household Waste Recycling Centres addresses, including postcodes:

• Alkerton HWRC, Stratford Road Nr Banbury, OX15 6HZ
• Ardley HWRC, Brackley Road, Ardley, OX27 7PH
• Dix Pit, Linch Hill, Stanton Harcourt, OX29 5BB
• Drayton HWRC, Steventon Road, Drayton, Nr Abingdon, OX14 4LA
• Oakley Wood HWRC, Henley Road, Crowmarsh Nr Wallingford, OX10 6PW
• Redbridge HWRC, Old Abingdon Road, Oxford, OX1 4XG
• Stanford HWRC, Faringdon Road, Stanford in the Vale, SN7 8LD

There are already many ways to recycle small electrical items that are beyond repair either at the kerbside or a recycling centre. Funded by Valpak, the council is trialling drop off points for unwanted small electrical items that are still in good condition at a number of participating Oxfordshire libraries.

The trial will run at Banbury, Bicester, Kidlington, Witney, Carterton, Oxfordshire County Library, Headington, Cowley, Littlemore & Blackbird Leys libraries.

Once goods have been dropped off, the items will be collected by Bicester Green or Orinoco – two local charities who help reuse and recycle waste – where they will be tested. Minor repairs will be made by volunteers and the items will then be sold on to benefit the charities.

The drop off point is for small electrical items only – toasters, kettles, radios etc – items you can easily carry. The libraries are not able to accept anything large or heavy – such as televisions, monitors, microwaves, white goods or fridges and freezers – or anything damaged and beyond repair.

Drop offs can only be made when the libraries are open – please check opening hours before visiting.

We are asking residents to ensure any disposable batteries – i.e. standard AA/AAA/9V batteries – are removed from donations of battery powered devices. These can be recycled at the kerbside. If the item has a rechargeable lithium-ion battery – like the ones in cordless power tools or mobile phones – please leave them in the device when donated.

The start of this new service on Saturday 15^th February coincides with a national day of repair called The Big Fix. As well as the start of the trial drop off service, six repair cafes are taking place across the county. These are run by volunteer groups supported by Oxfordshire’s Community Action Group where residents can bring along old electrical goods and other items that need attention and have them repaired.

Councillor Yvonne Constance, Cabinet Member for Environment said: “This is a great example of council teams and community organisations working together to improve the services we offer and to help conserve valuable natural resources. We are trying to create a culture of repair and reuse in Oxfordshire.”

Councillor Lorraine Lindsay-Gale, Cabinet Member for Education and Cultural Services said: “We are delighted to be able offer residents a convenient way to donate electrical items through local libraries and to save them from becoming waste.”

To find details of all recycling services using a newly launched search tool visit the Waste Wizard – www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wastewizard

To find your nearest electrical repair event and for other tips on how to reduce your waste visit www.oxfordshirerecycles.org.uk.

The sites are contained within the Draft Minerals and Waste Local Plan: Part 2 which is now out for consultation. Residents have until 4^th March 2020 to submit views on the plan.

This is an important chance for residents to submit their views on planning for minerals and waste development in Oxfordshire. The responses from this consultation will inform the next stage of the Draft Sites Plan preparation that will be put to further consultation later in 2020.

Work on the Draft Sites Plan follows on from the adoption of the Minerals and Waste Core Strategy in 2017. The Core Strategy set out the vision, objectives and policies for the supply of minerals and the management of waste in Oxfordshire over the period to 2031, and the Sites Plan sets out those sites needed to deliver the Core Strategy.

Following consultation last year, the Draft Sites Plan now sets out the four preferred mineral extraction areas and nine preferred waste management sites in the County that we believe will be needed in Oxfordshire up to 2031. We are seeking views on these sites and supporting policies.

Information about the consultation can be viewed on the council’s website, including the Draft Sites Plan, Response Form and all the supporting documents. Hard copies of the plan can also be viewed at County Hall and a number of libraries across Oxfordshire. Comments can be made online, via email or posted to the Minerals and Waste Team at County Hall.

Website: https://www2.oxfordshire.gov.uk/cms/content/new-minerals-and-waste-local-plan

Contact: mineralsandwasteplanconsultation@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Waste Wizard is Oxfordshire County Council’s response to the evil spell that no-longer-needed items sometimes cast over residents when it’s time to recycle or reuse them. It also aims to defeat the menace that is contaminated recycling which cannot then be processed. We know our residents try hard to recycle well but we can do more to drive up what we recycle; around 50% of what goes in general waste bins could be recycled.

Waste Wizard is a fun and interactive online resource that allows anyone puzzled by the bin to type in the name of any item along with their postcode to find out whether it can be reused, repaired, donated, recycled or if it needs to go into a specific bin or collection to be disposed of properly.

We know that one of the biggest barriers to good recycling is confusion over which product to put in which bin. Some of the most commonly confused materials are plastics, crisp packets, pizza boxes and coffee cups. Common items that contaminate kerbside recycling bins include textiles and disposable nappies. Overall, food is the biggest product that could be recycled that is put in general waste bins. Waste Wizard aims to clarify exactly what and where goods can be recycled or given a new life which will help us all to improve recycling rates whilst cutting waste.

Defeat the evil General Waste

Over 58 per cent of all waste is reused, composted or recycled in Oxfordshire compared to the national rate of 45 per cent. But there is more that can be done than graphics show; the Waste Wizard can help you beat General Waste.

The tool will be promoted online via social media with the Waste Wizard and its nemesis General Waste turned into retro video-game characters. And while in the pictures the Wizard tries to zap the General, in real life it can help to:

• Boost the number of items that get repaired locally

• Increase the amount of items reused or donated

• Cut the contamination in kerbside recycling collection bins (currently 10%)

• Ensure anything that can’t be reused, repaired or donated is properly recycled

• Explain the responsible disposal of goods that cannot be recycled or repurposed

It can be found online at www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/wastewizard

One Wizard for less waste

County Councillor Yvonne Constance, Cabinet member for Environment, said:

“There’s lots of different ways to get rid of waste but you only need one Waste Wizard to make sure you do the right thing.

“We have come a long way since the first thought on everyone’s mind was to put unwanted things in the bin. And even with doorstep collections for a wide-range of items there’s often better things you can do.

“Thankfully the Waste Wizard has all the answers and if you are unsure at any time you can ask for some words of wisdom.

Producing waste has an impact on your carbon footprint and the Waste Wizard can help to show you ways of reducing your impact on the environment with little effort.

Although Oxfordshire is the best area in the UK for recycling, but there is still more that can be done to make the most of what would otherwise be regarded as rubbish.”

Play the game…