Residents receive a weekly collection of their recycling, food and residual waste. If you have opted in to receive a collection of your garden waste, this will be collected weekly too. We also collect small electrical items and textiles.

Collections

SUEZ collect recycling and waste in the City Tuesday to Friday. This is to avoid most bank holidays on a Monday and the consequent change in collection day. When this cannot be avoided (Easter / Christmas and New Year), collection catch-ups are reduced. The four-day collection week has also made each collection round more efficient.

What we collect

Blue box - for paper and card

Houses across the City have their paper and card collected separately in a blue box. Just remember:

  • Plastic bags or plastic wrapping must not be in the blue box.
  • Your recyclable materials should be placed loose inside the box. Please do not place in plastic bags.
  • Please put your blue box out by 7am on your collection day. Collections can happen at anytime during the day but will be completed before 6pm.

Pink sack - for dry mixed recycling

Mixed recycling is collected in pink sacks. This is for all your other recycling.

 

Cans, tins and foil:

  • Food and drink cans
  • Foil ready meal trays
  • Foil pie trays
  • Foil takeaway containers
  • Clean cooking foil
  • Metal jar lids
  • Sweet biscuit and cake tins
  • Empty aerosol cans

 

Household Plastic Packaging

  • Bottles and lids (including empty bleach, detergent and cleaning products)
  • Tubs
  • Trays
  • Fruit containers

 

Glass bottles and jars

  • These can be any colour.

 

Food and drink cartons (Tetrapaks)

  • Please put the recycling in your pink sacks loose and not in other bags.

 

Please remember:

  • Recycling needs to be free from food and liquid residues into your pink sacks, rinsing it if needed. Food and liquid residues mean the recycling is a lesser quality and difficult to recycle.
  • Please do not put paper, card, food, clothing or other textiles into your pink sacks.
  • Your pink sacks should not be used for non-recyclable waste.
  • If the crew who collects your recycling finds the wrong items in your sacks, you might receive a communication reminding you what we can and cannot collect for recycling in the pink sacks.

Blue food waste bin - for cooked and uncooked food waste

Food waste is collected separately in your blue food bin. Food waste includes:

  • Cooked and uncooked food
  • Leftovers and plate scrapings
  • Tea and coffee grounds
  • Fish and meat
  • Cheese / butter
  • Fruit and vegetables peelings

 

We also provide residents with compostable liners for your bin. Every 6 months we will deliver you more liners automatically, however if you run out, you can request more via the MySouthend platform, additional rolls of liners can also be collected from libraries across the City.

Small electrical items

Small electrical items - please use a plastic shopping bag to collect your items and leave next to your pink sack. Small electrical items can include:

  • Hairdryers and straighteners
  • Telephones and mobile phones
  • Chargers, plugs and wires
  • Video and DVD players
  • Digital alarm clocks and watches
  • Laptops
  • Radios
  • Electronic toys

Clear recycling sack - for textiles

Textiles are collected separately in clear recycling sacks (available from libraries, charity shops or from your nearest HWRC) include:

  • Mixed textiles and clothes
  • Shoes
  • Worn or torn clothing
  • Handbags
  • Curtains
  • Pillowcases and sheets
  • Paired shoes

Have we missed your collection?

If we haven’t collected your waste or recycling on the scheduled day, it is quick and easy to report it online. You can report it here or if this is not possible, call the Customer Service Centre on 01702 215006. The missed collection should be reported within two working days of the scheduled collection day. Before reporting it, please check your collection day online in case there is a planned changed. Make sure your waste or recycling was accessible and visible on the inside edge of your property by 7am on your scheduled collection day. The service guide can be downloaded from this page and has all the information you need to participate in the collection of your recycling and waste. If it was your pink sack, blue box or blue food waste bin, please make sure only the items in the above list were in the relevant container.

 

Also note that the time of your collection may not always be the same. Your waste and recycling must be out by 7am on the day of collection. We will collect it before 6pm. If you have not received a collection by 6pm, please report it here.

 

When you call the Customer Service Centre they will need your name, postcode and the type of waste that hasn’t been collected (eg black bag, pink sacks etc). We will return to empty your missed container within 24 hours of your report.