Paper recycling sacks
All households receive a collection for paper every two weeks on the same day as their black bin is emptied. As well as newspapers, residents can recycle:
- Magazines
- Newspapers
- Office paper
- Junk mail
- Catalogues
- Brochures
- White envelopes
- Any directories
- Greetings cards (no glitter)
- Shredded paper
If you haven't got a sack, or need extras, please contact the Environmental Services Helpline on 01942 404364. You can also collect extras from your local borough library. Alternatively, you can use a plastic carrier bag placed alongside your bin (please do not use a black sack). Residents receive a full calendar of collections each December, but you can contact the helpline if you are not certain of your collection dates.
Download Paper Recycling Document (.pdf, 747kb)
Green wheelie bins
Most households around the borough have a collection of garden waste and clean brown cardboard every two weeks.
The collections are on the same day as the paper sacks are emptied, and full details are provided to residents on an annual calendar.
The green bin is for:
- Grass cuttings
- Leaves and bark
- Small branches
- Weeds
- Clean brown cardboard
Please do NOT include plant pots, rubble, plastic bags, nappies, printed card or any food items. These will contaminate the entire load and prevent the green waste being used as a soil enhancer.
Brown wheelie bins
A new service began last year introducing collections of dry recyclables (glass, cans, plastics) for many households every two weeks.
Any glass, empty food and drink cans and tins, aerosols, plastic bottles, clean yoghurt pots and clean margarine and butter tubs can be placed in your brown bin. Please click the link to the left for more information on this service.
Black wheelie bins
These are collected weekly from all domestic properties for those materials which cannot be recycled. Residents are reminded not to overfill their bin and ensure it is placed at the edge of their property by 7am on their regular collection day. Please recycle as much as possible.
Remember that if you have other bins, you should ensure you use them where possible. If you have a green bin and garden waste is placed in your black bin, it may not be collected.
What happens to collections on Bank Holidays?
We are now collecting on Bank Holiday Mondays. Your rubbish and recycling collections (if it's your recycling week) will be done on the same day as a normal week.
There are some timetable changes at Christmas and collections for Good Friday will be carried out on the next day. We will tell you about these changes in advance in a calendar we deliver to all residents in wInter.
What about other materials?
These services are only for domestic properties. Please recycle as much as you can - there are handy roadside recycling banks for bottles, cans and other materials within a mile of most homes, usually at supermarkets, pubs and many public buildings. You can find these using our interactive local recycling database.
Find out more
You can learn more by clicking through the recycling pages of this website. We also organise roadshows, visit schools and provide information to libraries. There are various leaflets available to assist you in your recycling activities - you can download them here (but save paper and only print them if you must!).
Thank you for supporting recycling in Wigan Borough.
