Waste and recycling service standards and strategy

Service standards

Right container, right place, right time 

The council has produced a set of standards for waste and recycling that will allow us to improve our collections, and will help us to increase recycling rates across the county.

The standards clearly set out what services you can expect us to provide in relation to your waste collection, and act as a benchmark to monitor our performance.

They also make it clear what you can do to make refuse and recycling collections as efficient as possible.

We are always striving to improve the services we provide but we realise that we may not always get it right and need you to tell us when we don’t. If you feel these standards are not being met please get in touch with us on 01495 762200 or email your.call@torfaen.gov.uk . You can also report any issues with your waste and recycling collections via our online forms .

You can expect us to…

• provide a weekly recycling and fortnightly refuse collection on an allocated day between 7am and 4pm. You can check your collections dates and download a calendar via our bin collection days page.
• provide you with a purple lidded bin for refuse, a brown caddy for food waste, a blue bag for cardboard a black box for recycling and a green bin for garden waste which won’t be collected in the winter.* 
• provide you with access to up-to-date information on available services and how to recycle your waste. Any changes to services will be publicised a month before they are introduced.
• treat your bin/box/bag with care and put it back in the correct place. We’ll pick up any rubbish dropped by us during the collections.
• ensure our crews are polite and courteous during their collections.
• provide a Household Recycling Centre (HRC) and a number of ‘Bring’ sites where you can take your waste and recycling. If you drive a van or a trailer you will need a permit before you can use the HRC.
• provide replacement recycling containers for free, but charge £5 for replacing purple lidded bins unless these are damaged by us. There will be a charge of £66 for the full suite of waste containers for new properties. A quick video guide to the charges is available.
• deliver replacement waste containers within two weeks, subject to availability.
• only collect items that are in the right containers – if something is not in the right bin/bag/box we will leave a note saying why it wasn’t taken. We don’t collect extra bags of refuse/side waste.
• provide an assisted refuse collection service for people who are physically unable to take out their bins and a free nappy sack service for families with children under three.
• provide a bulky household items - collection service and commercial waste collections however these extra services will need to be requested and will require a fee.
• respond to your queries in line with our Corporate Standards.

* Services may vary for some flats/shared accommodation

Please help us by…

• placing your waste container out for collection before 7am on your allocated day but not before 7pm the night before.
• not reporting your waste container as ‘missed’ unless it’s after 4pm on your collection day.
• taking in your waste container by 7pm on your collection day.
• placing all your waste containers for collection where your property meets the pavement (or your designated collection area).
• personalising your waste containers with a house number/name to reduce the risk of it being lost/stolen and help the crews put it back in the right place.
• placing a net over your recycling box to stop it being blown out of the box.
• not weighing your box down – it can pose a health and safety risk to the crews.
• rinsing out your bottles and cans, crushing your plastics, cartons and bulky items, and not putting recycling in carrier bags unless it’s for textiles. A short video guide to plastic recycling in Torfaen is available.
• sorting your waste and recycling before visiting the Household Recycling Centre.
• being courteous to the crews during their rounds and showing patience when driving behind them and comply with the Highway Code.
• staying up to date with the information we provide on our home page, Twitter, Facebook, the local press and Torfaen Talks .

Waste and recycling strategy

Torfaen County Borough Council is very aware that there will be significant increase in demand for recycling services over the next decade particularly having regard to the Welsh Government’s statutory recycling targets of reusing, recycling and composting at least 70% of Household Waste by 2025. 

Torfaen’s Waste and Recycling Strategy seeks to identify an integrated approach needed to ensure that not only are Welsh Government fines avoided but crucially that service users and stakeholders have a clear understanding of the waste services to be provided by Torfaen and the education and engagement it can undertake to promote these and the Council’s future plans to meet its statutory recycling targets. 

Torfaen takes this opportunity to set out its vision for waste services in the Torfaen Waste and Recycling Strategy 2018-2025.