Where does my recycling go?

The hard work of Hounslow residents sorting their recyclables into the correct container or bin means that the recycling that we collect in Hounslow is deemed high quality. What you may not be aware of is that because our recycling is high quality, we are able to sell this onto processors instead of paying them to recycle this on our behalf. The revenue we make from selling our recycling is then reinvested back into services across the Council. Household waste is taken to an Energy from Waste plant where it is burnt to produce electricity and provide power, we are proud to say that we send no waste to landfill.

Have you ever wondered what happens to your recycling after you put it into your box or communal bin? 

Our collection team Recycle 360 collect recyclables from households across the Borough. This is then sorted at our state of the art materials handling facility, Southall Lane Depot. Here they sort the mixed dry recycling (plastic, cans, paper, glass etc.) collected across the Borough, tip each of these streams into their own bay and then process them to send onto processors. 

The following table shows the volume (tonnes) of Recyclate leaving Southall Lane in April 2023.

Recyclate Item

April 23

Paper

23

Card

372

Food Waste

450

Steel

22

Aluminium

30

Glass

294

Plastic – mixed plastics

169

Textiles

6

We are proud to say that 58.84% of our recycling was processed in England, this includes all streams listed above apart from Cardboard.  Our cardboard was processed both in the EU and Non-EU countries as the volume of cardboard produced and used in the UK far outweighs the UK’s ability to process this recycled cardboard.  

Hounslow Recycles

Hounslow Council launched its No Time to Waste sustainability campaign in March 2023 to support Hounslow residents to recycle more, waste less, and increase the amount of stuff we reuse.  Improving residents’ recycling habits is a top priority for the borough, with ambitious targets set at achieving a 45% recycling rate by 2025, and 50% by 2030. 

Recycling at home is really important, but you may wonder what happens to the waste once it’s collected

The Council has its own material handling facility which allows waste to be to sorted, baled, and then sold on as high quality recycling. And zero waste is sent to landfill. Watch to find out more about Hounslow’s recycling journey from your home and beyond.

Recycle your coffee pods with Podback

Hounslow Council is working with Podback to provide this new free recycling service, helping you to recycle your pods (coffee, tea and hot chocolate) as part of your normal kerbside recycling collection.

Podback is a nationwide, not-for-profit, coffee pod recycling service. Created by the biggest names in coffee pod systems, Nespresso, NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto and Tassimo, to give people who enjoy the quality and taste of coffee pods simple and easy ways to recycle them.

More information about Podback

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