The Blue Box Recycling Scheme
 |
Your Blue Box and Blue Bag recycling collections really do help the environment.
Nearly one third of all household waste can be recycled using this service!
We work with AbitibiBowater to provide the Blue Box & Blue Bag recyclable household waste collection service.
As well as helping the environment, you can also help good causes by recycling. For every tonne of paper collected through the scheme £1 is donated to Save the Children by AbitibiBowater; this amounts to several thousand pounds every year that is donated to charity when you use your Blue Bag paper recycling scheme!
Items Collected
The Blue Boxes are for recycling clean food & drinks cans, glass jars & bottles, clean foil trays & aluminium foil and empty aerosols. You can also put spent domestic batteries, e.g. AA, AAA, in a securely tied CLEAR plastic bag in the Blue Box. (We do not supply clear bags for battery recycling, however if you get magazines etc in clear plastic bags, you can reuse these!)
The Blue Bags are for recycling newspapers, magazines, catalogues, telephone directories, the Yellow Pages and junk mail. If you have shredded paper for collection, please put this in a securely tied plastic bag.
Salvation Army bags are also available for recycling old (but clean) clothes, shoes tied in pairs, sheets, curtains, towels and blankets. These are collected on the same day as your Blue Box. If you present a number of textile bags, the crews may not be able to take them all away.
There are some items which we cannot collect as part of the Blue Box recycling scheme. These include: plastic bottles and plastic food containers, Pyrex, tableware, light bulbs, sheet glass, broken glass, scrap metal, cooking pans, sheet metal, envelopes, greetings cards, wrapping paper, brown paper, wallpaper, cardboard, plastic wrapping, duvets & pillows.
Presenting Your Blue Box & Bags
You should make sure your Blue Box and Bag(s) are put out for collection on the edge of your property or at the specified collection point no later than 8:30 a.m. on the day of collection. Collections made be made at any time during the normal collection day.
The Blue Box Assisted Collection Service
If you are elderly or disabled and are unable to put out your Blue Box or wheeled bin(s) you may be able to get assistance! We know that not everyone is capable of carrying their Blue Box and Bag due to reasons of infirmity and capability. Help is available to those who can demonstrate that infirmity or disability prevents them from being capable of putting out their Blue Box and Bag.
To apply for the Blue Box Assisted Collection Service contact us on the number below, or download the form at the bottom of this page.
To speed up your application, please send supporting documentation showing proof of infirmity, e.g. Disability Allowance, confirmation of infirmity/frailty by visiting care personnel or letter from your GP, Derbyshire County Council Social Services Department Registration of Disability, etc. An officer will contact you to arrange a home visit to discuss your application.
If your application for the Blue Box Assisted Collection Service is approved, your Blue Box and Bag should be left in a position visible from the kerbside, e.g. by your front step or where you store your bins.
Please note if you already receive assistance presenting your wheeled refuse bins, your details are not automatically passed to the recycling crews for assistance with Blue Box recycling collections, but your previous application can act as supporting evidence for your application for the Blue Box Assisted Collection Service.
For more information regarding the Blue Box Assisted Collection Service, please contact us on the number below.
Your Collection Date
Blue Box recycling collections are made on a fortnightly (or, in the case of some rural properties, four-weekly) basis.
Where the normal blue box collection day falls on a Bank Holiday Monday, the revised collection day will usually be on the Saturday before. Details are available on the Refuse & Recycling Calendar.
If you are not sure of your collection day or where you are on the map below, we now have an easy to use Blue Box Collection Day Finder. This should be useful if you are new to the district and are not sure where the major towns are located. All you need to do is type in your post code.
Missed Collections
If your Blue Box/Bag/textiles were not collected, there may be a good reason for this: did you put out your recycling on the wrong day or too late, present items we don't collect or present your Box/Bags incorrectly? If the Blue Box recycling is hidden behind a wall the crew may not have seen it. If you have presented your paper recycling mixed in with the contents of the Blue Box, the crew will not collect it.
If the crew have left your recycling on purpose they should leave you a card to tell you why.
Sometimes, the crew has problems accessing the street or a section of the street due to roadworks or parked cars; if so they they will return later in the day or first thing the following morning. Occasionally, continued access problems means your recycling cannot be collected until your next scheduled collection day. In some areas, roadworks or parked cars on neighbouring streets may prevent the crew from collecting on your street.
If you think the crew has missed you, please call the telephone number below and we can ask the crew to return as soon as possible.
No Box/Bag Left After Collection
The recycling collection team should have left you your own Blue Box and some Blue Bags following collection. Sometimes, a resident may have presented a Box or Bag for collection but not got it back after collection. This may be because the Box and/or Bag was blown away by the wind. Whatever the reason, if you do not get your Box or Bag back, you can telephone us on the number below to request a new one be delivered.
If you mark your box up with your house number, it will be easier for the recycling crew to ensure they return your own box to you.
Requesting Recycling Boxes/Bags
Every resident in North East Derbyshire is eligible for the Blue Box recycling service and can be supplied with a Box and Bags. If you do not have a Blue Box or Blue Bag or Salvation Army bag, please call the number below to make a request, or use the Refuse Collection Enquiries form on our website. From 18 January 2010, residents who request a Blue Box will receive their Box with a Box Cover fitted.
Just because you do not have a Blue Box or Blue Bag or Salvation Army bag does not mean you cannot present your recycling! You can present "Blue Box" recycling in a cardboard box, your own plastic box or carrier bag. If you do not have a Blue Bag, or do not have enough for your needs, you can present "Blue Bag" recycling in a carrier bag. If you do not have a Salvation Army bag you can use a white bin liner. Please note, you should not mix your Blue Box, Blue Bag and textiles recycling in the same bag/box.
Some properties, like those in rural areas, may be supplied with Hessian Bags instead of Blue Boxes - this is to enable the resident to more easily carry their recycling to their specified collection point.
We can also supply, if requested, Blue Box Covers - these help to keep the recycling dry and prevent items being blown out of the recycling boxes.
From January 2010, following a recent trial in one area of the District, a new sort of Blue Box Cover is now available. Unlike the previously supplied solid Lids, which should be removed prior to presenting, the flexible Blue Box Cover can be left on when the Box is presented for emptying. It is hoped this will reduce litter by preventing recycling from falling or being blown out of the Box. After emptying, crew will put the empty Blue Bag inside the Box, with the Cover on, which will help stop the empty Blue Bag from blowing away. Also, as it is flexible, it helps contain and cover the recycling even when your Box is overfull.
If you have one of the previously supplied solid Lids you can still use this, but please make sure that you remove it before presenting your Blue Box - your Box will not be emptied if the Lid is left on. Lids often go missing, and we no longer supply replacement solid Lids, so keep yours safe! If you have a solid Lid but wish to present your Blue Box with a Cover on, please request a Box Cover.
Complaints Regarding Blue Box Recycling
Sometimes, during collection by the recycling crew or prior to their arrival, paper or other recycling may get blown from the Bag/Box - especially on windy days! We would advise residents to, where possible, only present their recycling on the morning of collection. If you believe that litter has been left by the recycling crews, please contact us.
If you have any other queries regarding the Blue Box recycling service or wish to make a request or complaint regarding the Blue Box recycling scheme, please contact us on the number below.
Environmental Services have a Customer Charter for more information on the services we provide and can be downloaded from this site.
Downloads
Application form for the Blue Box Assisted Collection Service (41.1 KB)
Calendar for green and black bin collections and bank holiday collection arrangements, inc. for blue box recycling, for December 2009 to November 2010 (225 KB)
| ||||||
Advertisements
Advertising Policy - The inclusion of an advertisement on this site does not imply a recommendation or endorsement by NEDDC.
