CouncilHow to recycle in Tower Hamlets
The council provides a weekly collection of commingled recyclables – paper, card, glass, cans, aerosols, plastic bottles and Tetra Pak cartons. There is no need to separate the different materials and you will be provided with purple recycling bins or pink sacks. Most properties have now been set up with a collection and we are working hard to extend the service to all remaining properties this year. If you don’t yet have recycling please contact us on 020 7364 5004 and this will help speed up the introduction of recycling to your household.
For full details of all our recycling services please see our colourful new guide to Recycling and Waste Prevention in Tower Hamlets. Please click on your preferred language version:
A pack of 26 pink recycling sacks is delivered twice a year to all properties that have a doorstep or kerbside recycling collection. If you run out in between deliveries and need extra sacks you can collect a pack from any Idea Store, One-Stop Shop or Local Housing Office. Alternatively you can request an extra pack from us by calling: 020 7364 5004 or emailing: generalenquiries@towerhamlets.gov.uk.
Recycling - the facts
Did you know that more than 60% of what you throw into your bin can be recycled?
Recycling our rubbish is an effective and environmentally sensitive way of dealing with the thousands of tonnes of rubbish produced in the borough each month.
Tens of thousands of tonnes of rubbish are thrown away in Tower Hamlets each year – enough to fill more than 600 double-decker buses.
All the rubbish that we don’t recycle is transported by river to a landfill site in Essex. All the landfill sites in southern England will be full in less than 10 years.
That's why we have to all start recycling now. As well as collections from your home there are also over 50 local recycling points across the Borough collecting the same commingled mix. Many also have containers for clothing, shoes and textiles. The supermarket sites have containers for books, cassettes, videos, CDs and DVDs. Click on the link here to find out where your nearest recycling centres are.
What happens to your recyclables?
The rubbish that you separate out for recycling is a valuable resource and after sorting gets recycled into a wide range of different products:
Glass bottles and jars – crushed at reprocessing facilities in London to produce a recycled sand product used for laying block paving or as a sub-base for new roads
Paper & cardboard – recycled at mills in Kent, Europe or SE Asia into packaging products
Steel cans – recycled in Wales into a range of steel goods, e.g. girders, vehicles or fridges
Aluminium cans – recycled at Europe’s only dedicated aluminium can reprocessing plant at Warrington. Mainly recycled into new cans
Plastics – recycled in Rainham, Europe or SE Asia into a wide range of plastic goods
Clothes, shoes and textiles – wearable items are sold abroad, mainly in Eastern Europe and Africa. Other textiles are recycled into numerous products including wiper rags and filling for car dashboards and furniture.
Recycling service standards
Visit: Service standards
Along with local recycling points Tower Hamlets has a Reuse and Recycling Centre where you can dispose of bulky household waste and recyclables. The site has containers to separate out a very wide range of materials for recycling and reuse. This centre is located at Northumberland Wharf, Yabsley Street and is open 7 days a week. Click on the link for more information:
Northumberland Wharf Reuse and Recycling Centre
