Veolia Environmental Services provides residents of Croydon with a fortnightly recycling service, collecting a wide range of materials from both households and estates.

The latest figures from DEFRA show that Croydon is recycling just over 20% of its waste, just under the London average. Our promise is to continue working closely with residents and Croydon Council so this figure can be improved.

All households and small blocks of flats have access to the green box collection scheme; however, 50,000 households in some areas across the borough have now been issued with a blue box as well, to incorporate the introduction of plastic bottles and cardboard recycling. The blue boxes are collected on the same day as green boxes. The aim is to roll this service out borough-wide within the next couple of years.

Green Boxes Only
For households and small blocks of flats that only have a green box, the following items can be placed inside for collection:

• Paper
  - Newspapers and magazines
  - Junk mail and leaflets
  - White paper telephone directories and catalogues
  - Letters, white envelopes

• Mixed Glass
  - Glass bottles and jars only (all colours) – please rinse first

• Food and Drink Cans/Tins

• Mixed Textiles and Clothes
  - Clothes and linens and pairs of shoes – all dry and clean

Blue and Green Boxes
Residents who now have both a blue and green box should place the following items only into each container:

Blue Box

• Paper and Card
  - Newspapers and magazines
  - Paper of all sizes and colours
  - All envelopes
  - Wrapping paper (no foil)
  - Phonebooks and directories – including Yellow Pages
  - Card and cardboard
  - Birthday and Christmas Cards

• Textiles and Shoes
  - Clothes and Linens
  - Shoes (tied in pairs)

All dry and clean

Green Box

• Mixed Glass
  - All glass bottles and jars – please rinse first

• Tins and Cans
  - All food and drink cans – please rinse first
  - Aerosol cans – empty and without lids

• Plastic Bottles
  - No other plastics – please remove lids, rinse and squash

Estates Recycling
Many estates have recycling containers on-site, usually next to or near the general waste bins.  For those estates without recycling facilities, there are neighbourhood recycling sites close by.

Estates recycling sites normally comprise three clearly labelled bins for the following items:

• Mixed paper and card including Yellow Pages
• Cans and tins (please rinse)
• Glass bottles and jars (please rinse) - please do not put any broken glass in the recycling bin

All recyclable materials placed in any of the household or estates bins and boxes get sent to our Materials Recovery Facility in Rainham, Essex before onward processing.

However, any materials placed inside these containers that are not included in the lists above will contaminate the load, meaning that it will not be able to be recycled and instead have to go to landfill.

Please contact Croydon Council on 020 8726 6200 to find out what day your recycling collection is made.

Garden Waste
We also operate a green garden waste collection service for certain parts of the borough between April and November. Residents in the areas the service covers receive two clear reusable plastic sacks, returned to residents after use, which can take the following items to be turned into compost:

• Grass cuttings
• Dead plants and weeds
• Hedge trimmings
• Leaves
• Branches up to 0.3m (1 foot) in diameter and less than 2 metres (6ft 6 inches) in length.