Your guide to recycling in Lewisham

Living in Lewisham, south east London, can provide you with many amenities, from street markets to excellent transport links. Many residents adore living in this vibrant borough. Lewisham Council is dedicated to making the streets a pleasant and environmentally friendly place to live, and part of this venture is recycling… If you’re in need of a guide on the rules about recycling in Lewisham, this is all the information you need.

Lewisham’s dedication to a green environment

As an attempt to increase the borough’s dedication to a green environment, the council has set up ‘Cleaner Lewisham’. Through this programme, residents can join a litter pick and report fly tipping and abandoned vehicles. This helps the effort to keep the streets clear of harmful waste.

Black wheelie bins – unrecyclable rubbish

If you live in a house or a flat converted house, you will be given a 180L black wheelie bin. This is for every item of household waste that is not recyclable.

This bin is collected every other week from the edge of your property.

Green wheelie bins – recyclable items

Houses and converted flats in Lewisham are given a 240L green wheelie bin for all waste recycling. The great thing is that you don’t have to separate your waste, for example the paper from the glass. You can put all items in one bin, giving you no excuse not to do it! Recycle items such as cereal boxes, plastic bottles, food containers, letters and magazines and more. These bins are collected weekly. After collection with Lewisham’s recycling services, every step will be taken to ensure that the items are turned into something else.

Silver bins – food waste

For your food waste, you will be given a 23L silver bin that you can use to store your food waste. For your kitchen, you will be given a 5L silver caddy. All food waste will go in these bins, including bones, tea bags, and more. This will also be collected weekly, ensuring that you aren’t left with a build up of unwanted food waste in your home. Once your food waste is collected, it goes to anaerobic digestion which turns it into energy for local homes, and fertiliser for agriculture.

Recycling in flats

Above a shop

If you live in a flat above a shop, you will be provided with orange sacks to dispose of your unrecyclable rubbish. For your recyclable waste, you will have transparent sacks. You must rinse containers and flatten cardboard boxes.

Block of flats

In a block of flats, there will be a communal bin area where you can dispose of your waste. Unrecyclable items will be put in a large blue rubbish bin, whereas your recyclable glass, plastic, and paper will be placed in a green recycling bin.

What are the details of my collection?

You might be wondering about the details of your waste collection service. Throughout Lewisham, your recyclable items and food waste are collected weekly, whereas non-recyclable waste will be collected bi-weekly. You can find out your collection day on the Lewisham Council website. Your bins must be on the edge of your property, on or by your pavement, by 6am on collection day.

Lewisham’s reuse and recycling centre

If you have items that aren’t suitable for your everyday recycling bins, you’ll have to take a trip to the reuse and recycling centre. Lewisham’s local reuse and recycling centre is based on Landmann Way, SE14 5RS. Its opening hours are Sunday – Friday, 8am – 4pm with the last entry at 3pm. On Saturdays, it is open 8am – 12pm with the last entry at 11:30am.

You can take these items…

Mirrors, cartons, furniture, scrap metal, electrical items, small electricals, wood, MDF, and more.

You can’t take these items…

Pallets, car tyres, rubble, DIY waste, and more.

What do I do with my bulky waste?

For your bulky waste, you could get it collected professionally in Lewisham. Oftentimes, these items (such as sofas, mattresses, and fridges) are too large to fit in your vehicle and too heavy to carry! Professional collection will get these items out of your home seamlessly.

What do I do with my garden waste?

Depending on the extent of your green thumb, you could find yourself needing regular garden waste collection. If this sounds like you, Lewisham Council offers a weekly garden waste collection at £80 per year. In this instance, you can buy a 220L composting bin to store your waste in for £10. If you’re not quite as keen on gardening as this but you find yourself having a garden clear out, there are independent garden waste collection services, provided by Junk Taxi.

If you’re looking for waste clearance services, or if you’re clearing out your garage, come to us at Junk Taxi. Our Lewisham services can provide you with an easy way to dispose of your unwanted items and we have a waste carrier licence so we can help businesses too. Just give us a call on 020 3092 2961 or email info@junktaxi.co.uk.