December 2023 news

View our news items from December 2023.

Recycling and waste prevention this Christmas

With this being the last edition of our newsletter before Christmas, we would like to take this opportunity to encourage residents to reduce their waste as much as they can this December. Our website has loads of information on how our team are keeping their waste to a minimum this festive season. Why not check it out for some inspiration?

We appreciate that waste cannot always be avoided which is why we would also like to remind everyone to recycle as much as possible. If you have extra household recycling, check with your local district and borough council for more information on their excess recycling policy.

Remember that you can also take your soft plastics such as films, wrappers and carrier bags to your local participating supermarkets as part of their soft plastics recycling scheme.

Christmas bin collections and Recycling Centre opening hours

Due to the bank holidays, some collection days may change over the Christmas period. It is important to check with your local district or borough council for more information on how you may be affected:

If you live in Adur & Worthing or Chichester district, you can download their apps and stay up-to-date on any changes with your bin collections.

Alongside collection changes, the Recycling Centres will be closed on Monday 25 and Tuesday 26 December. They will also be closed on Monday 1 January 2024. In addition, all sites will be closing early on Sunday 24 December at 2.00pm. Find more information on Recycling Centre opening hours.

National Recycling Award: Winners!

We are delighted to announce that, in partnership with UKHarvest and Biffa, we have won a coveted National Recycling Award for our Community Food Hub pilot project.

The six-month pilot began in October 2022 to encourage people to take advantage of surplus food rescue services, which in turn works to reduce the amount of edible food that ends up in people’s household rubbish bins. Due to the success of the pilot, in April this year, the programme was extended until April 2024.

The partnership won the Food Waste Initiative category and was praised by the expert judging panel, who are drawn from across the recycling sector. For more information on the award-winning Community Food Hubs, including dates and locations please visit our website.

Watch our recycling videos

Do you know what happens to your recycling and waste once you have put your bin out?

52% of residents in our recent survey wanted to know what happens to their materials and we're here to help. We've produced some short videos showing the different materials that we collect and what happens to them after that.

From transfer stations to processing sites, you can find out how we work with our partners at Biffa to make sure as much material as possible can be reused or recycled and watch our videos on our website.

Work with us!

We're hiring!

We’re hiring for Events and Initiatives Assistants on casual contracts. You will be responsible for attending events, delivering talks and presentations and supporting a large team of 30+ volunteers to spread the message on recycling and waste prevention within West Sussex. All training is provided.

If you’re passionate about recycling and the environment, and want to make a difference to your local community, check out our website for more information.

Upcoming waste prevention events and team update

Throughout West Sussex, we're proud to be working alongside a team of passionate recycling and waste volunteers and advisers. They attend public and private events to promote waste prevention and are keen to answer questions on the county's recycling provision and waste prevention.

For more information on any of the listed events below, or if you would like our team to attend an event, please email waste.prevention@westsussex.gov.uk.

December and January events

  • Saturday 2 December 2023, Lindfield repair café - United Reform Church, Lindfield (10.00am to 1.00pm)
  • Friday 15 December 2023, Waste prevention stand at Eco Christmas - East Street, Chichester (9.00am to 2.00pm)
  • Saturday 16 December 2023, Waste prevention stand at Family Fun Day Crawley - The Apple Tree Centre, Ifield Avenue, Crawley
  • Saturday 6 January 2024, Lindfield repair café - United Reform Church, Lindfield (10.00am to 1.00pm)
  • Wednesday 10 January 2024, Waste prevention stand at Southwick Community Food Hub - Southwick Community Centre (11.00am to 12 noon)
  • Thursday 11 January 2024, waste prevention stand at Bognor Community Food Hub - Bognor Youth and Community Centre (3.00pm to 4.00pm)
  • Friday 12 January 2024, waste prevention stand at Haywards Heath Community Food Hub - Ashenground Community Centre (9.00am to 11.00am)
  • Saturday 13 January 2024, volunteer recruitment fair - Rustington Methodist Church (10.30am to 1.30pm)
  • Saturday 13 January 2024, volunteers event - The Hawth, Crawley (3.00pm to 7.00pm)
  • Wednesday 17 January 2024, waste prevention stand at Crawley Community Food Hub - Broadfield Community Centre (10.00am to 11.00am)
  • Thursday 18 January 2024, waste prevention stand at Chichester Community Food Hub - Petworth's Sylvia Beaufoy Centre (10.00am to 11.00am)
  • Wednesday 24 January 2024, waste prevention stand at Storrington Community Food Hub - Chanctonbury Leisure Centre (10.00am to 11.00am)
  • Thursday 25 January 2024, waste prevention stand at Worthing Community Food Hub - Sidney Walter Centre (10.00am to 11.00am)

We also attend a number of Community Food Hubs and education sessions in collaboration with UKHarvest. Each district and borough has one hub per month. For more information on the Community Food Hubs, their locations and dates and times please visit our website.

Merry Christmas from West Sussex Recycles

We would like to take this opportunity to thank our residents for reducing their waste and recycling as much as they can this year. Merry Christmas and a happy new year from all of us here at West Sussex Recycles.