What happens to your recycling and waste
In Essex, your kerbside waste and recycling is collected by your local district, city or borough council. Once collected, Essex County Council is responsible for disposing of the waste.
Essex County Council is also responsible for managing the 21 recycling centres across the county.
Essex County Council is also responsible for managing the 21 recycling centres across the county.
Current performance
Each year around 650,000 tonnes of waste are thrown away by households in Essex, about a tonne for each household, with roughly 50% of waste recycled.
With around 1.5 million residents in Essex and the number of households in Essex set to increase in the next 20 years, the waste produced in Essex is also set to rise. Landfill, gate fee tax and other costs mean that throwing waste away is costing around £155 per tonne.
What happens to the waste and recycling collected at the kerbside or at recycling centres?
Watch this video for an overview of what happens to your waste:
Types of waste
Click on the items below to find out how they are recycled or disposed of, and where they go.
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Cardboard
Find out what happens to cardboardImage
Electrical items
Find out what happens to electrical wasteImage
Food waste
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Garden waste
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General rubbish
Find out what happens to general wasteImage
