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The Repair Cafe in Purley on Thames

Operates monthly on the second Saturday of each month
from 3 – 5pm at the Mad Duck Cafe where
refreshments are available

The importance of recycling correctly

It is important to know that placing incorrect items into a recycling collection can result in the entire batch of items being destroyed rather than recycled. Please check the information below to see exactly where to recycle your items. If in doubt leave it out.

In general, items need to be empty, clean and dry in order to be accepted for recycling.

Where to recycle in Purley on Thames

For residents of Purley on Thames, recycling facilities are available kerbside, at local council-run facilities and also at collection points run by local residents and community groups.

Kerbside recycling collections

For an easy-to-use leaflet that details all of the items that can be collected kerbside please click here.

For more information on kerbside collections and to order additional bins and bags, please visit the recycling section on the West Berkshire Council website.

Council-run recycling facilities

The closest Household Waste Recycling Centre to Purley on Thames is located in Padworth. From 1st February 2022 the paper permit for display in you windscreen has been replaced by a car permit. You can apply for a car permit to use the site, find a full list of the items that are accepted and book a slot for your visit here.

There is also a Mini Recycling Centre at a number of locations in West Berkshire including Cotswold Sports Centre and Theale. Cardboard, plastic bottles, tubs and trays, cans, textiles and small electricals can be taken to these sites.

Click here for more information about Mini Recycling Centres.

Community-run collections point in Purley on Thames

Purley Sustainability Group (PSG) accept hard-to-recycle items at 7 Beech Road, Purley on Thames, RG8 8DR. The collection is open every second Sunday of the month from 8 am until 4 pm. Please place your items in the green wheelie bins at the end of the drive.

Recyling Dates:

Sunday 13th August
Sunday 10th September
Sunday 15th October
Sunday 12th November
Sunday 10th December

This collection is run entirely by volunteers. As sorting the recycling is very time-consuming, please help out by making sure that your items are empty, clean and dry. Please also sort them into the separate schemes listed below. You could use empty bread bags or paper bags to do this.

  • Terracycle schemes – please see below for more details
  • Clean tin foil – please roll into tennis ball size
  • Milk bottle tops – foil and plastic (but not the plastic seal please)
  • Stamps (used or unused)
  • Empty tablet blister packs (these can also be taken to Superdrug in Broad St Reading)
  • Natural corks (e.g. from wine bottles) (plastic corks cannot be recycled)
  • Books
  • Any jewellery and watches (including broken items)
  • Coins and currency (UK or foreign and of any age)
  • Mobile phones, cameras and gadgets (e.g. sat navs, games consoles, games and accessories, iPods, MP3 players, tablet computers)

Examples of items collected by PSG (in addition to Terracycle)

If you are unsure whether an item is suitable for recycling, please email purleysustainability@gmail.com and they will help you out.

Money raised from the collected items is donated to local groups, including Long Lane Primary School, Buscot Ward at the Royal Berkshire Hospital and Purley Sustainability Group projects, including the Repair Café, Community Allotment and Community Orchard.

Plastic recycling via Terracycle®

Terracycle® recycle waste that is not processed by local councils, such as crisp and confectionary packets. Once collected, the waste is shredded, washed, melted and transformed into plastic flakes or pellets that are then turned into products such as outdoor furniture. You can find out more about Terracycle® here.

Each Terracycle scheme is sponsored by a specific manufacturer and the rules over what is and what is not accepted can be complicated and may change from time to time. Please see the tables below for details. Ultimately, it would be great to reduce our dependence on single-use plastic; please contact Purley Sustainability Group (PSG) for help if you would like to reduce the amount of plastic you buy but are unsure where to look for alternatives.

As noted above, please ensure items are clean, dry and try to separate into the categories listed in the table. Packing items into a ‘brick’ as shown below with the confectionery and crisp packets is a great way to pre-sort your Terracycle items – or you could use separate bread bags for each scheme.

Examples of pre-sorted items for Terracycle®

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TERRACYCLE® Food and Drink Packaging Schemes

BREAD
  • All brands of sliced bread loaf bags
BAKED GOODS
  • Outer bags from bagels, brioche or other bakery goods
CHEESE
  • Any brand of flexible plastic cheese wrapping
  • Babybel scheme all wrapping including the wax
CRISPS 
  • Any brand of crisp packet – just shake crumbs out and flatten (please do not fold)
  • Please include outer bag from multi-packs
  • Pringles tubes (flattened, no lids or seals, can also be put in kerbside collection)
KP SNACKS 
  • Any brand of nut, pretzel, popcorn or crisp packet
  • Please include outer bag from multi-packs
CONFECTIONERY 
  • Chocolate and sweet pouches and bags
  • Individual chocolate bar wrappers (plastic)
  • Plastic chocolate block wrappers
  • Chocolate and sweets multipack outer plastic wrapping
FERRERO PRALINES
  • Ferrero Rocher & Ferrero collection gold plastic tray, transparent plastic box, outer plastic wrappers & aluminium wrappers (paper wrapers can go in kerbside paper collection)
BISCUITS AND SNACKS
  • Wrappers from all brands of non-savoury biscuits, crackers and cake
LAVAZZA ECO CAPS
  • Lavazza eco caps, compatible with Nespresso coffee machines
  • All Lavazza eco caps compatible Lavazza A Moda MIO coffee machines
  • No other coffee pods/caps can be recycled
  • Ground coffee or coffee beans bags/pouches all brands

TERRACYCLE® Non-Food and Drink Packaging Schemes

AIR FRESHNERS
  • Plastic air freshener containers, cartridge and caps, including plastic car air fresheners (not electric plug ins)
CLEANINIG
  • Flexible home cleaning wipe packaging
  • Flexible cleaning product refill packaging
  • Tinted rigid plastic tubs for home cleaning
DISHWASING
  • Flexible dishwasher tablet packaging & outer plastic sleeve
  • Flexible plastic dishwashing salt bags
  • Dishwasher cleaner and freshener outer packaging
HANDWASHING
  • Carex, Imperial Leather & Bayley’s of Bond Street hand wash pumps and refill pouches (no plastic bottles, put in kerbside collection)
  • Any brand of hand soap pumps
LAUNDRY
  • Tinted fabric conditioner bottle and lids
  • Flexible laundry washing capsules and pod packaging
GLOVES
  • Marigold durable and disposable gloves, including the plastic packaging
  • Spontex Disposable Gloves Scheme.  Any nitrile, latex, vinyl and polyethylene gloves.
PERSONAL CARE
  • Flexible plastic and metallic plastic tubes used for body creams, ointments or moisturisers
  • Flexible single use face mask packaging and the blue plastic film put on top of the tissue mask (used for personal and beauty care)
  • Personal care & beauty packaging caps, pumps and trigger spray heads (not the bottles)
DENTAL CARE
  • Any brand of plastic toothbrush, toothpaste tube with caps (outer cardboard packing to kerbside)
  • Electric /battery toothbrush (heads only)
  • Dental floss containers and outer packaging
  • No electric toothbrushes please (can be put in small electricals)
MAKE-UP
  • Eye shadow compacts
  • Mascara tubes and wands
  • Lip & cheek highlighter & bronzer sticks
  • Lipsticks, lip glosses & lip balms
  • Flexible plastic packaging used for facial cleansing wipes
WRITING INSTRUMENTS
  • Any brand of pen, highlighter pen, marker pen or correction fluid pot

For any items not detailed above, you can use the Recycle Now website to identify local collection points.

Soft plastics (such as carrier bags, food wrappings, pet food packaging) can be taken to local supermarkets including Tesco, Portman Rd, Coop Tilehurst & Pangbourne, Waitrose, Sainsburys

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