The household waste and recycling collection will continue as usual over the long Easter weekend, with collections as normal on Good Friday and Easter Monday.
The bulky waste and free re-use collection service is also still available over this period.
Book your slot online at via the Website.
Book for the landfill and recycling centre
The Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) at Lynnbottom and Afton Marsh will be operating normal hours, but you must book your visit online beforehand.
You can also book your visit via the Website.
Top tips for a waste free Easter
This year if you are choosing to buy Easter treats think sustainably — here are the top items you can recycle at Easter:
1. Easter egg foil and packaging
Use the scrunch test: simply scrunch the foil into a loose ball. If it springs back open when you try to scrunch it, it means it’s laminated and goes in your household waste bin/sack. If it stays scrunched, it’s recyclable so pop in your recycling bin or reusable sack.
Choose Easter eggs that come in less packaging, or at least in recyclable packaging. Plastic goes in your green bin/reusable sack and cardboard in your paper/card insert or blue reusable sack.
2. Gift basket wrapping
We’re lucky on the Island — if you’ve received an Easter gift basket wrapped in plastic cellophane, the clear plastic cellophane can be recycled using the technology at the Forest Park recycling plant (a lot of areas in the UK are unable to recycle cellophane, although they are working on this).
However plastic wrappers (the sort with coloured plastic and foil attached) are unable to be recycled so goes in your black bin/ black sack. This is because we are currently unable to separate the foil from the coloured plastic during the recycling process.
3. Easter cards
When buying, choose those without glitter or foil on them as these can be recycled in your paper/card insert or blue reusable sack. And don’t forget the envelopes too! Any cards with glitter and foil on them, pop in your general waste collection.
4. Easter Food
Try not to over-estimate the amount of food you’ll need over the Easter break. Love Food Hate Waste has ideas for some delicious Easter leftovers inspiration. But what about the food waste you can’t eat, such as egg shells or the base of a lettuce? These can go in your food waste caddy.
If you don’t have an indoor/outdoor food caddy, you can order one at www.iow.gov.uk/waste or contact the waste team at (01983) 823777.
5. Hot cross bun packaging
Hot cross buns usually come in plastic wrapping with a cardboard inner to hold the buns. You can recycle the plastic wrapping in your green recycling bin or reusable sack. The cardboard can go in your paper/card recycling insert or your blue reusable sack.
But please remember to remove as much of the food residue as you can (hot cross buns are notoriously sticky), as this can cause contamination to your other recycling.
6. Flowers
Finally, be sustainable and consider a potted plant to decorate your Easter table. Otherwise cut flowers can be composted or they can go in your garden waste bin, if you’ve signed up to this year’s subscription.
The same goes for branches; if you’ve made an Easter tree table centrepiece, just remember to remove any egg decorations beforehand and be even more sustainable and save them for next year!
Happy Easter from the waste and recycling service.
News shared by Isle of Wight council press office, in their own words. Ed
Image: sebastian staines under CC BY 2.0
