Everything you need to know about recycling in East Sussex
There are three main ways that you can recycle in East Sussex. Click the icons below to read more about each method. For specific recycling information for your area, please let us know which town you’re in.
Recycling Centres
Kerbside Recycling Bins
Textiles Recycling Bins
Recycling Centres in East Sussex
Crowborough
Wealden Industrial Estate
Farningham Road
Crowborough
East Sussex
TN6 2JR
Eastbourne
St Philip’s Avenue
Eastbourne
East Sussex
BN22 8NB
Hailsham
off station road
Hailsham
East Sussex
BN27 2BY
Hastings
Freshfields
East Sussex
TN38 8AY
Heathfield
off Burwash Road
Heathfield
East Sussex
TN21 8RA
Lewes
Ham Lane
Lewes
East Sussex
BN7 3PS
Maresfield
Batts Bridge Road
Maresfield
East Sussex
TN22 2HN
Mountfield
London Road
Mountfield
East Sussex
TN32 5LX
Newhaven
New Road
Newhaven
East Sussex
BN9 0EH
Seaford
Cradle Hill Industrial Estate
Seaford
East Sussex
BN25 3JE
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Always remember that the best way to reduce the amount going to landfill is by reducing the amount of things we buy in the first place. Next time you’re about to buy an item, ask yourself these three questions:
1 – Do I really need this?
2 – Once I’m finished with it, can I give it to someone else to re-use it?
3 – Can it easily be recycled?
By making a conscious effort to reduce the amount we’re buying, we can ultimately keep our planet green.
Kerbside recycling in East Sussex
There are two types of kerbside recycling bins you can have in East Sussex: a mixed recycling bin and a garden waste recycling bin. Please remember that both of these bins are collected by your district or borough council, not East Sussex County Council.
When is my recycling collected?
You can find out when your bins are collected by visiting your Borough or District Council’s website:
What can I put in my recycling bin?
Here’s the complete list of what you can place in your recycling bin in East Sussex:
- Pieces of paper (shredded paper must be placed in a clear bag)
- Envelopes
- Books
- Newspaper and magazines
- Junk mail, leaflets and circulars
- Aluminium foil
- Aluminium foil containers
- Food and drink cans
- Coffee jars
- Wine and beer bottles
- Jam jars
- Sauce bottles and jars
- Perfume bottles (and tops if they’re glass or metal)
- Milk and drink bottles (squashed down and lids put back on)
- Plastic containers marked 1 PET, 2 HDPE or 5 PP
- Plastic film and bags (not black ones)
- Plastic packaging (including those that contained toys or batteries)
- Plastic bleach and cleaning bottles
Please note that it’s always best to check with your Borough or District Council to make sure that you place the correct items in the recycling bin. Check your local collection requirements here:
Hastings| Lewes and Eastbourne | Rother | Wealden
If you put items in your recycling bin that are not accepted, it can result in contamination at the processing centre. It can also increase the council’s cost, have an environmental impact and cause damage to recycling equipment at the processing centre.
What can I put in my garden waste bin?
The following items are accepted in garden waste bins across East Sussex:
- Plant prunings
- Grass cuttings
- Twigs and small branches (not any larger that the width of your wrist)
- Old or used compost
- Leaves
- Weeds
- Flowers
What you can’t put in your garden waste bin:
- Pet bedding or pet waste
- Plastic bags and liners
- Household rubbish
- Household recyclables
- Kitchen waste, including peelings and egg shells
- Stones and hardcore
- Soil
- Packaging labelled as compostable
Textiles Recycling In East Sussex
For clothes that are too damaged/ worn to be donated or handed down to family or friends, putting them in a textiles bin is a good option. This will stop the textiles going to landfill and allow them to be turned back into raw materials to be recycled.
It’s worth noting that the items placed in textiles bins are sorted through and, if its a charity’s textiles bin, anything that is salvageable will be placed in their charity shops. So don’t worry too much if you’re not sure if what you’re putting in the bin is worn/ damaged enough.
What can I put in textile bins in East Sussex?
What you can place in textiles bins will be dependant on which bins you put them in. Generally speaking, you’ll be able to put the following in the bins:
- All clothes (including denim)
- Shoes
- Accessories (such as bags)
Usually, the bin itself will have a list of what it accepts on it so make sure you check the bin itself before you place items in.
Where can I find textile bins in East Sussex?
The chances are, once you keep an eye out for the bins, you’ll start spotting them more and more! The most common places to look for textile bins are supermarket car parks, council car parks (e.g library car parks) and local schools.
Remember, you can always recycle textiles at your nearest recycling centre too. Let us know where you are in East Sussex and we can tell you where your nearest recycling centre is.
Can I put pillows, duvets and other bed linen in a textiles bin?
Usually, textiles bins do not accept these types of items; however, the Dunelm in Eastbourne does! Through their Textile Take Back Scheme, you can give them your used duvets, pillows, bed linen, towels, curtains, cushion covers, cushion inners and bedding protection. Dunelm then sort it by what can be recycled and what can be re-used so that nothing goes to waste. Most of the things they collect are rehomed to keep products in use for as long as possible.
Recycled items are combined with other post-consumer sources and repurposed into new items as part of their Conscious Choice Remade Collection. Dunhelm has said that items in that collection are made from at least 40% recycled materials.
Donating your unwanted items
We often think of recycling as a way to send things off to be made into other things, but that doesn’t need to be the case. In fact, by donating items you can stop them going to landfill and give someone else the chance to get use out of something you no longer need.
What’s more, by donating to charity you could be giving your unwanted items to a person or animal that’s really in need. You’ll also be preventing brand new items having to be produced as your old things can be used by someone else, saving them having to buy the item brand new.
Where can you donate your unwanted items
The easiest way to donate items is by dropping them off at a charity shop near you. You can find your nearest charity shops by going to your town page. The charity shop will then sort through your donations and either send them off to be given elsewhere or sell them in the very shop you donated to.
Before you walk into the shop to donate though, make sure that there isn’t a sign outside saying that they’re full or not accepting donations.
Please remember that it’s important to make sure that the items you wish to donate are in a good enough condition to be used again by someone else. If that’s not the case, you’ll have to recycle them elsewhere such as your local recycling site, a textiles bin or through a non-council collector.