Everything you need to know about recycling in West Sussex
There are three main ways that you can recycle in West Sussex, depending on what you want to recycle. Click the icons below to find out more about each method. For specific recycling information, please let us know which town you’re in.
Recycling Centres
Kerbside Recycling Bins
Textiles Recycling Bins
Recycling Centres in West Sussex
Billingshurst
Newbridge Road, Billingshurst, RH14 9HZ
Bognor Regis
Arun Business Park, Shripney Road, Bognor Regis, PO22 9SX
Burgess Hill
Fairbridge Way, Burgess Hill, RH15 8AR
Chichester
Coach Road, Westhampnett, PO18 0NS
Crawley
Metcalf Way, Crawley, RH11 7XN
East Grinstead
High Grove, Imberhorne Lane, East Grinstead, RH19 1TZ
Horsham
Hopoast, Worthing Road, Horsham, RH13 0AR
Littlehampton
Mill Lane, Littlehampton, BN17 7PH
Midhurst
Bepton Road, Midhurst, GU29 9QX
Selsey & The Witterings
Mobile sites that operate on a fortnightly basis. Please click here for more information
Shoreham
Brighton Road, Shoreham, BN43 6RJ
Worthing
Hambridge Trading Estate, Willowbrook Road, Worthing, BN14 8NA
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 West Sussex
There are two types of kerbside recycling bins you can have in West Sussex: a mixed recycling bin and a garden waste recycling bin.
When is my recycling collected?
You can find out when your next recycling collection is through your District Council’s website:
Adur | Arun | Chichester | Horsham | Mid Sussex
What can I put in my recycling bin?
Before we give you the list of items that are accepted, please note that you must make sure all the items in your recycling bin are clean, dry and loose (not in plastic bags).
Here’s the complete list of what you can place in your recycling bin in West Sussex:
- Fruit juice cartons
- Long life milk cartons
- Soup and smoothie cartons
- Other cardboard cartons
- Aluminium foil
- Aluminium foil containers
- 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)
- Bathroom bottles, including roll-on deodorants (squashed down and lids put back on)
- Laundry and detergent bottles and tubs (squashed down and lids put back on)
- Washing-up liquid bottles (squashed down and lids put back on)
- Yoghurt, cream and soup pots
- Ice cream and margarine tubs
Cosmetic pots and tubs - Food and ready meal trays
- Fruit and vegetable punnets
- Plastic container lids (about the size of a coffee jar lid or larger)
Please note that anything not on this list will not be accepted and 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?
What’s accepted in your garden waste bin:
- 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
How can I get a garden waste bin?
You’ll have to put in a request with your District Council.
Textiles Recycling In Sussex
Sometimes, old clothes just can’t be donated or handed down to a family member or friend. In these cases, placing them in textiles bins is a good way to avoid them being put into landfill and help them start a new life as something else.
What happens to the clothes I put in a textiles recycling bin?
Great question and the answer depends on the clothing bin that you put your donation into. The Salvation Army will take your clothes and either sell them in their charity shops (if they’re good enough quality) or sell them overseas for reuse. From there, they are sorted into material type and colour and reverted back to raw material to be reused.
Wool and cotton are cleaned and mixed through and then re-spun into yards of threads that are ready to be used to make new products.
Synthetic fibers like polyester or acrylic are processed into polyester chips (think plastic pellets) which are then melted into new filament fiber for new polyester fabrics.
Your recycled textiles may also be sent to be shredded up to make cleaning cloths and frock rags. Felt materials are used in automotive sound proofing and mattress stuffing.
What can I put in textile bins in West Sussex?
Again, what you can place in textiles bins will depend on which bins you put them in. Generally though, you’ll be able to put all clothes (including denim), shoes and accessories (such as bags) in these bins.
It’s always worth checking the bin itself before you place items in as they will usually tell you what they do and don’t accept.
Where can I find textile bins in West Sussex?
Some of the most common places to look for textile bins in the area are supermarket car parks, council car parks (e.g library car parks) and local schools.
Click here to find The Salvation Army and The Fire Fighters Charity textile recycling bins near you.
You can also recycle textiles at your nearest recycling centre.
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 shop by heading 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.