Schools recycling services
Find out what waste and recycling collection services are available for your school or college. In addition you can read WRAP's guidance to check how to comply with new Simpler Recycling regulations.
What we can collect
We can provide schools and colleges with weekly collection services for:
- Paper and cardboard recycling
- Mixed container recycling (glass bottles and jars, food tins and drinks cans, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, foil)
- Food waste recycling
- Green waste composting
- General waste (non-hazardous)
We can also provide suitable containers for these waste streams where required.
Before taking out a contract, please ensure you have suitable space for the containers to be located and serviced. Containers must be accessible for collection at a reasonable and safe distance from road access, with a smooth and level route for collection operatives to push them to where collection vehicles can wait. We do not collect from locations deemed as unreasonable or inaccessible. If necessary, an officer will visit to assess whether a storage location is suitable or not.
View our charges for these services. We do not charge schools for paper/card, mixed container or food recycling collection or disposal costs, we only charge for container hire. For refuse and garden waste, we charge schools for container hire and collection but not disposal costs. This means that our charges tend to be lower than those quoted by other service providers.
Paper and cardboard recycling
We can provide wheeled paper and cardboard recycling bins upon request and will empty them every week. View details of available bin sizes and hire charges.
Mixed container recycling
We can provide recycling bins for mixed containers upon request and will empty them every week. View details of available bin sizes and hire charges.
Food waste recycling
We can provide recycling bins for food waste and bio-plastic bin liners upon request and will empty them every week.
We can also supply smaller food waste boxes to help schools keep food waste separate from other waste and carry it to the main food waste recycling bin. View details of available bin sizes and hire charges.
Green waste
We can provide wheeled bins or biodegradable sacks for compostable green waste and will collect them every week. View service details including bin hire charges, collection costs and bio-sack purchase costs (which include the related collection charge).
General waste
We can provide wheeled refuse bins upon request and will empty them every week. View details of available bin sizes, collection and hire charges.
Textile recycling for schools
Request a free TRAID textile recycling bank service for your school. Both large metal recycling banks for external usage and small cardboard containers for indoor usage are available.
TRAID have a free educational toolkit for teachers of KS3 and KS4, aiming to encourage education for sustainability. It uses the topic of clothes as a way of encouraging sustainable practices and challenging the throw-away mindset.
Download TRAID Education toolkit
Request collection
To request schools waste and recycling services, or for further details, email commercialwaste@richmond.gov.uk.
Educational establishments have a legal duty to comply with the waste 'Duty of Care' and observe the 'Waste Hierarchy'.
Charges
Schools and colleges are not charged disposal costs for recycling or refuse. Recycling and refuse collections are both weekly.
| Container | Charge |
| 1 x 240 litre | £21 |
| 1 x 360 litre* | £35 |
| 1 x 770 litre* | £70 |
| 1 x 1100 litre** | £102 |
These charges are not subject to VAT.
*Not available for food or garden waste recycling
**Not available for food waste
Recycling collection is free of charge.
Refuse collection charges include container hire.
These charges are not subject to VAT.
Up to: Recycling and refuse sites
Updated: 01 April 2025
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