Your BLACK refuse bin should be only used for the items that are not able to be placed in the GREY recycling bin or taken to a recycling site within Rutland.

It is worth bearing in mind that every item you place in this black bin will be sent to landfill and contributes to the weight that Rutland County Council is charged for disposing of.

Please try your best to reduce, reuse or recycle your household waste wherever possible, using this bin as a last resort for any items that you have left.

Rutland County Council provides, free of charge, a wheeled bin for each household. The householder is responsible for the safe keeping of the bin. Where a bin cannot be accommodated 2 black sacks per week are collected instead.

All normal household refuse may be placed in the wheeled black bin. Hot ashes, soil, bricks, stone, sand, gravel and concrete are not accepted as they may damage the bin.

Please ensure you do not overfill your bin or push the contents down as this makes it difficult to empty properly. Bins too heavy to manage or containing building materials will not be collected.

Facts about waste disposal

* Each UK household produces over 1 tonne of rubbish annually, amounting to about 31 million tonnes for the UK each year

* Every year, the average dustbin contains enough unrealised energy for 500 baths, 3500 showers or 5,000 hours of television.

* On average every person in the UK throws away their own body weight in rubbish every 7 weeks

* Every 8 months the UK produces enough waste to fill Lake Windermere (the largest lake in England)

* In less than 2 hours the UK produces enough waste to fill the Albert Hall

* The cost of managing the municipal waste produced in England is around £1.6 billion per year