Newtown Road Household Waste Recycling Centre is national 'Top Tip'!

Newtown Road Household Waste Recycling Centre (HWRC) in Newbury has scooped the HWRC of the Year Award from the Local Authority Recycling Advisory Committee (LARAC) beating competing shortlisters Harrow and Hertfordshire Council's to the prestigious title.

The Award recognises local authority-operated waste facilities that demonstrate high rates of waste diversion and recycling, excel in promoting sustainability, safety, and community involvement in waste management and recycling efforts.

Newtown Road is one of two HWRC's operated within West Berkshire in partnership with Veolia.

In 2023/24, the site achieved a recycling rate of 62.7% and received 112,809 visits. In April 2024, we reduced the site's operating hours by two hours daily (Monday-Friday) to improve efficiency as we had a large proportion of appointments not being booked each day, allowing staff to begin separating waste such as metals and mattresses for recycling.

Our Google review score stands at 4.3 out of 5 stars, and a 2021 onsite survey reported a 92% overall satisfaction rate. We're always looking to continuously improve our service and are currently waiting for the results of our 2024 customer survey.

The Awards team at LARAC said,

"West Berkshire Council stood out as the winner of the HWRC award for their forward-thinking approach to recycling and reuse.

"Their introduction of a Community Repaint area, coffee pod, and vape recycling initiatives showcase their innovative efforts to offer more recycling options. Despite seeing fewer visitors, the council successfully managed an increase in materials brought to the site, reflecting their commitment to improving recycling and efficiency.

"Their focus on creating more opportunities for recycling and reuse has made a significant impact, making them a well-deserved winner this year. Congratulations!"

Cllr Stuart Gourley, West Berkshire's Executive Member for Environment and Highways said,

"This is an impressive accolade and very well deserved. We're achieving great results at Newtown Road and the key to that success is the strong partnership between us and Veolia, along with the dedication of our staff who provide excellent customer service.

"Apart from the obvious recycling services, Newtown Road offers so much more behind the scenes and is a strong contributor to the local circular economy. For example, resident's may not know that their 'top tip' is a keen collaborator with Newbury's Community Furniture Project (CFP) which allows them to accept high-quality furniture, bric a brac and bicycles, to be refurbished and sold at discounted rates or provided free of charge to those in need."

Newtown Road also boasts a popular community repaint section where residents can drop off unwanted paint tins. Any usable paint is displayed on-site and available free of charge.

It also offers coffee pod recycling in partnership with Podback and recycling points for vapes, batteries, plastic pots tubs and trays and cartons. 

Some Top Tip (recycling centre) Stats from Newtown Road...

·       In 2023/24, Newtown Road diverted 13.5 tonnes of bicycles and 11.3 tonnes of furniture and bric-a-brac to the Community Furniture Project.

·       During that period, 2,596 litres of paint were reused, benefiting 270 residents and contributing to community projects such as the refurbishment of a disused community centre.

Since February 2024

·       12 tonnes of non-ferrous metals have been sorted at Newtown Road

·        220kg of vapes (a growing and hazardous waste stream) have been collected

·       Our recent initiative to recycle mattresses diverted 10 tonnes from landfill in the first month, with an estimated upcoming annual diversion of 120 tonnes.

More is more (environmental benefits) at Newtown Road...

Since the introduction of our new booking system, we've seen a positive impact on the environment as visits to the site have almost halved because site users are bringing more with them on each visit. For example, in 2019 the average visit saw 45.6 kg of waste per visit rising to 57.2 kg in 2023.