Waste & Recycling
In Thame, bins for most residential properties are collected by South Oxfordshire District Council.
On this page:
Report a Missed Bin
If your bin is the only one in the street not to have been collected, you may want to report a missed bin collection. You can report a missed collection by 5pm on the day after your collection day directly by calling Biffa on 03000 610 610 or report a missed bin online. Please only contact them if you put your rubbish out before 7am on your collection day and it hasn’t been emptied by 6pm.
If your bin is one of many in your street not be collected, it may be that the crew have had to return to the depot and will come back later in the day. If your bin still has not been collected by 6pm, please report a missed bin collection.
What can I recycle?
The information below should give you a handy guide to what you can leave in your recycling bin. If you are still unsure whether the waste team will collect a material or not, please contact Biffa on 03000 610 610.
The ‘Oxfordshire Recycles’ Facebook page has lots of handy tips on how to recycle unwanted household items.
Got extra recycling?
Any recycling waste that cannot fit in your recycling bin/bag can be put in a clear recycling sack (available to buy from Thame Information Centre) or cardboard box next to your recycling bin on your collection day. As long as the recycling can be seen (i.e. not placed in a coloured bag), it will be collected along with the rest of your recycling.
Plastic
- Empty carrier bags
- Cleaning product and beauty product bottles
- Drinks bottles (and tops) – When possible, please squash the bottle to make more space in your bin.
- Food and drink cartons (like soup or juice cartons)
- Food trays (including black trays)
- Ice cream tubs
- Large sweet tubs
- Margarine tubs
- Plastic milk cartons and bottles
- Yoghurt pots
Paper and cardboard
- Books (can also be donated to charity shops)
- Catalogues
- Phone directories
- Cereal boxes
- Cardboard and cardboard boxes
- Envelopes (including envelopes with plastic windows)
- Greeting cards (no glitter)
- Junk mail
- Magazines and newspapers
- Shredded paper
- Tissue boxes
- Toilet roll tubes
- Writing paper
Small electrical items
Broken toasters, kettles, irons, hairdryers, drills, radios, small electronic toys, telephones, power tools, straighteners, shavers, clocks and alarms.
Put them in a tied carrier bag (smaller than 60cm x 60cm x 40cm) next to your black bin on your normal collection day. Some retailers and large stores now have an electrical recycling scheme.
Batteries
Batteries can be recycled on your recycling collection day. Just pop them in a clear plastic bag (such as a sandwich bag or food bag) on top of your green recycling bin.
We can collect household batteries, such as 6v batteries, 9v batteries (transistor batteries), D, C AA, AAA and button batteries (watch batteries) as well as mobile phone batteries, laptop batteries and lithium batteries with tape across the terminals.
We no longer take batteries at the Town Hall.
Glass
- bottles – any colour – the lids can go in your green wheelie bin too, but please remove them and chuck them in separately
- jars – any colour
Metal
- Aerosols
- Clean foil
- Food tins and cans including pet food
- Steel and aluminium food and drink cans (please wash and squash them first)
- Metal lids (bottle and jar lids)
Textiles
Worn out clothes, bedsheets, duvet covers, curtains – ripped and stained ones are fine too. No duvets – please give good quality unwanted clothes to charity.
Put them in a tied carrier bag (smaller than 60cm x 60cm x 40cm) next to your green bin on your normal collection day.
Household Recycling Centres
Recycling centres are provided for Oxfordshire residents to bring household waste for disposal and recycling. You cannot bring commercial or trade waste to the recycling centres – read how to responsibly dispose of business and commercial waste. Check site rules and information on charges before you visit.
Oxfordshire County Council provide 7 recycling centres which Oxfordshire residents can use free of charge (charges apply for non-household / DIY items). Sites are open 8am – 5pm every day (8am – 8pm on Thursday between April and September only).
Oakley Wood and Redbridge are closest to Thame.
Buckinghamshire Council provides Bledlow Recycling Centre. Although it is closest tip to Thame, as it is in Buckinghamshire, there is a charge for Oxfordshire residents to use Bledlow starting from £22.34 per visit (prices vary depending on type of waste and size of vehicle). It will be open Fridays-Tuesdays, 9am-4pm (Oct-Mar) and 9am-6pm (Apr-Sep).
Garden Waste Collection
South Oxfordshire District Council provide a garden waste service for items such as grass cuttings, leaves, branches, weeds and hedge clippings. This is a fortnightly collection from a wheeled bin. Garden waste is collected on the same day as your recycling.
A 240 litre garden waste wheeled bin costs £55 per year. The best way to order your bin is online from the SODC Garden Waste Team on the link below. Alternatively, you can order a garden waste collection over the telephone on 01235 422600 or email gardenwaste@southandvale.gov.uk.
Bulky Waste Collection
If you have bulky furniture or appliances that you no longer want, South Oxfordshire District Council will collect them from you and dispose of them for a small charge.
Examples of what SODC will collect:
- furniture (must be dismantled before collection)
- televisions
- washing machines
- mattresses
- fridge and freezers (cleaned and emptied)
It costs a minimum of £49 for a collection service. For this SODC will take up to three items. You can book additional items (up to six) at a cost of £9 per extra item. SODC can only collect items smaller than six feet in length. Check their website on Bulky Waste Collections on what can / can’t be collected, as well as information on alternative ways to dispose of bulky waste.
Donate Unwanted Items to Charity
There are a number of charities that collect reusable furniture, electrical appliances and other household items around Oxfordshire. These include:
Assisted Collection
If you have difficulties putting out your rubbish and recycling for collection due to a disability, illness or infirmity, and there is no one else to put it out, South Oxfordshire District Council may be able to provide an assisted collection.
Please contact SODC on 01235 422406 to arrange for a council officer to visit you and carry out an assessment.
