WASUP is Wingham's own environmental Group
We are a very informal Group and everyone is welcome to join us
If you are concerned about your environment and would like to help protect it, please come along
We hold a meeting every second Wednesday at The Anchor Inn

Latest News & Info

PLASTICS AMNESTY

See below for a full list of what is being collected and our latest local recycling guide

Our updated Recycling Guide

ITEMS BEING COLLECTED AT THE AMNESTY:-

- BATTERIES: Household only, not large batteries

- MEDICAL BLISTER PACKS: Empty please
- DIGITAL ITEMS: (Taken by Digital Kent) Such as: Desktop, laptop, all in one PCs, Tablets, phones, monitors (NOT: Printers, TVs, Desk fans, white goods, Fax machines, servers)
- HEALTH & BEAUTY PRODUCTS: Any brand, but only 'hard to recycle' items such as lotion pumps, make up palettes, lipsticks, compacts, travel minis, samples, mascaras.  For more info, see: https://boots.com/shopping/boots-recycling-scheme/recycle-at-boots-accepted-items 
- COFFEE PODS, PLASTIC ONLY: Sent off to Podback. See https://podback.org
- PLANT POTS: Clean and unbroken. These will go to B&Q
- TYPE 2 (HDPE) & TYPE 5 (PP) PLASTIC (see triangle with number in): Such as tubs (Vanish, etc), cleaning product bottles, bottle lids, contact lens cases, yoghurt pots, marmite lids, butter tubs, vanish scoops, calpol syringes, CD cases, LOL doll balls, etc.  These items will go to MULL (https://hub.mull-club.co.uk/) who absolutely love anything PINK or GOLD!
- WRAPPERS, etc: Biscuit wrappers, cheese wrappers, bread bags, Pringles Tubes, Ferrero Rocher (All collected by Plastic Products Reycling at St Peters Church)
- OTHER ITEMS: Marigold gloves, used ink cartridges, jewellery, watches, mobile phones, tablets, cameras, coins, stamps (All collected by Plastic Products Recycling at St Peters Church)
WE CANNOT TAKE THE FOLLOWING:-
White Goods, Tetrapaks/cartons, biros/pens, metal coffee pods, items you can recycle at the kerbside or supermarket (other than those mentioned above)

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The third WASUP Plastics Amnesty took place on

Saturday 21 June 2025 10.00-11.30

in The Anchor Inn garden

• Pick up rubbish each time you go into the village or go for a walk.  There are ample bins across the whole village and two recycling bins in the main High Street;
• Become a Community Caretaker here through Dover District Council to make use of the litter-picking equipment in the Wingham Community Store;
• Use alternatives for plastic straws, cutlery, bottles and cups; It became law on 1 October 2023 that businesses like shops, restaurants &takeaways won't be able to supply, sell or offer certain single-use plastic items to customers. They could face fines and criminal charges if they don't comply. The ban includes cutlery, polystyrene cups and food containers, and balloon sticks. More info here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-bans-and-restrictions-on-polluting-single-use-plastics-come-into-force ;
• Recycle all the plastic you use wherever possible. An easy way to find out what is recyclable is to visit this site: https://www.pledge2recycle.co.uk/kent and to find out what you can recycle at the roadside, visit: Recycling Waste Collection Service
• Rinse, squash and replace the cap of all plastic bottles before putting in your roadside collection bin;
• Scrunch together metal foil to the size of a tennis ball before putting in your roadside collection bin. This is so that small individual pieces, such as milk bottle tops, don’t fall through the holes in the sorting drum and end up in landfill;
• Take your soft plastic such as bread bags, clean wrap & film, toilet roll film, bubble wrap, etc, to your local supermarket for recycling. From January 2022 most supermarkets will also take your crisp packets, metalised snack and chocolate wrappers and you can check RecycleNow’s recycling locator here:  https://www.recyclenow.com/local-recycling to find your nearest facility;
• Cartons & Paper cups can now be recycled at some Kent Household Waste Recycling Centres (Canterbury) through a scheme run by Ace UK (https://www.ace.co.uk/) or enquire at: enquiries@ace-uk.co.uk. This includes: Juice cartons, paper cups, milk cartons, paper coffee cups, other beverage cartons, soup & other food cartons.  Tetrapak & Elopak, etc.  They can also be recycled at Tesco stores:- Tesco Extra, White Cliffs Park, Dover; Tesco Milstrood Road, Whitstable; and Tesco Manston Road, Ramsgate.
• Recycle your technology.  For more information see the Digital Kent site: https://www.digitalkent.uk/news/detail/digital-kent-launches-its-device-recycling-scheme-184 
• VAPES: Any used or discarded units from personal use can be taken to your local Household Waste Recycling Centre. Look for their WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment) container where they can be disposed of for no charge.  Many supermarkets also take these and some vape shops too.
• Make use of other local recycling facilities, i.e. Plastic Products Recycling at St Peters Church, Sandwich Facebook Page ; Coffee pods can be taken to your nearest Household Waste Recycling Centre HERE (or sign up to Podback https://www.podback.org/recycle-checker and take bag to Asda for recycling); Many stores take back products/packaging to recycle now: Boots take toothpaste tubes and many other products that are hard to recycle elsewhere, see: https://www.boots.com/shopping/boots-recycling-scheme/recycle-at-boots-accepted-items , Boots also take empty blister packs and daily çontact lense packaging; Canterbury Superdrug recycle blister packs (see their box near the pharmacy); The Refillery in Canterbury recycle non-branded as well as branded used ink cartridges; Canterbury Ryman recycle used biros, batteries and ink cartridges;
• Use local businesses to stock up by refilling your own containers, i.e. Wingham Country Market offer a range of dried fruit, pulses, rice and oats as refills as well as Faith in Nature shampoos, conditioners and shower gels and Ecover washing up liquid, laundry liquid, fabric conditioner and multi-surface cleaner bottles, and much much more! The Refillable Van visits The Anchor Inn every 3rd Saturday of the month 9.45am to 10.30am and you can take along your own empty containers to refill again;
• Sign up to apps that encourage litter disposal and recycling, such as the Litter Lotto through Dover District Council; or Bower where you get rewarded for recycling, see their website for more info HERE;
• Follow national recycling groups for further hints and tips, such as: RecycleNow!; Recoup; Pledge2Recycle; Clear on Plastics; A Plastic Planet; WRAP.

Other Local Environment Groups

WASUP are now liaising with other local environment groups - please see the flyers below:-

Ash Wildlife Friendly Village 

(click title link for more info)

Products and suppliers WASUP members recommend