'Absorbent hygiene products', known as 'AHP', are items used to absorb bodily fluids and wastes, such as nappies, nappy bags and wipes, as well as adult incontinence products.
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We've introduced a free, countywide collections service for your AHP. If you register, we’ll collect this waste from you every week.
After you’ve registered for the service, we will deliver the following to you within 12 weeks:
- a supply of purple single-use sacks for you to fill with your AHP waste,
- a black caddy with purple lid for you to put your filled sacks in for us to collect,
- a set of 'reorder' tags - when you’re about to run out of sacks, please attach one of these tags to the handle of your caddy, and we’ll leave a new supply of sacks on top of, or alongside, your caddy – and
- a letter confirming your collection day, with a reminder about what we will collect as part of this service.
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We know that up to 20% of what residents put in their black bin or pink sacks for non-recyclable waste is AHP waste. We’ve introduced this service to move this waste out of those containers, to create more space for your non-recyclable waste.
We’re also currently considering ways in which we can recycle the AHP we collect from you. We’re collecting this waste separately to your other recycling and non-recyclable waste, so that when we have a contract in place with a recycling facility, we’ll be ready to start recycling your AHP straight away.
Once we’re able to recycle AHP waste, it could be used to produce a variety of new products, which might include fibreboards and acoustic panels for floors and walls, and as an engineering material used in road surfaces.
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You can register for our countywide AHP collections service from Monday 9 September 2024.
Register for the Absorbent Hygiene Products Collection Service
If you choose not to register, or you’re not eligible to register, please continue to put your AHP waste in your non-recyclable waste container.
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We’ll collect:
- nappies, nappy bags and wipes,
- disposable bed pans and liners,
- incontinence pads,
- bed and chair pads,
- colostomy and stoma bags,
- catheter bags and urine bottles, and
- plastic gloves and disposable aprons.
We won’t collect:
- clinical waste, such as dressings or bandages contaminated with blood; needles, syringes and other sharp products,
- sanitary products, such as sanitary liners, tampons and towels,
- any items that can be recycled from home using your other Council-provided containers, and
- any items that can be recycled at your local Household Waste Recycling Centre.
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If you put items in your caddy that shouldn’t be there, we won’t collect its contents. Instead, we’ll:
- give you a flyer that’ll remind you about what you can and can’t put in your caddy, and
- put a sticker or tag on your caddy asking you to sort its contents, so you may put your correctly filled caddy out again on your next collection day.
If you put the wrong items in your caddy on a second occasion, we won’t collect its contents. We’ll:
- give you another flyer and
- put another sticker or tag on your caddy.
If you put the wrong items in your caddy on a third occasion, we won’t collect its contents. We’ll:
cancel your registration from the service.
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The AHP collections service is free for residents living in Denbighshire.
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Once you’ve registered, we’ll send a letter confirming when collections will begin, including your collection day.
We’ll collect AHP waste from your home every week.
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Households with babies or children in nappies and adults who use incontinence products can register for the AHP collections service.
The property address provided when registering to the service must be the main home of the person who produces the waste.
This service is not available to:
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No. The AHP collections service is only available to homes where the residents produce this waste.
Please either:
- ask your grandchildren’s parents or guardians to register for the service and have them take the AHP waste from your home so they may put it in their caddy, or
- put this waste in your non-recyclable waste container.
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No. Businesses must arrange a separate trade waste collection for their AHP waste.
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If 12 weeks have passed since you received confirmation of your registration, please contact us.
If it is less than 12 weeks since you registered, you do not need to contact us. Your registration is still being processed.
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- Put only the correct items in your purple single-use sacks.
- Tie your sacks securely, then put them in your black caddy.
- Close the lid on your caddy.
- Place your caddy at your collection point before 6:30am on your collection day, and
- Collect your caddy from your collection point once we’ve collected its contents.
Do not use any other type of container; use only the Council-provided purple single-use sacks and black caddy.
Do not put out additional AHP alongside your black caddy. This is known as 'side waste'. We do not collect 'side waste' and you may have to pay a fine.
If you have more AHP to put out for us to collect each week than you can fit in your caddy, please contact us so we may discuss your needs.
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If you need a replacement caddy, please contact us and we’ll deliver it to your home.
When ordering your replacement caddy online, you’ll see up-to-date information about how long it’s likely to take us to deliver this to you.
If we’re unable to deliver your caddy in time for your next collection, please put your AHP waste in your black bin or pink sacks for non-recyclable waste. Please don’t use any other type of container to put out your AHP for us to collect.
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When we deliver your black caddy and supply of purple single-use sacks to your home, we'll also deliver to you a set of 'reorder' tags. When you're about to run out of sacks, please attach one of these tags to the handle of your caddy, and we’ll leave a new supply of sacks on top of, or alongside, your caddy.
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If you have more AHP to put out for us to collect each week than you can fit in your caddy, please contact us so we may discuss your needs.
Until we’re able to provide a solution, please put your extra AHP waste in your black bin or pink sacks for non-recyclable waste.
Please don’t use any other type of container to put out your AHP for us to collect and don’t put out additional AHP alongside your black caddy. This is known as ‘side waste’. We do not collect ‘side waste’ and you may have to pay a fine.
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Do not put these items in your caddy for us to collect.
Please wrap these items in a tissue – or in a nappy sack-type bag if you prefer – then put them in your black bin or pink sacks for non-recyclable waste.
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Yes. If you currently receive an ‘assisted collection’, we’ll continue to provide this service for your AHP collections. You don’t need to register again for this service.
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If you’re temporarily or permanently unable to put your AHP – and other recycling and non-recyclable waste – out for us to collect due to you having limited mobility, and there is no one else to help you, you can contact us to apply for an ‘assisted collection’ and we’ll assess your situation.
An ‘assisted collection’ is when our crews collect your recycling and non-recyclable waste from an agreed collection point that’s convenient and easy for you to access.
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If you choose not to register for our AHP collections service, please continue to put your AHP waste in your non-recyclable waste container.
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If you register for our AHP collections service and you’re moving home, please contact us once you know your moving date and new address.
If you’re moving to another home in Denbighshire, we’ll advise whether you need to take your existing black caddy and purple single-use sacks with you to your new home, and whether there will be a change to your collection day.
If you’re moving to another home outside the county, we’ll cancel your registration for this service.
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If you no longer produce AHP waste and therefore no longer need us to collect this waste from your home, please contact us.
Once you've cancelled your registration, please leave your black caddy and any unused purple single-use sacks at your collection point on your next collection day for us to collect.
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Whilst recycling is a great way to reduce our carbon emissions and help prevent climate change, it’s even better for our planet if we reuse the products we buy and minimise our use of single-use items.
To help you do this, we offer a Reusable Nappy Voucher Scheme. This scheme provides vouchers worth £25, which you may use to buy reusable nappies. These items are comfortable, can save you money, are easy to use, and reduce the amount of waste you produce.
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Yes. You’ll need to re-register for the AHP collections service every year.
We'll contact you before the end of your one-year registration asking if you’d like to register for another year.
If you don’t use the service for three collections in a row, we’ll cancel your registration. If you’d like to continue using this service, you’ll have to register again.
If you need to suspend your registration at any time, for any reason - for example, if you’re going on holiday for an extended period – please contact us.
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Initially, the AHP waste we collect will be incinerated, creating a small amount of energy that will go into the National Grid, to power homes and communities across the country. The remaining ash is recycled into building materials, such as cement.
Once we’re able to recycle AHP waste, it could be used to produce a variety of new products, which might include fibreboards and acoustic panels for floors and walls, and as an engineering material used in road surfaces.
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If someone puts their AHP in your caddy without your permission, please contact us.
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Yes. You can register for this service on behalf of another person, such as a family member or friend. When you register, make sure you include the address of the property from which you’d like us to collect the AHP, which must be the main home of your family member or friend that produces the waste.
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If you’re concerned about using the AHP collections service, you can continue to put your AHP waste in your black bin or pink sacks for non-recyclable waste.
If you’ve registered for the AHP collections service and would like to cancel your registration, please contact us.
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