When people think of doorstep reuse collections, they think of bags of clothes. Clothing is still the biggest single part of what we collect, but more than half of what residents hand to our drivers, by weight, is something else: toys, games, pots and pans, crockery, ornaments, books, tools and small electricals.
These are items councils find hard to capture. They don't belong in the kerbside recycling, they're awkward to take to a recycling centre without a car, and many are too good to throw away. In practice, a lot of them end up in the residual bin.
Why it matters now
Reuse sits above recycling in the waste hierarchy, yet it is the hardest activity to evidence. Residents give things to friends, sell them online or drop them at a charity shop, and none of it shows up in a council's figures.
A booked doorstep collection is different. Every collection is recorded by postcode, so the tonnage can be reported back to the council it came from.
What Anglo Doorstep Collections offers
Residents book a free collection online and choose a charity to benefit.
We collect clothing, shoes, linen, books, toys, kitchenware, bric-a-brac and small electricals in one visit.
In September, each household we collected from gave an average of 29.9 kg. Three quarters of that was reused and most of the rest was recycled, with only 3% going to energy from waste.
Partner councils receive a monthly Waste Data Flow report showing the tonnage collected from their area, at no cost.
We now carry out around 45,000 collections a month, and around 75 councils link to us from their recycling pages. Since 2021, our collections have raised around £460,000 for UK charities.
Horsham: a council that has made the switch
Horsham District Council is the latest authority to go a step further. Until this autumn, the council ran its own doorstep collection for textiles and small electricals. When the funding behind that service changed, it looked at how to keep a doorstep option for residents without adding cost.
Since 4 September 2026, Horsham has pointed residents to Anglo Doorstep Collections for textiles, working small electricals and other reusable items. Residents book online, and the council continues to collect electricals that no longer work.
Announcing the change, Cllr David Skipp, the council's Cabinet Member, said:
"These latest changes will allow us to continue delivering high-quality recycling collections whilst using public resources more efficiently."
For residents, the range of items collected is now wider, with toys, kitchenware, books, tools and bric-a-brac included. For the council, the service costs nothing to run, and the tonnage from the district is reported back each month.
Better reporting
We are also improving our reports. As well as tonnage, they will show the carbon saved and the charitable and social benefit of what residents in each area have passed on, so officers have something useful to share with members and residents.
ANGLO
A timely message for residents
The weeks before Christmas are when toy boxes and kitchen cupboards get cleared to make room. It's also when good quality toys are most wanted. A short message on your website or social media channels now, pointing residents to a free doorstep collection, can turn a seasonal clear out into reuse tonnage for your authority.
We're happy to supply wording and images that councils can use, and there is no charge for becoming a partner.
Get in touch
If you would like reuse and recycling tonnage reported for your area, or want to talk about how a doorstep reuse service could work for your residents, we would like to hear from you. Email wdf@anglodoorstepcollections.co.uk or visit www.anglodoorstepcollections.co.uk
