Waste and Recycling in Pagham
Bin collections and household waste
Waste collection in Pagham is managed by Arun District Council, which provides kerbside collection of household rubbish, recycling and garden waste. The collection schedule follows a fortnightly cycle, with general waste and recycling collected on alternate weeks. Garden waste collection is available as an opt-in service, with an annual charge for a brown garden waste bin.
The recycling collection accepts paper, cardboard, glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles, food tins and drink cans. Residents are provided with recycling bins or boxes, and the materials are sorted at a processing facility. The council provides guidance on what can and cannot be recycled, and contamination of recycling bins with non-recyclable materials is discouraged.
Food waste collection is provided as a weekly service in some parts of the Arun district, though availability varies. Where the service operates, residents are given a small kitchen caddy and a larger outdoor bin for food waste, which is collected and processed into compost or biogas.
The nearest household waste recycling centre, for items that cannot go in the kerbside bins, is at Bognor Regis. The site accepts bulky items, electrical appliances, garden waste, wood, metal, textiles, batteries and other materials. Residents may need to book a slot in advance, particularly at busy periods.
Fly-tipping, the illegal dumping of waste on roadsides and in the countryside, is an occasional problem in the lanes around Pagham. The council investigates reported incidents and can prosecute offenders. Residents are encouraged to report fly-tipping through the council's website or telephone line.
The parish council has placed litter bins at key points around the village, including near the harbour access points and the recreation ground. Volunteer litter picks are organised periodically, with residents collecting rubbish from the footpaths, the beach and the harbour shore. These community efforts help to keep the village and the nature reserve clean and presentable.
The attitude towards waste and recycling in Pagham reflects the broader national picture. Most residents participate willingly in the recycling scheme, separating their waste and putting the correct materials in the correct bins. A minority are less diligent, and contamination of recycling bins with non-recyclable materials remains a problem that reduces the effectiveness of the collection system.
Composting is popular among gardeners and allotment holders, who use home compost bins and heaps to convert kitchen and garden waste into soil improver. The parish council encourages home composting as a way to reduce the amount of waste sent for collection and to improve garden soil. Compost bins are available at subsidised prices through the county council's waste reduction programme.
The circular economy concept, which seeks to reduce waste by reusing and recycling materials, is slowly gaining traction in communities like Pagham. Repair cafes, tool libraries and clothes swaps are emerging in towns across the region, and the principles of reducing, reusing and recycling are increasingly embedded in daily life. The allotment holders of Pagham have always practised a form of circular economy, composting waste and returning nutrients to the soil in an annual cycle that predates the terminology.