In recent months, East Staffordshire Borough Council has seen an increase in contamination (incorrect items) placed into the blue wheeled bins resulting in more materials being rejected at the Materials Recovery Facility where the contents are sent to for recycling.
The Council receives money for its recycled material which helps pay for the delivery of the service and keep down the level of Council Tax. Significant levels of contamination can lead to entire vehicle loads of around 18 tonnes being rejected by the processing facility which the Council has to then pay for. A single rejected load can cost approximately £3,000 for subsequent disposal.
The majority of residents are familiar with the recycling scheme and place the correct material for recycling into their blue bin. However there does appear to be a minority that continue to contaminate their bins. A new recycling sticker will be rolled out across the borough over the coming weeks and placed on all blue bins to show the items that can be collected for recycling in those blue bins.
Councillor Raymond Faulkner, Deputy Leader for Environment and Housing said:
“It’s a great shame and a waste of resources and money when we have whole lorry loads of materials rejected for recycling because people have put the wrong sorts of things in the bin. We know residents are keen to recycle as much as possible, so please look out for the new blue bin sticker to make sure you are only putting in materials we can accept, otherwise unfortunately your bin may not be emptied.”
ESBC’s waste collection crews are trained to look for contamination and will reject bins that contain incorrect materials. The collection crew will help in identifying the reason for non-collection by leaving a contamination sticker on the recycling bin. If this happens, residents need to remove the contamination so the bin can be emptied on the next scheduled collection day.
Particular items that should not be placed into the blue bin include nappies, food waste, including food residue, clothes and other textiles, bubble wrap and polystyrene. Also black bin liners should not be used in the blue bin, even if they contain recycling materials, as the contents cannot be easily identified. The recycling material should be placed loose in the bin, preferably after washing and squashing the items to help maximise capacity.
If any resident is unsure about which materials can be recycled through the blue bin, they can visit the bins, rubbish and recycling section of our website at www.eaststaffsbc.gov.uk and click on the ‘what goes into what bin’ link for more information.