Articles

Scheme to increase recycling rates to be piloted in Gedling borough.

Date Posted: 3:45 PM on Fri, 16 February 2024

Gedling Borough Council has launched a new scheme to help increase recycling rates and reduce the amount of recyclable materials going to the incinerator because of the wrong items being placed in the recycling bins. According to data provided by Nottinghamshire County Council, who is the lead authority on recycling, some areas in the borough have up to 25% of their recycling contaminated and turned away from the recycling centre.

The initiative will start in Mapperley, Lambley and Burton Joyce, due to the level of contaminated recycling waste in these areas. A tag will be placed on bins which have been put out but contain items that cannot be recycled. The label has a QR code and web address that takes the person to form, which they can fill out, advising them to remove the contaminated items and then the bin will be emptied as quickly as possible, rather than them waiting for two weeks for their next collection.

The idea behind the scheme is not to assume that people are purposely contaminating bins, as we know that people want to recycle. They may not be aware that certain items can’t go in the recycling bins such as plastic bags, nappies and pizza boxes.

If a refuse lorry carrying a full load of recycling to the recycling centre is found to have just 5% of contaminated items in the load when inspected, the entire load is rejected and taken to the nearby Eastcroft incinerator, reducing recycling rates and increasing the cost of waste disposal.

Councillor Marje Paling, Portfolio Holder for Environmental Services, said

“The aim of this scheme is to educate residents on what they can and cannot put in their bins and not to penalise them for putting the wrong things in. We have to tackle the issue we have with contaminants such as plastic bags, nappies and pizza boxes, which are causing big problems.

If you do receive a bin tag, all you need to do is fill out the form, read the instructions and take the wrong items out of your bin and we will come back as quickly as possible, rather than make you wait for two weeks. We believe that by doing this we can stop people putting the wrong things in the bin for good which will, ultimately, increase recycling rates across the borough, and that’s a council priority.”