Your recycling questions answered –

STREET SCENE

Welcome to the Community Waste department of Street Scene. We play an important role in providing advice to Breckland’s residents on all waste and recycling matters from waste minimisation to composting, reuse and recycling. In this edition we aim to answer one of your frequently asked questions.

Why can I only put out plastic bottles, what about all the other plastic packaging?

There are numerous types of plastic but not all of these can be recycled. We only allow plastic bottles to be placed in the recycling bin as they are normally made up of three types of plastic and all of these are recyclable.  The materials we can collect and recycle is determined by the companies who recycle plastics and as yet there is no secure market for recycled plastic food trays, yoghurt pots, margarine tubs, ice cream tubs, plant pots, children's toys, polystyrene, coat-hangers or any other plastic product.

To help us do our job better please remove the bottle tops which we cannot recycle. The ease of recycling plastic bottles means that there is a strong market in the UK for them.

I’ve heard Tetra Pak cartons can be recycled but you don’t accept them, why?

That’s true; Tetra Pak packaging is recyclable – with 98% of recycling occurring at paper mills traditionally through a process of hydrapulping (pulping in water). Special filtering equipment is used to filter out the aluminium and polyethylene. In 2003, the UK’s first dedicated carton recycling plant was constructed at the Smith Anderson paper mill in Fife, with significant funding from the carton industry. The plant has the capacity to recycle 20% of the UK’s beverage cartons.

So what are the barriers in promoting Tetra Pak collections?

Firstly, national recycling targets are guided by the EU’s packaging ‘weight-based’ directive which encourages recycling of heavy materials such as glass and newspapers. Hence, recycling of lightweight packaging, like carton, is currently at a disadvantage. The second issue is based on demand and financial benefits as it costs a significant amount of money to transport Tetra Pak bales to Scotland with very little financial return.

We are trying to make it easier for you to recycle your Tetra Paks so there are now collection bins for Tetra Pak packaging at Mile Cross, Thetford, King’s Lynn, Caister and Wells Recycling Centres. These collections bins will be there for a trial period to test whether this will be a viable facility for the future.

Why can’t I put glass into the black bin?

The paper recycling industry will not accept paper that has been collected in a mixed material collection because very small pieces of broken glass can damage the screens they use to clean up the paper and it is very difficult to remove. The best way to recycle glass at present is to use the nearest glass banks.

Street Scene Helpline

Telephone: 01362 656878

Email: streetscene@breckland.gov.uk
Fax: 01362 699096

Write to: Breckland Council, Street Scene, Elizabeth House, Walpole Loke, Dereham, Norfolk. NR19 1EE

See also our website www.breckland.gov.uk