Published: Monday, 24th August 2020
Cannock Chase Council will be placing a new recycling sticker on all of the blue recycling bins in the District over the next few weeks.
The purpose of this recycling campaign is to make it clearer to residents what items can be recycled and put in their blue bin. Only household items identified on the sticker can be put in the blue recycling bin. If blue bins are found to contain any other items they will tagged and not emptied.
Since lockdown on 23 March there has been 60 full and part rejected loads and over 25,439 blue bins tagged and not collected due to contamination.
Common forms of contamination found in blue recycling bins are:
- Nappies
- Food
- Paper towels/kitchen roll
- Tissues
- Clothing & Bedding
- DIY materials including paint
- Rigid plastic and plastic toys
These items are not recyclable at our Materials Recycling Facility and cost more to dispose of. If these items are found in the load contained within the bin lorry then the whole load will be rejected and sent for incineration.
The new sticker lists the common household items that can go in the blue recycling bin:
- Newspapers, writing paper & magazine
- Cardboard
- Plastic bottles, tubs & tubs
- Glass jars & bottles
- Aerosols
Although some other items may be recyclable, like metals and clothing, unfortunately these cannot be placed in the blue bin because the Council’s Materials Recycling Facility does not have the capacity to reprocess them.
If residents are still unsure of what can go in their blue bin they can visit the Council’s website ‘which bin’ page www.cannockchasedc.gov.uk/whichbin.
Councillor Josh Newbury, Portfolio Leader for the Environment, said “The coronavirus outbreak has placed a big strain on the waste and recycling service in Cannock Chase. The levels of waste have increased significantly because more people are at home and this has unfortunately had a knock on effect on the levels of contaminated waste being placed in residents blue recycling bins.
“Our waste partner Biffa have understandably clamped down on contamination in the blue bin since the coronavirus outbreak. All of the dry recycling collected from the blue bins is sorted at our Materials Recycling Facility by hand and contamination with personal waste such as wipes and tissues puts the operatives at risk from infection.
“We, as a Council are committed to improving the quality of the waste that can be recycled but we can only do this with our residents help and support. They have been fantastic through these difficult times and we would not ask them to do more unless it was absolutely necessary, but unfortunately the level of our contaminated waste is not reducing.
“We understand that it is sometimes confusing for our residents to know what can be recycled, but hopefully this new sticker, which has been designed following feedback from our residents, will help. All we ask is for our residents to think twice about everything they throw out and to follow the clear guidance on our new sticker. If it’s on the sticker put it in the blue bin. If it’s not on the sticker leave it out.”
Stickers will start to be placed on bins week commencing 24 August. At the same time our bin wagons driving around the District will display the sticker on the side of the wagon for all to see.