News Improving the quality of recycling
Maidstone residents are recycling and composting over 51% of their household waste which is fantastic news. Maidstone Borough Council is working to improve the quality of the recycling by increasing awareness of contamination and avoiding it in the recycling bin.
Put simply, contamination is the wrong stuff in the recycling bins.
Over the past few months there has been an increase in the amount of carrier bags and plastic sacks, food, nappies and textiles. None of these items can be recycled via the green bin recycling service.
From the end of May for two weeks, Maidstone Borough Council will place a sticker onto every residents’ recycling box or bin. This will show pictures of the four main contaminants to help stop the wrong items being put in the recycling bin.
Derek Mortimer, Chair for Communities, Housing and Environment said:
“We really appreciate the recycling that residents in Maidstone are already doing. Thanks to their efforts the rate has increased yearly, bucking the national trend recycling 51.22% per year.
However, we do still get instances where the wrong item is put in the wrong bin, particularly with things like black sacks, nappies, food and textiles.
Unfortunately, this increases the cost of sorting the recyclable materials. I’m sure we all want to do our bit to protect this precious planet we live on. Making sure that your recycling bin is only used for the correct recyclable materials is one way of ensuring that Maidstone is as green as it can be.”
Reducing the amount of contamination in the bins will increase the quality of the recycling collected. Less contamination in the recycling means that the materials can be made into higher quality products, reducing the processing and environmental cost of the service.
Most things can be recycled, items that can be put into the recycle bin or box include: Glass bottles and jars, plastic meat trays, plastic fruit and vegetable punnets, food and drink cartons, newspaper and magazines, leaflets, envelopes and junk mail, phone books and yellow pages, cardboard packaging, flattened cardboard, plastic bottles and containers, yogurt pots and plastic tubs, food and drinks cans and tins, sweet and biscuit tins, metal bottle tops and jar lids, kitchen foil, foil food trays and empty aerosol cans.
Recycling - The short cut guide to getting it right:
| Recycle your food waste separately | Every week using the black and orange food caddy |
|---|---|
| Stick to the paper/card and dry materials list | If unsure just ask |
| Make sure your containers are empty | Give them a quick rinse/wipe out |
| Keep all materials loose in your recycling bin | No plastic bags at all please |
| Don’t put nappies in the recycle bin | Place all nappies in the refuse bin |
| Don’t put textiles in the recycle bin | Place all textiles in a carrier bag beside your recycling bin |
For more information and FAQ's please go here.