a day ago
Thousands of recycling items rejected due to contamination
More than 2,500 tonnes of recycling had to be rejected in Gloucestershire over the course of a year because of waste included unwashed materials, greasy pizza boxes and incorrect items left at the kerbside which were removed when they arrived at sorting facilities during 2022/ are calling for better education to make sure residents are cleaning items properly to reduce the expert James Piper said people should "avoid things like grease, so empty pizza boxes".
Rejection rate
Figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) show that during 2022/23 some 5% of recycling collected in Stroud was rejected - which equates to more than 1,000 District Council said it offers clear guidance on what materials can be recycled on its website and Ubico, which picks up waste on its behalf, tags bins to inform residents if they find items that are Tewkesbury the recycling rejection rate was more than 3% percent, with 577 tonnes of material rejected, 628 tonnes failed the grade in Cheltenham, 378 tonnes in the Forest of Dean and eight tonnes in the figures for 2023/24 show rejections have risen in Tewkesbury and fallen in rates for the Forest of Dean and Gloucester remain the same and there is no data available for the Cotswolds.
Mr Piper said there needed to be more education on recycling."A lot of recycling facilities will wash food off items so it doesn't have to be perfect," he said."What we are looking to avoid are things like grease, so empty pizza boxes. Bits of food are OK but stains and grease are difficult," he pizza boxes are excessively greasy they should not be recycled but a little bit of grease would not prevent them from being recycled."There are some contaminants we should absolutely avoid - things like batteries as they cause fires and nappies should never be put in," Mr Piper added."That can affect entire loads of recycling."
Educate parents
Peter Tonge, director of communities at Tewkesbury Borough Council, said: "All our recycling goes into one bin that gets bulked up and shipped to a materials recycling facility."Where we have communal bin stores, like a block of flats, quite often those are the areas of highest contamination for us."I would ask people to please think about what you're putting into your recycling."Mr Tonge said the council was also visiting schools to "catch children when they're young" in the hope they will get into the recycling habit and help educate parents.
