Community

Waste not, want not

The more we can recycle, the better it is for the environment and the less the council has to pay to dispose of our waste. Ben Vanheems discovers why recycling is so important – and just some of its many benefits to society

The way we handle our waste has changed dramatically in just a couple of decades. Not so long ago all of our waste was simply taken away and buried, never to be seen or thought of again. Convenient as it was, this approach hadn’t evolved from the middens of Medieval Times! Given the sheer quantity of waste that’s produced today this could never have remained a viable solution. Sure enough landfill space started to become a premium on our crowded island, with increasing consumerism placing evermore pressure on remaining sites. The traditional ‘dump it and forget’ way of thinking no longer stuck. Something had to be done!

Round and round
The answer, of course, was to recycle more. Peterborough residents are pretty good at it and we now consistently recycle around 43-44% of our waste. This puts us in the top half of the national recycling league tables and bodes well as we work to become the Environment Capital of the UK. There’s no resting on our laurels, however, as the council has set an ambitious target that at least 65% of our domestic and garden waste should be recycled, composted or recovered.

Around 150 tonnes of wrong items are put into the city’s green bins every month

This may seem a lot, but is completely achievable; the best-performing parts of the country have already achieved a 67% recycling and composting rate. The waste that can’t be recycled or composted will continue also provide a resource for the city. The recently opened Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) at Fengate now generates electricity from waste and feeds it into the National Grid (enough to power 15,000 homes). And all that recycling? It’s whisked off to the materials recovery facility (MRF) in Waterbeach where state-of-the-art machinery separates out all the recyclables from our green bins – item by item. It’s a high-tech approach that means the city can continue to make advances towards one day becoming zero waste to landfill.

Keep it clean
In order for the MRF to work efficiently the recycling it sorts needs to be as pure as possible, and that means minimal contamination. Frustratingly, the volume of contaminated recycling appears to be on the increase, as Amy Nebel, Recycling Contracts Officer at Peterborough City Council, explains: ‘The tonnage of collected recycling is up, but sadly the quality isn’t. In fact, our contamination level has been creeping up from around 3% of the contents collected from our green bins to 10%. This means around 150 tonnes of wrong items are put into the city’s green bins every month, some of which could easily be recycled, such as food waste and textiles.’

The MRF is being more selective about the material entering the facility due to stringent quality controls that must be met for the materials that are ultimately recovered and sent to be made into new items. New regulations, such as MRF Quality Protocols, mean more frequent and more rigorous sampling of materials to check on quality. Contamination takes many forms but there are common culprits: disposable nappies, textiles and food.

Wasting food costs the average household £480 a year, rising to £680 for a family with children. That’s around £50 a month!

‘Lately we’re seeing more material contaminated with food – things like pizza boxes that are heavily engrained with oil and food residues. People are recycling with good intentions, but we need to ask residents to consider what they’re putting into their green bins.’ Amy suggests giving plastic pots and tins a quick rinse before popping them into the green bin. ‘Things like pizza boxes are not as easy, but recycle what you can, even if it means ripping off the contaminated bottom so you can at least recycle a clean lid. It just needs everyone to be a little more thoughtful,’ adds Amy.

While paper is very much recyclable, shredded paper cannot be placed into your green bin as it is harder to recover, so any shredded paper is also rejected as a contaminant. Similarly, black plastic, such as black plastic food trays, are currently not recyclable as they cannot be detected by the infrared sorting machinery at the MRF. All black plastic trays must therefore go into your black bin.

If in doubt
If you are unsure about what exactly goes into each bin then check the council website or call the switchboard with any specific queries (details at the end of the article). Many items that can’t be recycled at the kerbside may be taken down to the Household Recycling Centre on Welland Road, Dogsthorpe. Any acceptable recyclable items that are too large to place in your green bin can be left beside your green bin in either clear tied bags or open cardboard boxes if it’s unlikely to rain. ‘The city has made really strong progress over recent years,’ says Amy. ‘The effort now needs to go into making sure that what we’re recycling is fit for purpose. With everyone’s help we can continue to move forward and work towards a cleaner, greener city.’

Peterborough residents consistently recycle 43-44% of their waste

Slim your waste 
Fantastic progress on both recycling and composting rates is being made across Peterborough. But with an expanding population the pressure on resources continues to grow. Here are some simple tips to help you tackle the amount of waste we produce.

● Shop wise: The waste we create starts with our shopping. As well as buying only what we need, we can make wise decisions on packaging, which makes up more than 40% of the waste in our bins, by rejecting extravagantly packaged items.
● Bulk buys: Larger, family-sized products such as toilet and kitchen rolls, washing powder, teabags and pet food etc. can save you money while resulting in less overall packaging.
● Ditch the disposables: Buy more durable or longer-lasting items, including rechargeable batteries, reusable razors and – the big one for black bin waste – reusable nappies. For more advice and help on reusable nappies, contact Go Real (goreal.org.uk).
● Buy recycled: Toilet or kitchen roll, bin bags and stationary – just a few of the items you can buy recycled. Purchasing them creates a demand for more recycled materials.
● Shop the list: Put together a weekly meal plan then make a shopping list, and stick to it! This avoids unnecessary waste and packaging. Never shop on an empty stomach as you’ll be far likelier to impulse buy.
● Fill me up: Many items can be bought as refills, including washing, cleaning and beauty products. This usually brings a financial saving too.
● Donate: Quality used items you no longer want can be donated to your local charity shop.

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