Contaminated bins could go unemptied

10:26am Friday 19th September 2008

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GREEN bins that contain the wrong type of rubbish could be left unemptied as Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council looks to beef up its approach to recycling.

In order to reduce the amount of rubbish that is incorrectly put in household recycling bins, council bosses are considering whether to leave the bins alone until errant residents get the message.

To drive the recycling message home, refuse collectors may be told to leave labels on bins informing people what can and cannot be included.

Currently, 840 tonnes each year, or 7.6 per cent, of the waste collected from the borough's green recycling bins is classified as contaminated and unsuitable to be dealt with at the recycling depot in Alton, where recycling from Basingstoke and Deane is taken to be sorted.

Contaminants include margarine tubs or Tetra Paks, recyclable items that have been placed inside a plastic bag, which could be caught in sorting machinery, or recycling that has become covered in liquid, such as food waste.

Refuse collectors in Basingstoke and Deane already make a visual check of recycling bin contents before collection, to make sure they have not been used for general household waste, and those that contain a few contaminants are still collected.

However, the tougher approach to processing recycling bins, if implemented, could see many households fall foul of collection criteria - although borough officers have said it would be unlikely a bin would not be collected the first time it is contaminated.

Councillor Anne Court, Cabinet member for environment and climate change, said: "We understand that sometimes it can be confusing and we need to look at ways to help residents understand what they can and can't recycle.

"As part of a comprehensive communication and education campaign, the council is currently considering several options for increasing our recycling rate and reducing contamination.

"One scheme used by most other local authorities in Hampshire is to put a notice on recycling bins to advise the owner that it is contaminated and why. Obviously, we need to look at whether this is appropriate for the borough and how it would work.

"This is just one possible option. Any changes to the service we provide would involve the council consulting with residents at an early stage."

Test Valley Borough Council is one authority that already refuses to collect contaminated recycling bins and uses labels to inform residents if they are breaking recycling rules.

Recycling crews still collect bins that contain low levels of contaminants. However, a yellow tag is placed on the bin to inform residents that it contained non-recyclable items and to advise them not to put them in the bin again.

If a bin is seriously contaminated - for example it contains a lot of general household waste - recycling crews do not collect it and a red tag, with information about why the bin has not been collected and what contaminants it contained, is placed on it instead.

Residents then have to remove the offending items so that the bin can be emptied at the next recycling collection, two weeks later.

In Hart, recycling crews are instructed to ensure recycling bins have not been contaminated with non-recyclable waste and are instructed not to collect those that have been.

A notice is left on the bin stating why it has not been emptied and residents are required to remove any offending material and put it in their general waste bin for the following week's collection.