Recycling waste dumped because of contamination
MORE than ten per cent of recycling collected from bins in Birmingham still ends up as landfill.
A survey revealed rubbish taken from Birmingham City Council recycling bins was still being sent to landfill or incinerated because residents placing wrong items in bins means the whole lot has to be dumped.
Council bins staff checked the rubbish collected from 500 homes over two weeks during the spring and found 10.8 per cent of the paper, bottle, tins and plastic recycling had been contaminated.
The findings have prompted a new publicity initiative to ensure residents are better informed about what materials can and cannot be recycled.
Common problems involve tins and jars in carrier bags – where the bag is not recyclable, or black plastic containers, such as those used for microwave dinners, put in the bin – they too cannot be recycled at present.
Mixing up of paper and card waste, which is collected in a separate pod, also causes problems.
In neighbouring Solihull the rate of contamination of recycling collected during 2014/15 was 561 tonnes, or 0.6 per cent – one of the lowest rates in the country.
At the other end of the scale, councils like Greenwich, Kirklees and Hull have sent 14 per cent to landfill.
A national survey found that the amount of recycling sent to landfill in the UK has risen by 84 per cent in three years to 2015 – mainly a result of the contamination.
Campaigners, including recycling charity WRAP, have claimed the confusion surrounds 300 different recycling and refuse regimes operated by councils and called for systems to be unified.
Some places, like Sandwell, have food recycling bins, while others, including Birmingham and Walsall, do not.
Few council’s use the separate paper and card pods inserted in Birmingham recycling bins.
But the Local Government Association, which represents councils, has warned against having one system.
A spokesman said: “There is no one-size-fits-all solution to waste collection.
“What works in an inner city suburb won’t necessarily work in the countryside.
“The types which would suit a large detached house in the country would be completely unsuitable for a highrise block of flats in inner-city London and vice versa.”