Recycling changes on the way
NEW SYSTEM WILL KEEP PAPER SEPARATE AND STOP WASTE CONTAMINATION
STAFFORDSHIRE residents are set to see changes to the way their waste is recycled from next year.
Most have three bins for their rubbish – blue for recyclables, brown for garden waste and green or grey for general waste. A new bag is coming in for what is being referred to as “dual stream” recycling.
Residents in the boroughs and districts of Cannock Chase, Tamworth, Lichfield, South and East Staffordshire will be impacted.
Residents will separate cardboard and paper waste into their new bag, keeping them separate from other recyclables such as glass, tins and plastic.
It comes as the recycled material market has become more focused on quality, a question and answer page on Cannock Chase Council’s website explained. As a result, greater value can be achieved from separating paper and card from other materials, as contamination is reduced.
Last week members of Cannock Chase Council’s Health and Wellbeing Scrutiny Committee had the opportunity to view bags similar to those being distributed to households across the district next year.
Joss Presland, head of environment and healthy lifestyles, said the bags would have an 80-litre capacity and be weighted at the bottom, so would stay upright when empty.
He said: “This is the way the industry is going. Most local authorities are looking at this now.
“When everything goes in the bin and the refuse vehicle, all the glass gets smashed into the paper so it becomes like sandpaper. When it goes to the paper mills they don’t want it.
“Places like Stafford Borough have seen a real reduction in their contamination now. Feedback hasn’t been too bad on social media.
“There have been some queries about it but other comments saying it has worked really well in Stafford Borough.”
Cllr Josh Newbury said concerns had been raised about how larger families would cope with the bin space available to them.
The meeting heard that larger bins were available for households who needed them and additional bags for paper and cardboard could be requested.
The bag could also be stored within the blue bin if residents had limited space for an extra waste receptacle at home. Stafford Borough Council introduced bags for paper and cardboard waste in 2020. It has also brought in an annual £36 charge for collection of garden waste.
But there are no plans to start charging for garden waste collections in Cannock Chase, according to the council’s website. The changes are coming in from April