Bags‘ will boost recycling rates’

EAST Staffordshire Borough Council says its new recycling bags will help boost recycling rates after residents failed to hit targets.

It comes as the council announces its recycling rates have fallen, in line with a trend nationally.

The council, which covers Uttoxeter and surrounding villages, said HGV driver shortages and the Covid pandemic were big factors.

Its recently introduced recycling scheme means that paper and cardboard are to be disposed of in new blue bags.

These are designed to help residents ensure there are no “contaminated” recycling loads that have to be turned away by processing plants.

A council spokesperson said: “The council has seen its recycling rates reduce in line with the national trend.

“The global pandemic and a recent national HGV driver shortage led to brief suspensions to our garden waste collections, which do have an impact on our recycling figures.

“In addition to this, the national lockdowns resulted in a rise in the level of general household waste as people were working from home.

“However, we firmly believe that our residents can make a real difference.

“We regularly promote recycling initiatives through our website and social media – for example, Love Food Hate Waste – and would ask residents to keep an eye out for these.

“We’re also hoping our new recycling scheme will make it easier for residents to understand what we can and cannot accept for recycling, leading to fewer ‘contaminated’ loads of recycling being rejected by the processing plant, and in turn, help to improve our recycling rates.”