The council has added 10 new recycling collection containers to its better performing bring bank sites around the city as well as Sunderland's civic amenity (CA) site.
 Jim Alprovich, Sunderland head of environmental services, with a pupil from Dubmire Primary School at the carton recycling launch |
The cartons are to be collected once a month to begin with, but this could change depending on how the residents take to the scheme. Once collected, the cartons will be taken for recycling to Smith Anderson's Fettykil Mill reprocessing plant in Fife.
Cartons are more difficult to recycle than other forms of packaging, because they are made from a composite of paper, plastic and aluminium. About 60,000 tonnes of cartons are used in the UK each year.
The Fettykil Mill plant – a joint venture between packaging firm Smith Anderson and the Liquid Food and Carton Manufacturers Association (LFCMA) – is the first and only carton recycling plant in the UK. Opened in November 2003, the plant recycles cartons into heavy-duty paper bags, document wallets and envelopes.
Sunderland's new carton collection scheme is a collaboration between the city council, the LFCMA and SIG Combibloc, a locally-based carton manufacturer and LFCMA member. SIG Combibloc covered the cost of the recycling containers, while Sunderland city council and the LFCMA will be splitting the service costs.
Partnership
Jim Alprovich, assistant head of environmental services for Sunderland council, said that without the aid of the three way partnership Sunderland would not have been able to introduce the carton collection service.
Mr Alprovich believes that there is an opportunity to work with other council's in the area through this scheme. He said: “There has been some element of interest from neighbouring authorities and obviously if other councils were to get involved we would be able to cut down our service costs.”
The council has placed posters in superstores near the new bring banks, as well as circulating flyers and including the scheme on its general recycling feature.
The council are set to introduce a kerbside green waste collection scheme in March of next year to add to the paper, glass and can kerbside collection schemes. Mr Alprovich said: “We currently recycle 10% of our waste but our target for 2005/06 is 18%. We hope that the introduction of our green waste collection will push us over our target.”
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