The drive to get residents to avoid putting recyclable materials into plastic carrier bags before placing them in collection containers began last year after the Masons MRF was upgraded from a “dirty” to a “clean” MRF (see letsrecycle.com story).
” In the last year we have worked to firm up the message that plastic bags cannot be put in the recycling bin “
– Sue Gibbs, Suffolk Recycling Consortium
The Masons MRF processes paper, cardboard and plastic from recycling collections in Babergh, Forest Heath, Mid-Suffolk and Suffolk Coastal district councils as well as Ipswich and St Edmundsbury.
As well as the potential to clog up machinery, the MRF operators Viridor Waste Management said having plastic carrier bags among their collected plastic bottles can make it difficult to export them for recycling abroad.
Viridor spokesman Dan Cooke explained: “All residents now have either boxes or bins for their recyclables, but some have persisted in bagging their recyclable materials as well. We don't particularly want bags in the MRF as it is not good for operations there. We are recycling plastics and because of transfrontier shipment regulations we can't have too many kinds of plastics in the material.”
Europe's transfrontier shipment regulations mean that if materials other than plastic bottles are included within loads, a load is classed as “mixed household waste” and exporters have to meet more stringent controls.
Mr Cooke said since the drive to cut down on plastic bags, the company hadn't suffered problems at the MRF, and noted that the “continued drive that appears to be effective”.
The drive has been led by county waste partnership, the Suffolk Recycling Consortium. Contracts supervising officer for the Consortium Sue Gibbs said the key was communication with residents.
She said: “In the last year we have worked to firm up the message that plastic bags cannot be put in the recycling bin. We produced a leaflet, which in the very near future will have gone out to the entire county, so the message from every district is joined up.”
Rather than presenting the message as a negative ban, Ms Gibbs said authorities in Suffolk were trying to promote alternative options for residents in dealing with plastic bags.
She said: “As our authorities don’t like to say no, we have also given alternative options for residents. We hope residents will stick to the waste hierarchy, by not using plastic bags at all. But if they have to they can reuse them, take them back to the supermarket, or use them to wrap things that go in the residual waste bin.”
“It takes a long time to get the message through to everyone so we will never give up. It is like a dog with a bone, you have to keep reiterating the same message,” Ms Gibbs added.
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