In 2016 DWP removed bring banks for materials including glass, paper, cans and plastic, which are included in the Recycle for Dorset kerbside service operated throughout the county.
Cartons are not presently collected at the kerbside in Dorset, with the council instead advising residents to flatten them and take them to one of 20 carton banks throughout the county. Cartons are widely used to package food and drink, including juices, milk, soup and sauces. They are typically made from plastic, fibre and aluminium foil.
The cartons are then taken to ACE UK’s carton recycling facility in Halifax which uses fibre from the cartons to create a paperboard product (see letsrecycle.com story).
However, DWP has said that some residents are still taking non-carton materials to locations where carton banks are located, and either leaving them on the floor for collection or inside the banks and contaminating the carton material inside.
In particular, this has caused problems when glass has been deposited within the banks, as this has caused contamination within the loads.
DWP has said that if contamination and fly-tipping problems at the sites continue, it will be forced to remove the banks altogether.
HWRCs
A DWP told letsrecycle.com that in the event of the removal of carton banks residents could instead have to take cartons to one of Dorset’s 11 household recycling centres to deposit the material, which would reduce the availability of the service to residents.
Barbara Manuel, district councillor for Parley and a member of the DWP’s Joint Committee said: “We know most of these residents are trying to do the right thing by taking their glass, paper, cardboard, cans and plastics to the car-parks where the remaining bring banks are, but this is now incorrect and completely unnecessary.
“The kerbside Recycle for Dorset service is available to everyone to conveniently recycle these items and we will take extra recycling at the kerbside if placed in a sturdy container. There are also dozens of recycling locations around the counry– including our own household recycling centres – that accept these items. We just ask that you don’t put incorrect items in the wrong banks, or leave them on the floor.”
Reliant
Ray Bryan, district councillor for St Leonards and also a member of the DWP’s Joint Committee, added: “It would be such a shame to lose the carton recycling service in Dorset just because a few well-meaning individuals are unaware they are using the bring banks incorrectly. I think many people falsely believe these items are sorted by hand, when in reality we are completely reliant on residents putting the right things in the right banks.
“We ask that everyone please help us to protect our valuable carton recycling service by upping the number of cartons we collect and preventing wrong items being placed in these banks.”
The DWP is a joint waste partnership between the councils in Dorset Christchurch, Dorset, East Dorset, North Dorset, Purbeck, West Dorset, and Weymouth and Portland, and delivers waste, recycling and cleansing services across the county.
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