“More recyclables collected on commingled schemes”

Figures appearing to support the claims were revealed at a seminar in Community Waste's Milton Keynes materials recycling facility (MRF) yesterday (September 6, 2007), where the issue of quality for MRF-sorted material was discussed.

Director Richard Cutts said that local authorities collecting commingled recyclables were picking up an average of nine tonnes each day, while those who were source separating collected five tonnes. The figures were based on a three-man crew.

Mr Cutts defended the quality of material sorted at Community Waste's MRF, saying they had worked hard to keep contamination levels as low as possible and that the rates were varied depending on the company's clients.

He added: “Our aspiration is to reach 0% but that's not realistic and you can't legislate for accidental contamination such as plastic bottles in glass.”

The company's director pointed out that quantity and quality were important for Britain's role as an exporter of waste as a resource. He said China, the Netherlands, Indonesia, India and Sweden were the main importers of UK recyclables. China takes an average 20,000 tonnes while the next highest recipient is the Netherlands, where around 2,500 tonnes is shipped.

WRAP

Tim Miller, who is an adviser for WRAP's (Waste and Resources Action Programme) ROTATE programme, which provides information to local authorities, agreed that quality was vital when it came to exports.

He said: “We need to continue exporting material overseas so it's important they have confidence in our quality” and he added that “a balance has to be struck between automation and manual sorting, as one can't exist without the other”.

WRAP has launched a review into the quality of material at MRFs (see letsrecycle.com story) and Mr Miller echoed the words of WRAP's chief executive Dr Liz Goodwin, as she launched the project, when he “that quality is the lynchpin on which the economic viability of recycling turns”.

Mr Miller welcomed the new generation of MRFs being built across the country, which all have an annual processing capacity of at least 75,000 tonnes and which he said were “maximising the use of sorting technology and were capable of sorting to UK standards”.