The report explained that the 10% is predominantly cardboard, which is sent to reprocessing plants in other countries, including India, Malaysia, Thailand, Turkey and Vietnam. This means the export rate remains the same was the previous year.
According to the document, this is due to the lack of recycling facilities with enough capacity to deal with the amount of cardboard generated. Similarly, mixed paper is occasionally sent to paper mills in India and Malaysia, it said.
Also exported for recycling are some steel and aluminium cans, part of which ends up in Germany, it added.
The document continued that there has been a “marginal increase” in general waste arisings in 2021/22 to 228,217 tonnes, which represented a 0.5% increase from the previous year.
Recycling
The document also said that the area’s household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) saw a recycling rate of almost 63% during the same period, with a landfill diversion rate of 72.8%.
The report showed that Norfolk’s recycling bins contained 17% of paper, 29% card and cardboard, 24% metals, 24% glass and 11% plastics, with 13% contamination.
The document reasoned that the increase in recycling reflects the work of councils and the partnership through education and enforcement. This includes an extension to services, with additional collections for electricals, batteries or textiles and food waste collections.
The partnership noted that the waste coming into households post-pandemic will have reduced as residents return to their routines. It added that residents will be dealing with similar waste each week, which will help them become familiar with how to correctly recycle familiar items.
The report explained that 2021/22 has seen food waste increase by 15.5% “as food waste services resumed and returned to pre-pandemic levels”. Additionally, “garden waste saw the largest increase to 8%”. It said that garden waste collection is available to all households within the seven waste collection authorities in Norfolk at a charge.
Waste composition
Part of the report was a waste composition analysis, which took samples across a four-week period in October 2021 and again in March 2022. The report pointed out that the analysis found that 79% of cardboard found in general waste could be recycled.
Between 25% – 30% of all plastics found in the general waste could be recycled, it continued. The analysis also showed that in 2021/22, 36% of the contents of general waste across Norfolk was organic waste such as food waste and liquids.
The document also stated that in some areas of Norfolk, 99% of glass found in general waste could be recycled, with 56% of glass in general waste across Norfolk being glass bottles.
The Norfolk Waste Partnership is made up of the eight local authorities in Norfolk working together on waste management services.
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