South Tyneside Council is celebrating huge achievements in the amount of waste collected across the Borough diverted from landfill.
Over the past year, the amount of waste that is sent to landfill has been reduced from around 66 per cent in 2010 to only three per cent.
This has been achieved by sending more of the material that cannot be recycled to an energy-from-waste treatment facility in Teesside, which opened in April 2014. The facility forms part of the £250m Strategic Waste Partnership between South Tyneside, Gateshead and Sunderland councils.
Of the 77,000 tonnes of total municipal waste collected across South Tyneside, around 67,000 tonnes comes from Borough households, with the remaining waste coming from other sources including commercial services. Around 39 per cent of this household waste is currently recycled, reused or composted.
The main way for South Tyneside residents to recycle more of their waste is by using the Council’s blue bin and caddy collection service, which sees dry recyclable materials such as paper, bottles, cans and plastic packaging collected from people’s doorsteps. The amount of waste recycled using this service has recently increased by a further three per cent.
The Council is encouraging people to keep up the good work by reminding them of the items that can be recycled using the blue bins.
Councillor Tracey Dixon, Lead Member for Area Management and Community Safety at South Tyneside Council, said: “We are delighted that the amount of waste sent to landfill has been reduced so dramatically and that we are seeing more and more recyclables collected from the doorstep across South Tyneside. This is a significant achievement.
“The remaining waste that cannot be recycled is treated at the Teesside facility and converted into energy which is exported to the National Grid. The electricity produced is enough to power more than 30,000 homes in the area.
“The switch to fortnightly bin collections three years ago has also been seen as a key element in driving up recycling rates and helping the Council to move towards its target recycling rate of 50 per cent by 2020.
“We would encourage residents to continue supporting our efforts by taking advantage of the services on offer across South Tyneside, particularly by recycling as much as they can.”
Over the years, the Council has increased the range of materials and items that can be recycled in South Tyneside.
Items that can be recycled using the main compartment of the blue bins include cardboard, glass jars and bottles, tins, drinks cans and food cartons, aerosols, plastic tubs, pots and bottles and tin foil. Paper, newspapers, magazines, telephone directories, envelopes, junk mail, printed paper and catalogues should be kept separate by being placed in the inner black caddy of the blue bin.
Unwanted toasters, kettles and hairdryers plus many other small electrical items can also be recycled in the main compartment of the blue bin. Alternatively, they can be taken to the Electrical Drop Off Point at the Recycling Village at Middlefields Industrial Estate, South Shields, which contributes almost seven per cent to the Borough’s household waste recycling rate.
However, batteries must not be placed in either the blue recycling or grey household bins or as they can pose a fire risk and have serious consequences if the waste is ignited. Batteries can be safely disposed of at the Recycling Village or by taking them to a number of the Borough’s large retailers or supermarkets. Residents are encouraged to use rechargeable batteries as a more sustainable solution.
It is also important that no items are placed inside plastic bags when recycling using the blue bin collection service. Placing plastic bags in the blue bins also make sorting difficult and more time consuming as the bags themselves cannot be recycled at this time.
When using the blue bins for recycling, residents are reminded to:
- Only put paper in the black caddy inside their blue bin;
- Rinse out any food or drinks packaging before squashing them and placing in the main compartment;
- Remove and rinse lids;
- Flatten cardboard, cans, plastic bottles and cartons;
- Put their bin out before 7.30am;
- Not place items in black sacks or carrier bags in their blue bin;
- Not place food or other non-recyclable waste in the blue bin – these materials go in the grey refuse bin.
Most materials that cannot be recycled can be put out for collection in the household grey bins and any excess can be taken to the Recycling Village, which is open every day (except Christmas Day).
Home composting containers can deal with some food wastes and are an ideal way to help reduce the amount of waste in the grey bin. Those residents who have garden waste can dispose of it using their green bins or at the Recycling Village.
For further information about waste and recycling, what items can be recycled and where to put them as well as details about the Recycling Village visit the Council’s website at www.southtyneside.info/wasteandrecycling or call the Council’s Customer Contact Centre (0191) 427 7000.