Plastic Bottle Banks
Plastic Bottle Banks are avliable for the use of the public these are located in the recycling area of the Co-op Car Park, Wem
Recycle household batteries on recycling day
It will soon be even easier for residents in the Shropshire Council area to recycle their old batteries, when Veolia, the council’s waste contractor, launches a kerbside battery collection service.
From the last week in July 2015, residents can put their household batteries out for collection on their usual recycling day. Batteries should be placed in a clear plastic bag and left where the collection crews can easily see them.
Speaking about the new service, Steve Mitchell, Director for Veolia, said:
“Over 600 million batteries are used each year in the UK and approximately 36,000 tonnes of batteries are sold each year. Battery recycling helps keep toxic metals such as cadmium and lead out of the environment. It also saves new materials being mined.”
Steve Charmley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member responsible
for waste management, said:
“We are delighted to be able to offer this new service to residents, and hope
it will be well received and lead to a significant increase in the numer of batteries that
are recycled rather than thrown in the bin.”
No Cardboard to go in garden waste bins or sacks
Recent changes to national composting regulations mean that any compost produced across the UK must now be of a much higher quality. The new rules mean that compost can no longer contain cardboard because the inks, dyes and coatings on cardboard may contaminate the compost. Compost producers will no longer accept garden waste and cardboard that is mixed together. This means, regrettably, that Shropshire Council will no longer be able to collect cardboard for composting.
To inform householders of this change, a leaflet will be put under the lids of all rubbish bins from the 31 October 2011. A permanent sticker will then be put on garden waste bin lids to act as a reminder to residents not to put cardboard in.
Residents will no longer be able to put cardboard in their garden waste bin (or sack)
from Monday 28 November 2011.
Shropshire ask householders to continue to recycle their cardboard by taking it, if they are able, to their nearest Household Recycling Centre. Otherwise Shropshire Council advise householders to put their cardboard waste in their rubbish bin.
Veolia are also looking for suitable sites around the county to place approximately 20 bring banks for cardboard.
If cardboard is in green waste bins (or sacks) after 28 November Veolia will not be able to empty it. After this date, if cardboard is mixed in, entire loads of garden waste would be rejected at the composting facility and it would then have to be sent to landfill.
Shropshire Council are working with Veolia to find new practical and cost effective ways of collecting cardboard in the future to make sure that they contine to recycle as much of our waste as possible.
Kitchen Caddies and Liners
In a bid to encourage the recycling of food waste, Shropshire Council has recently made available to the public, kitchen caddies and liners to make recycling food waste cleaner and easier.
All types of food waste have been accepted in the garden waste collection service in the former North Shropshire District Council area since the start of the alternate week collection system. However, evidence suggests that few households put food waste in with their garden waste.
The kitchen caddies and liners are specifically designed to enable households to recycle their food waste cleanly, easily and hygienically. The liners have handles that can be tied and are made from corn starch that is fully compostable and biodegradable.
Households in the former North Shropshire District Council area can put their food waste in with their garden waste collection, regardless of whether they have a wheelie bin or sack based service. The food waste can be put in loose, wrapped in a few sheets of newspaper or within the compostable liners.
All types of food waste can be recycled including; cooked and uncooked food, meat and fish, fruit and vegetables, bread, cakes and pastries, rice, pasta and beans, loose tea, tea bags and coffee grounds.
The mixed garden and food waste is collected for enclosed composting where it is treated at high temperature to ensure it is sterile and safe to use in agriculture and horticulture.
A kitchen caddy costs just £3.50 and a roll of compostable liners costs £3.99 for a roll of 52. The caddies and liners are available now from the council’s Customer First Points at;
Ellesmere Library
49 Cheshire Street, Market Drayton
Edinburgh House, Wem
The Heritage Centre, Whitchurch
Councillor Mike Owen, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet Member with responsibility for waste management and recycling, said Households in the UK throw away around 7 million Tonnes of food waste every year and Shropshire Council has been at the forefront of the ‘Love Food Hate Waste’ campaign to reduce this. However there is always some unavoidable food waste and the new kitchen caddies and liners will make it easier and cleaner for households to recycle the unavoidable food waste with their garden waste, helping to make good quality compost.
Metal Matters Recycling Campaign
The Campaign which is sponsored by the metal recycling industry body Alupro and waste form Veolia is being run across the county and is co-ordinated by Shropshire Council. The aim of the campaign is simply to remind people to recycle more metal cans, tins, foil and aerosols. This involved leaflets being delivered across the whole county and also Metal Matters livery added to the sides Shropshire's waste collection vehicles. So just drop your cans, tins and foil in the recycling box - not in the rubbish bin. For more information visit www.recycleforshropshire.com
Metal recycling facts:
- The average family in Shropshire goes through 26 aerosols a year - that's 3.5 million a year across the county
- Apparently the average family goes through 600 cans a year - that's 80,000,000 a year in Shropshire
- Recycling a tonne of steel saves 1.5 tonnes of iron ore and reduces CO2 emissions by 75%
- Recycling a tonne of aluminium saves 4 tonnes of bauxite and reduces CO2 emissions by 95%
- Recycling a single drinks can saves enough energy to power your computer for 3 hours
- The CO2 saved by recycling steel cans in the UK last year is equivalent to taking >200,000 cars off the road
- In as little as six weeks, the empty can you put in your recycling could be remelted, remoulded and refilled and literally back on your local supermarket shelf
- In a whole year, one drink can could be recycled eight timnes, saving enough energy to make 160 new cans
- The UK metal recycling undustry added £5 billion to UK GDP last year