Residents are being asked to sort their rubbish carefully during national Recycle Week.

The latest campaign by Recycle Now encourages householders to ‘get real’ about recycling and recycle more of the right materials more often.

Councillor Lidia Arciszewska, West Oxfordshire District Council cabinet member for environment, said: "West Oxfordshire’s residents are some of the best recyclers in the country with around 58 per cent of what is collected from homes going on to be recycled or composted. 

“However, while collecting recyclables all together in a wheeled bin makes using the service easier for householders, this does mean that crews are unable to check everything which is being presented.

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"It’s only once the materials end up at the Materials Recovery Facility where the items will eventually get sorted out, that we can gauge the quality of what has been collected."

Some of the most problematic items found in the council’s recycling bins are plastic sacks and carrier bags, plastic film, food and textiles.

Recycling must be put loose into the wheeled bin as the separation process uses magnets, currents, and optical sorting which is disrupted if the items are in bags.

Stretchy plastics, such as bags and plastic film, catch in the mechanisms of the equipment at the MRF and hold up or halt the process. 

In order to be reused or reworn, textiles must be clean. Unwanted clothing and paired shoes should be bagged, with handles tied, and left beside the recycling bin on collection day.

More information is available at https://www.westoxon.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling/what-to-put-in-your-bin/

Waste Wizard online tool explains how to recycle hundreds of unwanted items including those not collected by the council: www.westoxon.gov.uk/wastewizard.  

 

 

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