North Kesteven District Council has started to take a harder line on recycling to deter residents from repeatedly putting out the wrong items for collection. The policy was triggered after lorry loads of recycling were contaminated by dirty or unrecyclable items, including, on one occasion, a dead pheasant.

Under the new policy, green-lidded bins will not be collected if they include items that are not accepted for recycling, but residents will be provided with a label explaining why their recyclables have not been collected.

According to the council, every lorry load of recycling contaminated by dirty or incorrect recycling costs around £1,200 to send to landfill.

North Kesteven Councillor, Geoff Hazelwood, Executive Board Member with responsibility for recycling said: “It’s so important to get it right first time and only place items in the recycling bin that you know can be safely and successfully recycled. If in doubt, leave it out of the green-lidded bin, consult your tag saying what can be recycled and if it’s not on there either put it in the black bin or think of other ways to dispose of it at the tip, via bulky collection, composting or charity shop.”

The ‘harder line’ on contamination has been accompanied by a communications campaign in which residents were exposed to ads reading: ‘Would you try to recycle a dead pheasant?’

Since its implementation last Monday (8 October), the new policy has seen the number of rejected recycling bins steadily decrease. According to figures released by the council, of the 5,000 green-lidded recycling bins collected on a typical day, 72 bins were rejected on Monday 8 October but by Friday 12 October, only 44 bins were rejected.

The council has welcomed the figures and has said that in the last week, the number of calls from residents checking how to recycle correctly has increased, with approximately 80 per cent of calls related to recycling collections.

Mark Taylor, Head of Environment & Public Protection at North Kesteven District Council, said: “We have been working with residents over the last few months to inform them on what can and can’t be recycled in the district. Our residents have already been doing a fantastic job of recycling, and we are pleased that they have been contacting the council and checking their bin labels to ensure they are putting the right items in the green-lidded bins.”

Only the following items will be collected for recycling from green bins:

• Glass bottles and jars – rinsed out and without tops
• Cans, tins and waxed drink cartons – rinsed out
• Clean aluminium foil
• Newspaper, card, magazines, directories and unwanted mail
• Yoghurt pots, ice cream and margarine tubs – washed out
• Plastic bottles, including shampoo and household cleaners – rinsed out
• Empty aerosol cans

All bins will be inspected before being emptied and if deemed contaminated, will not be emptied until the contaminating items (listed in explanatory label) have been removed.

‘Contaminating’ items include:

• Items put in the wrong recycling bin
• Unwashed food containers
• Soiled nappies and clothing
• Pet litter
• Dead animals – this can make the contents of the entire bin, and potentially a whole lorry load, unfit to be recycled
• Sharps and syringes
• Carrier bags and crisp packets
• Electrical items
• Carpets, bedding, curtains, etc
• Polystyrene and wood

Like this? Look out for the next issue of Resource, where we take a look at the top 10 weird and wonderful things people have tried to recycle.