West Sussex County Council has announced that the majority of its recycling centres can now accept hard plastic items, after a successful trial.

hard plastics

Since the recycling trial started in February, hard plastic items such as garden furniture, coat hangers, and plastic piping have been accepted at some sites. Around 70 tonnes have been collected each month.

It has been reported by the council that some items are separated for re-use, while the remainder are broken down to pellet form to make new plastic components.

Positive feedback from residents in the area has led to an extension of the scheme to all Recycling Centres in West Sussex, except Midhurst as the size of the site is not suitable for the collection of hard plastics.

To accommodate the extra bin some site layouts have changed, the council says. As a result, staff at the centres will be able to direct residents to the new collection bins to deposit their hard plastic items.
An extension to the trial could see less reusable material treated as waste, as well as broken or unusable items getting ‘a new lease of life’ through recycling.

Hard plastic items will not be collected in the household kerbside collections but plastic bottles and food packaging items like pots and tubs will continue to be collected. West Sussex County Council advises that these items be left as usual, but asks ‘please make sure they are clean, dry and loose’.

Deborah Urquhart, Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change, said: “We are very pleased to be able to extend this service to more Recycling Centres as the trial scheme proved very popular.
“We are always looking at ways to help residents reduce their waste, and with this new addition we are helping residents to recycle more.”