Wheelie bins in Normanby are getting tagged – here’s why...
recycling bins on the Guildford Road estate in Normanby could be tagged as part of a new trial.
Improving recycling rates across the borough is a key aim for Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council in its ambition to be greener.
The Council also wants to improve recycling rates due to contaminated bin loads costing the Council hundreds of thousands of pounds a year.
This is because contaminated bins can affect large amounts of good quality recyclable material collected in the bin wagons, making it more expensive to be sorted and a much higher cost for disposing of the contaminated waste.
By tackling the issue, the environment will benefit, and more money could be made available to spend on other Council services.
A trial scheme is to start from Tuesday 31 October, meaning on the Guildford Road estate’s blue bin collection day, the Council’s recycling team will review each bin before the bin wagons arrive and will check for any contamination.
If bins are found with contaminated waste – such as takeaway boxes, nappies and food waste - they will receive a tag and the bin will go uncollected. The recycling team will then visit the property the next day to discuss why. If the resident is not home, a card will be posted advising on what has contaminated their bin so they can remove it and have their bin collected on their next collection.
The trial, where the recycling team engages with and guides residents, will last for three blue bin collections. Bin tagging will then continue on the estate and Guildford Road estate residents have been notified.
Councillor Adam Brook, Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods at the Council, said: “We believe the majority of people do their best when dividing their recycling and household rubbish. But sometimes people get it wrong even when they’re trying to do the right thing; they’ll put one item in the wrong bin not realising this contaminates the whole load. This, which might come as a shock to many, costs the Council an eye-watering amount of money to fix.
“We want to work with people, and this trial isn’t to try and shame anyone, it’s to try and fix a mistake before it gets too far down the process. The more money we save on this means we could spend more on other Council services. We hope residents will work with us so that we never have to tag a bin again.”
A useful reminder on which items which don’t belong in a recycling bin:
• All types of plastic bags (all colours);
• Food waste or any items with grease and food residues;
• Clothes / textiles / bedding;
• Nappies;
• Takeaway boxes;
• Polystyrene;
• Electrical items / batteries.
More information can be found here: What goes in my recycling bin? | Redcar and Cleveland (redcar-cleveland.gov.uk)