Households Told to ‘Get Blue Bin Savvy or Get Stickered’

If your blue bin repeatedly contains the ‘wrong stuff’, you might now find it slapped with a sticker and unemptied.

Ribble Valley Borough Council collected around 8,000 tonnes of recyclable waste last year in blue and green bins, and white sacks.

But of the 3,000 tonnes collected in blue bins, 25 per cent was ‘contaminated’ by non-recyclable material, such as carrier bags, nappies, plastic toys and textiles.

And if blue bins contain the wrong material the entire wagon load risks being rejected and diverted to landfill, which adversely impacts the environment and costs money that could be better spent on public services.

So from now on if your bin is heavily contaminated it may well not get emptied and could be slapped with a sticker telling you why.

Recycling can be complicated, we know. We are householders, too, which is why we have come up with this handy reminder: Blue Bin = ABC.

If you do nothing else, remember:

1. Aluminium (foil and trays)
2. Bottles (plastic and glass, and glass jars)
3. Cans (food and drinks)

This will ensure that your blue bin contains the right materials and will get emptied.

But if you want to pack your blue bin with plenty of the good stuff, the council has produced a special guide telling you how.

Stuart Hirst, chairman of Ribble Valley Borough Council’s community services committee, said:

“Our householders are increasingly recycling, but there is still a lot more we can do to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill.

 

“We could increase our recycling significantly if everyone just put the right items in the blue bin.

 

“The number of plastic bottles still not being recycled is significant, while at the same time many items are being placed in blue bins that should not be there, such as carrier bags, nappies and broken toys.

 

“If we all do our bit to boost the borough’s recycling rates, we can reduce the cost of landfill, reduce our carbon footprint and protect the planet’s future.

 

“But it is crucial that we put the right items in our blue bins. It’s not rocket science and our simple ABC will get you started.

 

“We don’t want to reject your blue bin, but if you are persistently putting the wrong things in it we will decline to collect it and put a sticker on telling you why.”

A handy interactive recycling guide is available online at What Goes in my Bins?, or you can phone us on 01200 425111 and we will send you a special leaflet outlining all the things you can put in your blue bin.