Veolia, the contractor that sorts and separates all the recyclable material for Lewisham Council stipulate that they want plastic bottles only. Whilst many residents are keen to add yoghurt pots, margarine tubs and plastic food packaging etc, to their recycling collections, Veolia say that there isn’t a market or demand for this kind of material and hence are reluctant to collect it.
Veolia also state that if they were to collect mixed plastics, they would need to shut down their sorting plant so that they can retro-fit additional machinery to capture this kind of material.
The Council however are still keen to press Veolia for a solution to this kind of material so that residents are able to put mixed plastics into their green bins or green boxes. In the meantime however, residents must continue to either try to reduce the amount of mixed plastics they purchase or dispose of this type of plastic using their refuse bin.
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When will Lewisham get food waste recycling?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous - i will set up another conversation strand addressing the food waste issue!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of people just assume that if they put stuff into their green bin it will get recycled. Whilst they might think they're doing the right thing, they are in fact making things worse. When I walk down the street, I see all manner of rubbish sticking out of people's green bins. Not of which is recyclable. It's usually stuff like wood or bits of broken furniture.
ReplyDeleteThe council should start collecting more stuff and making the service easier to use!!
ReplyDelete@ilovecars
ReplyDeleteThe council are already collecting lots of materials that can be recycled. The recycling bins can be used to collect paper, cardboard, glass, cans and plastic bottles. There is also a garden waste collection service which costs £10 for 10 green sacks.
There is also a free collection service for mattresses and the Reuse and Recycle Centre can be used for free to get rid of items of household waste. Why not have a look at their website to see what else can be recycled at www.lewisham.gov.uk/recycling
@compost corner lewisham is suffering from high levels of contamination at the moment. They are starting to put stickers on top of all recycling bins to make it clearer for residents - so that they know what they can and can't recycle! and also "contamination checklists" so that residents who do try to recycle the wrong thing are informed about it
ReplyDeleteWhy does it take 6-8 weeks to deliver a recycling bin? I thought Lewisham was supposed to be encouraging people to recycle?
ReplyDeleteThe stickers are an excellent way of communicating the recycling message to the residents of the borough.
ReplyDeleteOnce the residents have a clear checklist of what can and what can't go into the green bins and green boxes, there shouldn't be any reason for them to continue putting items of food waste and green waste into the bins.
Food and green waste are the chief culprits and main offenders when it comes to causing problems at the material's recovery facility (MRF). This is where all of Lewisham's dry recyclables are taken when they are collected from the homes of residents.