Cardboard to be collected as part of new improved kerbside recycling service
Residents across Shropshire will be able to recycle cardboard at the kerbside from this autumn as part of the roll-out of a new recycling collection service provided by Shropshire Council and their waste contractor Veolia.
The new service is being introduced across the Shropshire Council area in phases from October 2016, starting in the Shrewsbury area. (see further information, below)
Over the next few weeks residents across the county will be receiving a letter which outlines the changes and the timescales in their area.
The main changes under the new service are:
- Residents will be provided with a new blue bag for paper and cardboard.
- Plastics, cans and glass will no longer need to be separated and can be mixed together in recycling boxes.
The collection of cardboard has been made possible by Veolia purchasing a new fleet of collection lorries.
Mal Price, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member with responsibility for waste management, said:
“This is great news for all of us. For a long time people have told us that they want to recycle cardboard at the kerbside, and for a long time we’ve been working hard to make this happen.
“Removal of cardboard from garden waste collections was forced on Shropshire Council and Veolia by a change to national composting standards in November 2011. This meant that composters would no longer accept cardboard collected in the garden waste bin. Since these changes, Shropshire Council and Veolia have been exploring ways to collect cardboard for recycling from the kerbside in the future, and I’m really pleased that we’ll now be able to do so as part of this new service.”
Steve Mitchell, Director for Veolia, said:
“The new system is an easier way to recycle. People will soon receive a letter and more information about the service, and we ask them not to put any cardboard out until the new service starts in their area. Residents in Shropshire already recycle 52% of their household waste, and together with the new system, we hope we can recycle even more.”
In addition to these changes, residents in the former Shrewsbury & Atcham area will soon be able to recycle food waste by mixing it in with their garden waste. They will be receiving a food caddy during April 2016 and their food waste service starts in May.
Residents in the former North Shropshire and South Shropshire districts have been able to recycle food waste with their garden waste for several years. North Shropshire residents already use kitchen caddies, and residents in South Shropshire will be receiving a caddy for the first time later this month.
Residents in the former Bridgnorth and Oswestry districts will receive the new food waste collection service once a new high-tech in-vessel composting facility designed to serve the area is built. It is expected that a planning application will be submitted this year with a view to the facility becoming operational in 2018.
Further information
1. The service is being introduced on an area-by-area basis, based on Shropshire’s former districts. A letter with full details of the service changes will be sent to all households during April and further information will be sent a few weeks before the service is due to start in their area.
The cardboard collection service is being introduced as follows:
- Shrewsbury & Atcham – October 2016
- North Shropshire – November 2016
- South Shropshire – December 2016
- Oswestry – January 2017
- Bridgnorth – February 2017
2. People will be able to put paper and cardboard in their blue bag. Mixing paper and card together in one container is acceptable as these items will be collected together on the new collection vehicle.
3. The vehicles that Veolia will use have split bodies. One side is for the paper and card mix and the other side is for the mixed recycling (cans, plastic and glass). The two sets of recycling get sent on to different facilities so they can be recycled.
4. If people have lots of cardboard, they will be able to cut or tear it into small manageable pieces (the size of the blue bag) and secure it together. The extra cardboard can then be left by the side of their blue bag, secured so that it doesn’t become wind-blown. Cardboard put out for recycling cannot contain any polystyrene, staples, tape or plastic, as this can’t be recycled.
