Waste and Recycling Information
Recycling (red-lidded bin)
After we empty you red-lidded bin we take the material to our local waste transfer station at Lower House Farm, Dordon. Here it is stored for a short time until there is enough quantity to transport it to a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). Your mixed recycling needs to be separated by type at the MRF before it can be re-processed and recycled.
At the MRF the material is sorted using an array of conveyor belts, optical sorters and magnets. There is a useful video on youtube showing a similar MRF in Mansfield. At the end of the sorting process each material is sent onto re-processors for recycling. The end destination of each material can vary depending on market demand.
Your plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays could be turned into more plastic bottles or used in clothing or garden furniture. Your cans could be on sale as another can in just 60 days or used to make bicycles, cars, trains or planes. Your glass bottles and jars could become new bottles and jars, glass wool insulation for homes or aggregate. Your paper and card could be recycled into newspapers, writing paper or toilet roll tubes.
Garden and food waste (green or green-lidded bin)
After collection, your garden and food waste is taken to a waste transfer station in Nuneaton where it is stored for a short time until there is enough quantity to transport it to an In-Vessel Composter (IVC). At the IVC, the material is matured at high temperatures for 4-6 weeks and turned into compost. This compost can then be spread onto farmland. You can see a video about food waste in Warwickshire on the Warwickshire County Council website.
Non-recyclable rubbish (black bin)
After collection, your non-recyclable rubbish is taken to our local waste transfer station at Lower House Farm, Dordon and stored for a short time until there is enough quantity to transport it to an Energy Recovery Facility in Staffordshire. You can see the facility and how it works in this short video on youtube. At this facility the waste is burnt at over 850°C which produces steam. This steam is used to generate electricity for thousands of homes in Staffordshire. The ash leftover at the end of the process is used for aggregate to make roads.