Recycling

We would like to say thank you for helping us to achieve a 39% recycling rate for 2008/09.

Unfortunately it does not stop there we have other targets to achieve by 2010 so please continue to recycle as much as possible, we are continually looking at other materials which we can add to the recycling waste stream as well as ways in which we can help in Reducing and Reusing materials.

Keep recycling is the message....

We would like to thank you for your tremendous recycling efforts, which have led to around 14,000 tonnes of waste being recycled.

It is important that you continue to recycle, even in the current economic climate. Anything you do not put in your recycling bin will be incinerated which is costly and the council pays £60 per tonne for waste to be incinerated.

Across England, we recycled around 9.7 million tonnes of glass, paper, plastic bottles and other materials. This is estimated to have saved around 6.5 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent, which is the same as taking 2 million cars off the road for a year.

Please follow the links below for information on:

• Guidelines for using your recycling bin
• What can you recycle in your blue bin?
• A to Z Waste and Recycling
• What happens to the material after it is collected?
• Why can't some materials be recycled?

Guidelines for using your recycling bin

• Please only put the materials listed in the table below in your blue bin.
• Do not put general rubbish in your blue bin. If we find any rubbish in the blue bin, it will not be emptied.
• We cannot accept glass in the blue bin because breakages contaminate the other materials. Please use your glass recycling crate or take glass bottles and jars to your nearest bottle bank for recycling.
• Your blue bin is emptied fortnightly.
• Please do not put items in the blue bin tied up inside a plastic bag. All items must be LOOSE within the blue bin.
• We will take extra recycling that does not fit in your bin.

What can you recycle in your blue bin?

	YES PLEASE	NO THANKS
	Aluminium all aluminium drinks cans empty aerosol cans (new)	aerosols featuring a skull and crossbones or a black cross on an orange backgorund
	Plastic bottles (ONLY) bleach/household cleaners drinks bottles (squash, water, milk) detergent and shampoo bottles	all other types of plastic
	Paper all newspapers, magazines and leaflets birthday cards and telephone directories all junk mail, envelopes and home office paper Yellow Pages	shredded paper wrapping paper
	Steel all steel food cans (including pet food) all steel drink cans Please rinse the cans to remove the worst of any food remaining
	Cardboard cardboard from packaging e.g. cereal packets, frozen food boxes, tissue boxes, toilet rolls corrugated cardboard boxes	milk or juice cartons

One of the most common questions asked is "what plastic can be recycled?" and there is some inconsistency with the information relating to this question.

There are two answers depending on how technical you wish the answer to be.

The non-technical answer is fairly simple you ask yourself two questions:

1 Is it plastic?                -        Yes

2 Is it bottle shape?        -        Yes        Recycle it

2 Is it bottle shape?        -        No        Cannot recycle it

The more technical answer is:

Although the presence of the triangle symbol implies that the plastic item is recyclable, the symbol is actually only intended to identify the plastic resin from which the item was made. Recyclability is ultimately determined by the local governing ordinances concerning what materials are collected for recycling. Although two containers might say #2 on them -- a detergent bottle, and a yogurt tub -- only the bottle is accepted for recycling at the moment. The number "2" on the bottom indicates that both are made from the same type of resin, that is high density polyethylene (HDPE). But plastics are made up of chains of molecules linked together, so even though we know the chain links are made of HDPE, we don't know how long the chains are. For containers with a neck -- that is to say bottles -- they are produced through a blow-mold process, where the melted resin is blown like a balloon into a mold. To make a stretchy balloon resin you need really long chains of plastic. On the other hand, tubs are produced by injecting the melted resin into a mold, so the chains need to be short so as to squish into all parts of the mold. So the yogurt tub is made of short HDPE, and the detergent bottle is made of long HDPE. But that is not indicated on the container, making it confusing!

And short HDPE is harder to make into new products, so there are very few places around the world who take the material to make into new stuff. In Hampshire, it just is not feasible to collect and store these plastic tubs for recycling.

How do I tell the difference well if the container has a neck--that is, the opening is smaller than its base--it is recyclable. This category includes milk bottles, detergent bottles, and drink bottles. If the container is more of a tub, it's not recyclable. This category includes yogurt and margarine tubs

What happens to the material after it is collected?

All of the recyclable material is taken to a recycling facility in Alton. This facility uses machinery and conveyor belts to separate the different materials. For this reason all materials need to be placed into your blue bin or communal recycling bin, loose and not tied up in carrier bags. The material is separated and shipped to recycling facilities across the country for reprocessing into raw material for the production of paper plastics, cardboard, tin and aluminium.

What happens to the recycled paper?

Recovered paper can be made into all sorts of new products to name a few:

• newspapers,
• magazines,
• printing paper,
• cardboard
• and even toilet rolls!

But did you know some of it is also used for loft insulation, paints and even road surfaces?

What happens to the recycled plastic?

Recovered plastic can be made into all sorts of new products to name a few:

• polyethylene bin liners and carrier bags
• plastic bottles
• flooring and window frames
• building insulation board
• video and compact disc cassette cases
• fencing and garden furniture
• water butts, garden sheds and composters
• seed trays
• fleeces
• fibre filling for sleeping bags and duvets
• and a variety of office accessories

What happens to the recycled steel?

The range of possible uses for recycled steel is enormous. That’s because steel can be infinitely recycled, and because it’s such a widely used material.

You’ll find steel in incredibly diverse products.

• Bicycle frames
• Pipes
• Train tracks
• Ship hulls

All the cans you recycle could end up as one of these products!

What happens to the recycled glass?

The uses for recycled glass range from the ordinary to the completely unexpected!

• New bottles and jars
• ‘Processed sand’ – finely ground glass for golf bunkers
• ‘Glassphalt’ for road surfacing – around 14 million bottles were crushed and used to resurface the M6 motorway!

What happens to the recycled aluminium?

• Aluminium cans are recycled and made into new cans – we’re producing more cans than ever, so it makes sense to keep the loop closed. A used can takes only 6-8 weeks to be recycled and appear back on the shelves!
• Aluminium foil on the other hand is recovered differently, and when recycled most of it is used to make cast components for cars – like cylinder heads and engine blocks.

Why can't some materials be recycled?

Shredded paper is too fine to be recovered in the sorting process and clogs up the machinery. Add your shredded paper to your compost bin.

Wrapping paper is often made from several different materials, and also contains glitter and foil. This makes it unsuitable for recycling.

Milk and juice cartons (e.g. Tetra Paks) are a mixture of plastic, paper and foil and this cannot be separated at our recycling facility. Try to avoid buying products in these types of cartons.

Scrap metal - The sorting facility in Alton is only able to deal with aluminium and steel cans. Also, some materials may look like metal but contain other substances and so are unable to be recycled. Scrap metal can be taken to your nearest Household Waste & Recycling Centre.

Plastic carrier bags – Try to reuse your plastic carrier bags. Some supermarkets offer carrier bag recycling facilities and also provide ‘Bags for Life’.

Margarine tubs, cling film and yoghurt pots and other types of plastic such as expanded polystyrene.  There are more than 50 different types of plastic and we only have a market to recycle plastic bottles at this time.

For more information on recycling you can contact us using the details on the right of the screen.