New recycling bins on the Quay

Published: 28 September 2020

Exeter City Council has installed several brand new recycling ‘on-the-go’ bins around Exeter Quay, enabling visitors and walkers to recycle their drinks bottles, cans, clean paper and plastic packaging rather than use the litter bins already in place.

These bins, which will be emptied by the City Council’s Parks and Green Spaces team, will enable residents and visitors to support the city’s recycling efforts while out and about on the Quay. The recycling will be sorted in the City Council’s Materials Reclamation Facility in Marsh Barton.

Councillor David Harvey, Lead Councillor for City Management & Environment, hopes this is just the beginning:

‘If these bins are used well, we’d love to see recycling bins installed elsewhere in the city. Currently, all litter bin waste goes to the Energy from Waste plant in Exeter to generate electricity for the grid, but it’s vital that we capture as much of this waste that can be recycled as possible.’

He added: ‘Burning waste from litter bins and household black bins, while better than sending it to landfill, still means producers have to make new packaging from raw materials, which isn’t environmentally sustainable. It also costs a lot of public money to burn rubbish, whereas recycling actually makes an income for important local services and helps to keep public costs down.’

The smart-looking new bins will be clearly distinguishable from the litter bins in the area and will be installed on both sides of the river on key walking routes and in the busy Piazza Terracina.

‘We would urge people not to use these bins for food, lolly sticks or contaminated packaging, and to make sure their drinks bottles are empty,’ said Cllr Harvey. ‘And, as ever, keep your tops on! They can be recycled along with the bottles.’