Residents urged to think carefully about the materials they recycle
Published: 8 November 2022
Exeter’s Lead Councillor for Recycling has praised the work of staff at the city’s Materials Reclamation Facility (MRF) and urged residents to think carefully about what they recycle.
Putting things like soiled nappies, pet bedding, drink bottles containing liquid and wet cardboard contaminates recycling and increases the amount that has to be thrown away.
It also makes life more difficult for the dedicated team at the MRF, in Marsh Barton, who sort through much of the recycling by hand.
Cllr Williams joined the workers on a shift at the facility to see the process for herself. She said it is a tough job and praised the Council’s dedicated team who do a fantastic job in difficult conditions.
Cllr Williams said: “There’s lots that people can do to make sure that everything that goes into the recycling bin is actually recycled. For example, if a plastic drinks bottle still contains drink it can’t be recycled and has to go into the waste to energy plant. That’s a bit of plastic that we have lost.
“Contaminated material includes things like plastic food containers which still contain some of the food – we can’t recycle that. Magazines still enclosed in a plastic mailing sleeve also cannot be recycled.
"So there are quite a lot of things people can do to improve their own recycling rate by what they put into the recycling bin.
“We need to improve the quality of our recycling so that we don’t lose the material that people are carefully putting into their green bins. Residents need to be sure that what they put out for recycling will be recycled.
“So remember to leave it loose and don’t put things in bags, and make sure things are cleaned out, which is also much pleasant for the people sorting through it by hand.”
Cllr Williams praised the team at the MRF for the job they do on behalf of the city.
She said: “I’d like to thank them for all of their hard work. They do it day in, day out, they are really committed and it is mentally and physically tough. I managed half a day and I found it tough. They do a fantastic job.”
For more information about what can and cannot be recycled visit our website.