Recycling rubbish and charity shops - something of a minefield? Ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[Chris from Nailsea]

Firstly, may I state that I fully support recycling whatever we can recycle: we owe it to our planet, and future generations thereon.

However, I have accumulated some experience of the widely different recycling rules imposed by local authorities in North Somerset (where we live), compared with, just for example, the City of Bristol, the South Hams in Devon and Melksham in Wiltshire.

Examples:

1.  In the South Hams, they require that used paper envelopes have any plastic windows removed before the remaining paper is put into a specific paper recycling receptacle. In North Somerset, we are told to just chuck all paper and cardboard in together.

2.  In Bristol, they require that no food be put in the black wheelie bins - they have even been issued with quirky mock tape measure stickers saying 'no food waist' - and offering fines for any detected breach. In Melksham, I was therefore rather startled to be told to just put any food waste in the black wheelie bin together with 'general waste'.

3.  In North Somerset, we were previously required to keep quite separate receptacles for 'plastics' and 'cans'.  Now, we have been provided with big red bags, into which all plastic and metal cans should be chucked together.

4.  Again, in North Somerset, we were all instructed recently to separate 'soft' plastics (food wrappers, crisp packets, for example) into a separate bag. However, I observed out of my window, when the recycling lorry arrived, that the operative merely tossed that bag of separated plastic into the 'food waste' compartment on their lorry.

This topic was provoked by an article on the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Recycling sacks to replace bins for thousands

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Thousands of residents living in Bristol will receive recycling sacks to put their rubbish in instead of separate boxes.

About 8,000 homes in the city centre and along main roads will be given an orange sack, which all dry material should be thrown into.

The planned change is expected to be rolled out between April and June of next year and will affect properties such as flats above shops, where there is little space on busy pavements to store recycling bins.

Ken Lawson, the city council's head of waste and recycling, said: "It's a positive step to address properties across the city that have maybe been under-serviced and also caused disproportionate issues."

Affected roads would include East Street, North Street and Stapleton Road. Properties there would also get a weekly black bin collection, in black sacks instead of bins, and weekly food waste collections in small brown caddies.

An update on the changes was given to councillors on 23 September and it was confirmed the new sacks would happen independently of the proposed switch to a three-weekly collection for black bins - with a decision on that change due to be made this December.

The changes are expected to cost just under £440,00, which was paid for by a grant from the government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

A list of all the properties has already been prepared but not yet published.

Mixing all recycling together, known as "co-mingling", used to happen in many parts of the country before residents were asked to separate their materials into different boxes.

The drawback of co-mingling is recycling must be separated by the centres, before the different materials can be sold on to packaging producers, which is a more expensive and inefficient process than getting residents to do it, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

Cherwell council to introduce kerbside collections for glass recycling

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The change will end more than 30 years of residents having to make trips to the bottle bank

Residents in north Oxfordshire will be able to recycle their glass bottles with other waste from next year, after a new kerbside collection was approved.

Cherwell District Council said the change would end more than 30 years of residents taking their glass to bottle banks.

From 1 January next year, householders will instead be able to put it in their blue recycling bin.

The authority said the change would cost between £300,000 and £400,000 due to lost income from bottle banks and higher "gate fees" at waste management facilities.

The change will help the authority comply with the new "Simpler Recycling" law that comes into force in April 2026. It is anticipated the change will improve the district's overall recycling rate by up to 1.5%.

More than 100 bottle banks around the district will be removed, which the council said would help prevent fly-tipping.

Councillor Ian Middleton, portfolio holder for neighbourhood services, said: "The collection of glass from the kerbside is one of the most requested changes to our recycling service, and we have been listening. This change will make it faster and more convenient for residents to recycle whilst reducing the problems associated with bottle banks. The reality is that these have attracted litter and fly-tipping, with the taxpayer having to pick up the costs of the clear-up."

Glass collected in blue bins in Cherwell will be separated from other dry recycling by machines at a sorting centre. Large pieces will be sorted for further processing, while smaller pieces will be used for road aggregate or shot blasting material, which is used to strengthen surfaces.

[johnneyw]

I didn't realise that there were still areas in the country that don't collect glass from recycling bins.  Can't remember how long it's been since I've had to take  bottles to a bottle bank in Bristol alough I think it took a few years longer in the South Hams.

[ChrisB]

Cherwell is my local council - they have always claimed H&S^▸ (Health and Safety) difficulties for their crews around broken glass, forcing us to bottle banks.

Strange how a change in councillors plus costs associated with cleaning up rubbish dumped around these banks changes opinions....now they've got to persuade their taxpayers to rinse out jars etc before dumping them in their recycling

[Ralph Ayres]

It baffles me why people fly-tip next to recycling bins, textile bins etc as though it's somehow less illegal/antisocial to do it there than rather than at any random roadside. It's actually more likely to get them caught on camera as such sites may well be monitored.  Probably the same people who dump things outside charity shops at dead of night.

[infoman]

Firstly, charity shops an appeal, please take your items in as early in the morning as that it when most volunteers are there to sort the items.

The amount of times I have seen notices at charity shops in the afternoon saying "no more donations excepted today"

In the greater Bristol area,South Glos don't take rigid plastic,but Bristol Central does.

[grahame]

Firstly, charity shops an appeal, please take your items in as early in the morning as that it when most volunteers are there to sort the items.

Just a word of caution - my understanding is that most charity shops get lots of donations that they cannot use [at any time of day] and would love you to give them only things good enough for them to sell on.  Comment made here because this suggestion is posted under a "recycling rubbish" title and the charity shops for the most part don't want rubbish.

[GBM]

Coffee bean containers; washing tablet containers. All advise not to recycle at home (for us in Cornwall, that is).
Our nearest Council tip is a 15 mile drive; plus we have to book a slot these days (to reduce overcrowding).

[johnneyw]

Coffee bean containers; washing tablet containers.

If either of these are soft plastic wrapping then they can be recycled at many Tesco (and perhaps other) supermarkets where there are large containers provided.  These can be turned into, amongst other things, railway sleepers, boardwalks etc.

Whilst on the subject of where to recycle items, I had difficulty finding places that would accept old duvets for recycling until I discovered that Dunelm branches take them in the containers near their store entrances and exits.

[infoman]

fair comment Grahame,

but the expression

"one man’s trash is another man’s treasure"

I don't know want Charity shops classify as rubbish.
All I am saying is to turn up at Charity shop in the late afternoon
to find a notice saying "no more donations today" after you have spent most of that day sorting your rubbish
Also a lot of the stuff that is usable can be put on sale early in the day,
and the "rubbish" can be collected for disposal on the day
as opposed to being stored in the shop overnight.

Just a couple of other points,
I notice that automatic announcements on the Elizabeth line are saying please take your rubbish with you.
Although not sure if there are cleaners at either ends of the terminating stations as the trains generally are pretty clean
Finally, milk in plastic bottles only one bottle in ten is recycled.
A better option for OUR environment and OUR World  is to have glass bottled milk delivered to your home.
 

[WSW Frome]

Certain areas of Somerset (including Frome) are part of the national Flexicycle trial whereby soft plastics are gathered as part of the weekly recycling collection.

Charity shops are now quite sophisticated in identifying items which will sell (quickly) and will often reject certain other items for that reason. Most charity shops also have limited space for storage and especially for waste. Any items which the charity has to dispose of are considered as commercial waste and this has to be paid for by the charity through a suitable contractor.  It is unlikely that such collections are made daily.

[Chris from Nailsea]

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

North Somerset Council sees 'depressing' overspend on recycling

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A tonne of plastic that would have sold for £168 in 2024/25 is now only fetching £80 for the council

A council has been left with a "deeply depressing" overspend on waste recycling.

Unlike black bin rubbish, which local authorities have to pay to dispose of, materials from kerbside recycling collections and household waste recycling centres can be sold as a source of income. But North Somerset Council said this year, reduced prices and increased costs have hugely impacted this income stream.

Mickey Green, the council's director of environment, assets, and travel, said: "We are collecting more recycling but due to global […] pressures, it's all worth less." Mr Green said that recycling still generates millions to offset waste services at the council, although less than last year.

The price of plastic in particular has dropped by half since last year, according to the Local Democracy Service. A tonne of plastic that would have sold for £168 in 2024/25 is now only fetching £80. As a result, the council earned £260,000 less this year.

To help with recycling costs, a government spokesperson said £69bn had been available this year for councils to deliver public services, including a 6.4% increase in funding for North Somerset Council compared to 2024. Despite this additional government support, more than 20 plastics facilities have shut down in the country in the past two years.

A report which went before the meeting of the North Somerset Council corporate, assets, transport, and environmental services scrutiny committee (CATE) said the market was starting to improve, but it could take more than a year.

The council is estimated to lose out on another £100,000 because the off-takers used to dispose of wood have relocated from Newport to Barry in Wales.

Steve Bridger, chair of the CATE committee, said it was "deeply depressing" that the money lost due to market fluctuations was more than the council was set to save from its planned cuts to library services, which are "highly likely" to close three local libraries.

North Somerset Council is currently facing a £25m black hole in its budget for the next financial year, largely driven by a rapidly increasing demand for and cost of social care. The council's top finance officers have warned that the council will not be able to balance its budget without "exceptional financial support" from the government.

[eightonedee]

There's a recent video on Chis Spargo's YouTube channel on this (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuwaOiTHl7U) that explains why there are a lot of changes now under way in rubbish recycling by local authorities.

[Chris from Nailsea]

...
3.  In North Somerset, we were previously required to keep quite separate receptacles for 'plastics' and 'cans'.  Now, we have been provided with big red bags, into which all plastic and metal cans should be chucked together.
...

From the BBC^» (British Broadcasting Corporation - home page):

North Somerset Council's recycling bags are 'falling apart at the seams'

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Some red recycling bags handed out by North Somerset council are "falling apart"

A council has admitted that by trying to improve its recycling bags, they had "made it worse" after people reported them falling apart.

North Somerset Council was now in contact with its supplier after some of the bags began "falling apart at the seams."

Council cabinet member for planning and environment Annemieke Waite told a full council meeting on 11 November that the red bags ordered for the trial of the scheme last November were fine and had remained in "perfect condition". But after handing them out to residents, she said they found there was "a distinct problem with them".

"Some of the red bags are fading and failing," she said. "They are literally falling apart at the seams. We are not happy at all."

The council has now sent a team around to check what percentage of the bags are falling apart, as part of the council's agreement with its supplier.

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Holes are appearing in some of the bags

"This is a very reputable firm. There are only two firms in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom) that do the bags that we are using and they are being used by so many different councils," Ms Waite said. "We know that we are not the only council that has a problem."

Chair of the council Clare Hunt added: "I know by trying to improve something we seem to have made things a little bit worse."

The red bags for plastic and metal recycling were introduced to 6,000 households in some areas in November 2024 on a trial basis. From the end of March this year they were rolled out to all households across North Somerset.

The bags were introduced to make recycling easier to sort with more space, which also helps improve the value of the recycling North Somerset collects, which is sold to offset the cost of waste collections.

[ChrisB]

Are they recyclable?