What happens to the items you put in your mixed recycling bin?

27th September 2023 12:52

As part of our commitment to continued learning in sustainability, Gill Redfern (Research Director lead for our sustainability market research sector clients) recently organised a trip for her team to visit Recycle for Greater Manchester’s Education Centre and have a tour of the Materials Recovery Facility.

Amy Greenwood, Senior Research Manager, shared some of her observations and take-aways from the visit…

Across the UK, discussions around waste management and recycling are ever increasing from questions as simple as, “which bin goes out this week?” (we all look to our neighbours to answer that one!) to, “can I put this in the recycling?” Once we have placed our household recycling out for collection, we pat ourselves on the back believing we have made a positive contribution to the environment and then we continue with our busy lives. But have we ever stopped to ask the question, “what happens to all our recycling after the refuse collectors have been? Where does it go? How does it get sorted? What does it become?” and most importantly, “did we follow the recycling guidelines for our area correctly so everything can be recycled?”

We had the chance of seeing first-hand what happens to mixed recycling waste at Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) with a tour of their Materials Recovery Facility (MRF). Now, for those less familiar with what this is, a MRF is a place where our household mixed recyclables are separated and prepared for the recycling process. Bin lorries bring the kerbside collected materials to the MRF, where machines and workers separate different types of recyclable material and then bundle them into bales for easier transportation to recycling factories, where they can then be turned into new products. MRFs play a vital role in the recycling process, ensuring that our recyclables are ready for their second life and helping us take care of the environment.

Simple right? The sophisticated MRF machinery will separate it all out and we can all rest easy… Not quite!

When a bin lorry reaches the transfer loading station before entering the MRF, a visual inspection is carried out to guesstimate how contaminated that waste is; in other words, the number of items in there that shouldn’t be. If that guesstimate identifies more than 20% contamination, the whole load is refused and sent to general waste. That is a full three-ton lorry of recycled waste that doesn’t even make it into the MRF. Now imagine this happening daily and to thousands of lorries across the UK.

If contamination is below 20% and the lorry is accepted by the MRF, there is still significant work to be done to identify and remove the vast quantities of materials which cannot be recycled or cannot be accepted by local MRF depots.

So what’s happening to cause this contamination? You guessed it… us humans!

Contaminated recycling is primarily caused by misunderstandings and lack of awareness regarding local recycling rules. WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) found in their Recycling Tracker in 2021 that UK citizens dispose of 6.2 items incorrectly on average, and almost nine in ten (87%) dispose of something in the recycling that is not accepted; this includes drinking glasses, foil pouches, plastic film lids, toothpaste tubes, plastic wrapping film and tissues and paper towels. Our education officer at R4GM, Janine, shared with us some of the more unusual items they have seen arrive at the MRF, including: discarded needles, dog waste bags (complete with their contents!) and even a bike!

People may mistakenly place non-recyclable items in recycling bins, engage in ‘wish-cycling’ (recycling something with good intention in the hope it can be recycled when it, in fact, cannot) or through ‘lazy recycling’, e.g. forgetting or choosing not to rinse food from items for example.

The implications of this contamination are wide reaching and leads to:

Increased costs:machines break down because of blockages, additional labour is required to keep things running and manual checks have to be implemented to prevent something sneaking through that shouldn’t be there. We witnessed hand pickers swiftly reaching out on the conveyor belt to stop shower tubes, garden hoses, wires and even old school uniforms from sneaking through!

Poor working conditions: Dealing with household recycling from thousands of homes each day can present significant challenges for the people who work at the MRF. Even in temperate weather the smells of stale food, abundance of flies and risk of attracting rats make for a challenging working environment, but in the warmer summer weather these issues are exacerbated. Not rinsing out our jars, bottles and tins only makes this worse for those who have to endure our smelly rubbish!

Reduced quality of recyclables: Contamination can also lead to lower-quality recyclable materials; who knew there were seven different types of plastic, with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles being the most lucrative when it comes to recycling?! What’s more, different types of plastic cannot be recycled together. If lesser grade materials mix with the premium stuff, it may reduce the market value of these materials, making recycling less economically viable.

Environmental impact: Contaminated recycling can result in more materials being sent to landfills or incinerators instead of being recycled. This contributes to additional environmental impacts associated with waste disposal. (We should note here though that general waste in Greater Manchester does not go into landfill, but is used as waste for energy ... but that’s an article for another day!)

Whilst industry needs to work harder to ensure their packaging is easily recyclable at kerbside, reducing contamination also needs effective education and outreach programmes in communities, to clarify the recycling rules and promote proper disposal practices. We know from our work with WRAP that driving this behaviour change amongst citizens can be particularly challenging and isn’t helped by the lack of consistency in recycling guidelines across many different councils in the UK.

What is classed as recyclable by one council can be considered general waste by another. Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), for example, only accepts plastics in the shape of a bottle and should not have any lids on them (unless they are securely attached); lids in particular are most problematic for the MRF in Greater Manchester, as they have a tendency to drop down into gaps in the machine and cause blockages and breakdowns. However, when I checked my own local council in South Lakeland, this was different, highlighting the importance of checking the rules in place to deal with waste and recycling in your area.

The future is bright… at least it can be!

We could be forgiven for thinking this all sounds like an uphill battle and how much can we as individual citizens really do to make a difference anyway? But, there is cause for optimism …

1. Legislation changes:

The good news is, change is not far away! DEFRA (the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) in the UK is actively working on its ‘consistent collection mission’ to standardise and enhance recycling collection services across England by implementing a consistent set of recycling materials that all local authorities should collect from households, such as paper, glass, plastic, and metal. The mission also encourages weekly food waste collections and seeks to ensure that residents have access to clear and consistent information about recycling, with change expected in the next year. Having the same rules wherever you live will hopefully make it easier for citizens to understand the rules.

2. Greater collaboration with retailers:

Retailers can and should consult with organisations such as WRAP and R4GM before manufacturing new packaging to ensure it meets kerbside recycling collection rules. During our visit at R4GM, we heard a good news story of Co-Op reaching out to R4GM to learn about exactly which materials could be recycled at the facility before manufacturing the packaging for a new product launch. Well done to Co-Op and any other retailers/brands who are taking the time to stop and think about where their packaging might end up.

3. Organisations working with communities:

The education team at R4GM continues to provide support with educating and engaging children, students and residents of all ages in the Greater Manchester area, offering resources, site visits and tours, open days, online sessions, games and films. We can say with confidence that, after just two hours with our fabulous guide and educator, Janine, we as a group have come away with lots of ideas for how we can improve our own recycling habits at home and work, and mitigate the risk of contamination at recycling centres.

Finally, here are our team’s top tips and takeaways from our R4GM visit that can help limit contamination at the MRF:

So what can go in my recycling bin? Good question! Currently it will differ depending on your area. Just pop your postcode in on the Government website and you’ll be given a list of the dos and don’ts for your area: Recycling collections - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

If your organisation is looking for insight to support your sustainability strategy, please get in touch.

Gill Redfern, Research Director gredfern@djsresearch.com (left)

Amy Greenwood, Senior Research Manager agreenwood@djsresearch.com (right)

Want to find out more about our sustainability research? We’ll be presenting alongside our clients at WRAP at the MRS Sustainability Summit on 6^th December 2023 … book your tickets here.