New recycling collections and removal of bring banks

New recycling collections were introduced alongside the garden waste subscription this week. You can now put out cartons (Tetrapaks) such as those used for juice, milk and chopped tomatoes and small electricals such as toasters and hairdryers in your green box.

Your plastic bottle bag can now be used for a wider range of mixed plastics. As well as bottles you can include things like:

• yoghurt pots 
• margarine tubs
• plastic punnets
• meat trays 

You can't put out:

• black plastic - e.g. ready meal trays, as it confuses the optical sorting machine at the processing plant 
• rigid plastics - e.g. children’s toys 
• plastic films - e.g. cling film and carrier bags, although many supermarkets collect the latter
• polystyrene 

Not only will this help the environment, but with the cost of sending waste to landfill spiraling it's vital that we recycle more. Even at current costs, these new services are expected to pay for themselves.

South Glos Council is consulting on removing the recycling bring banks in the car parks of supermarkets, village halls and social clubs. All of the materials are now collected with the fortnightly recycling collections and the money saved will be reinvested to provide recycling services for all flats, which they haven't had to date. It would be welcomed by people who have asked for the banks to be removed to free up extra car parking spaces and would cut back on the litter and commercial use that have been problems at some of the sites. Bring banks at Sort It centres and those operated by charities or other organisations would not be affected.

If you have any comments, you can find a list of the affected sites and make your views known online by 25th April.