Recycling in ED, easy to do, or complete confusion?

[trinidad]

With the London Borough of Southwark offering kerbside recycling to flats and houses in ED, do you find it easy to recycle, or is it a warzone / confusion in your households, with the varied items which can or can not be recycled?

[geh]

really easy. addition of food waste in brown bin is a massive bonus (assuming it doesn't all just go to landfill)

[ianr]

Where _does_ the garden and food waste go? It's going to decay anyway.

[kiera]

It's the only waste which is actually recycled at the "recycling" centre - it's turned into compost which can be purchased from them.

[gumshoe]

Living in a flat, it can be a bit hit and miss - some of our neighbours appear not to know what can and can?t be recycled. I had to remove a yoga mat from our plastic recycling bin a few weeks ago and there are always plastic bags in there! Very frustrating. It would be useful for Southwark to remind people - especially those in rented properties who might experience a decent turnover in those living there - what can and can?t be recycled, although I would also like people to take a bit more intiative and find out these things before charging ahead with putting a pair of old boots in the recycling (which has also happened...)

[Sue]

Southwark/Veolia quite often send out reminders as to what goes in what bin.

I have the latest on my fridge.

If people don't read them, that is hardly the council's fault.

I don't find the recycling system confusing at all, though I'm not sure what I'm going to do with food waste when I run out of green bags. Use newspaper I guess.

But I don't have much food waste for the brown bin because my veggie waste goes into a compost bin.

ETA: Btw the compost which is sold at the recycling centre is extremely expensive. As even the people who work there admit. You can buy it far cheaper from a garden centre or somewhere like B and Q.

[trinidad]

so as the infomation is quite good, what type of plastics can be recycled? black plastic?

Sue Wrote:

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> Southwark/Veolia quite often send out reminders

> as to what goes in what bin.

>

> I have the latest on my fridge.

>

> If people don't read them, that is hardly the

> council's fault.

>

> I don't find the recycling system confusing at

> all, though I'm not sure what I'm going to do with

> food waste when I run out of green bags. Use

> newspaper I guess.

>

> But I don't have much food waste for the brown bin

> because my veggie waste goes into a compost

> bin.

>

> ETA: Btw the compost which is sold at the

> recycling centre is extremely expensive. As even

> the people who work there admit. You can buy it

> far cheaper from a garden centre or somewhere like

> B and Q.

[intexasatthe moment]

I think it wld be helpful if self adhesive stickers ,especially for the recycling bin were available ( maybe on demand for a few ? ) .

I too get fed up with hoiking out non recyclable items like plastic bags from a shared bin .

Also good to have clarification on plastic recyclable stuff .I look for the triangle logo and it's not there it goes in general waste .

[ianr]

Sue Wrote:

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> I don't find the recycling system confusing at

> all, though I'm not sure what I'm going to do with

> food waste when I run out of green bags. Use

> newspaper I guess.

We've been there before. Most recent I think is a 2017 one on where else to get them. http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,1851891

I've some foot sorties to Devon Street planned, ending with one in which I'll be using a superannuated rucksack to carry the rest of the stuff. I hope to do some intelligence gathering during the early ops. I'm still unsure, from what they say on the website, whether "DVD's" ( https://www.southwark.gov.uk/bins-and-recycling/recycling/recycling-centres/reuse-and-recycling-centre?chapter=2 ) includes "DVD cases, broken or otherwise", or whether they'll take other non-thermoplastic plastics, 3 1/2" disks, odd bits of metal, etc. I hope I can get some info on the spot. Perhaps if I just turn up with some anyway ...

[intexasatthe moment]

ianr - one for the team ! Do report back on your findings !

[Sue]

trinidad Wrote:

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> so as the infomation is quite good, what type of

> plastics can be recycled? black plastic?

It normally states on plastic whether or not it can be recycled, but if in doubt I just put it in the recycling bin anyway.

I had a guided tour of the recycling centre, which was extremely interesting and I recommend it if you get the chance. Basically anything which isn't recyclable is removed and dealt with appropriately anyway during the processing at the centre. There are people employed specifically to do that.

[kiera]

I too have been on a tour of the waste management centre. When Sue says people are employed specifically to remove non-recyclables, that's right - as the recycling goes along on a conveyor belt, employees have to remove by hand the carrier bags and anything else which shouldn't be in with the recycling. That's what they're employed to do, and they have to pay attention and be quick, as the conveyor belts keep running.

The council have proudly promoted this as a recycling centre, so I had unrealistic expectations of it being more sophisticated. I must say I was underwhelmed, but I agree it's worth going on a tour. It's an incredibly noisy environment and must use a huge amount of electricity to separate the different recyclables. Magnets remove the steel cans and air is blown onto the conveyor belts to try to separate the paper, but some of the sorting is done by hand e.g. drinks cartons. It's quite difficult to find out exactly where it all goes after. All we were told on my tour was that the cardboard went to China to be re used for packaging. I don't know what they're doing with it now that China no longer wants to take rubbish from other countries.

[spider69]

It is not a recycling plant, it is a sortation centre. A vast difference.

.

[trinidad]

So if the plastic does not clearly state it is recyclable then it cant be recycled? can all plastics stating recylable on the packaging be recycled by southwark council?