From 1st October, Norfolk residents will be able to recycle glass bottles and jars, plastic food tubs and trays, along with juice and soup cartons as part of the normal recycling bin collections due to revolutionary refurbishments at the Costessey recycling facility.
The Norfolk Waste Partnership, who is committed to increasing recycling levels across Norfolk, have started a campaign today so people take note of the changes. People power has helped shape this new service which allows materials including glass bottles and jars, plastic food pots, tubs and trays and cartons, such as those used for soups and juices, can now be recycled at the kerbside using existing recycling bins. Fewer materials will be sent to landfill and instead, more materials will be sorted, processed and turned into useable items.
Councillor John Fisher, Chair of the Norfolk Waste Partnership, explains that “All the districts, along with Norfolk County Council, have worked together to negotiate a new contract which means that materials that people have wanted to be able to recycle for some time, can now be recycled using the kerbside collection service. With the new contract in place, investment has been made in the processing facility and the new technology used means that many more items can now be processed for recycling.” All he asks “is that food residue is rinsed off any containers, bottles or jars before placing them loose in the bin. Clean recycling has a greater value and helps prevent bins from becoming smelly and by leaving the items loose in the bin, they can be easily sorted. Items in bags cannot be sorted effectively by the equipment and may be rejected.”
The upgraded facility has improved technology for sorting and processing waste; these changes mean the market has been explored further to get the very best deal for Norfolk taxpayers, while ensuring that the service meets the publics needs and helps everyone to improve their recycling levels. The new service is set to increase recycling in the county by between 5% and 10%, and any profits will be shared between the Norfolk councils and the company that runs the recycling facility.
Collection days and dates will not be affected by the introduction of this new service. And as always, a wife range of materials can be recycled at Norfolk’s network of 20 recycling centres, for more information visit www.norfolk.gov.uk/recyclingcentres. More information about this Recycling Revolution campaign will be available from 22nd September at www.recyclefornorfolk.org.uk or via the Twitter hashtag #RecyclingRevolution.
