Recycling - Blue Bin

So, what can go in the blue bin?

• Glass bottles and jars in the insert box only
• All paper and cardboard products
• Newspapers, magazines, catalogues, junk mail, cereal boxes, envelopes, telephone directories (Including Yellow Pages), cardboard packaging (NOT polystyrene), cardboard, shredded paper.
• Toilet and kitchen roll tubes, greetings cards, etc.
• All plastic bottles; Milk, squash, detergent, cleaners, shampoos, fabric conditioners, etc. If it looks like a bottle and it's plastic let's have it! (See note below).
• All cans, steel and aluminium, food, fizzy drink, pet food, whatever
• Aluminium foil
• Aerosols

If you are not sure which bin to put an item in, then put it in the green bin. This stops the risk of contaminating the contents of your blue recycling bin.

Glass

The ONLY glass we collect for recycling are glass bottles and jars.

Please do not include light bulbs, crockery, Pyrex, panes of glass, drinks glasses, vases or china items.

Some properties have small recycling bins. These small bins do not contain the glass insert box. If you have this type of bin and want to recycle glass, please use your own suitable container, such as a plastic box.

It is very important that we keep glass separate from all other recyclables.

Do not place recyclable material in bags, and never in black sacks! Items going into the blue bin should go in loose. If your blue bin is full, please do not use black sacks for excess recyclable material, place the excess in, for example, a recyclable cardboard box. 

Please put bins out at the front edge of your property by 7 a.m. on the day of collection. Collection times may vary between green and blue bin weeks. 

Plastics

Plastic containers, yoghurt pots, butter/margarine tubs, ice cream tubs, etc are not currently recycled as there is no viable market. A new market may be found at any time, so residents are welcome to continue to use their blue bins/clear sacks for these items, safe in the knowledge that they will at least go for energy recovery and not be landfilled (or exported for landfill). But, we cannot take other plastic items even if they are made out of the same type of plastic as, for example, your shampoo bottle - for example plastic garden chairs.

If in doubt, put it in the green bin.

Waste is sold on at 'so much' a tonne. It is the easiest way of measuring the material. You need an awful lot of plastic to make a tonne. It has been estimated around 27,000 plastic bottles. The transportation of vast quantities of such a lightweight material becomes an environmental issue in itself, which is one reason why we collect plastic mixed with other recyclables.

Recycling processes, and market demand, are changing all the time. The operators of the sorting plant at Allington (Kent Enviropower) have to find viable markets for the recyclables and ensure that the re-processors are recycling materials properly. So, regardless of the family type of plastic, Kent Enviropower specify exactly what they want. They know the precise requirements of the companies they are forwarding material to. A business recycling plastic bottles may not have the equipment to reprocess other items made out of identical types of plastic. Simple as that.

Sharp Objects

Please do not put saws or other sharp items in the bins as they can cause injury to collection operatives. If possible please take them to the Household Waste Recycling Centres and ask the staff there for guidance. Some such items can go for recycling.

Textiles

We cannot yet accept textiles in the blue bins but we have textile banks dotted all round the Borough. Don't worry about clothing etc., not being in tip-top condition. Our contractors, the Salvation Army, can use all materials in some way, so don't hesitate!

Tetrapaks

This covers all coated containers, mainly used for drinks. Yes, they can be recycled, no we don't take them. Two councils in Kent are piloting a 'bring-site' collection service and we are of course monitoring progress. As with all lightweight materials it is the cost of collection and transportation that is usually prohibitive. With bring-sites you have the added problem of overflowing banks that need more frequent empties. Higher frequencies equals higher costs and costs to the environment too.