County is recycling more

Shropshire residents produced more than 38,000 tonnes of household waste between last October and December, new figures have revealed.

Almost 9,000 tonnes of rubbish was sent to be recycled, and some 7,600 tonnes of garden and food waste - which is 20 per cent of the total - was composted. Just under 22,000 tonnes of waste ended up being sent to landfill sites in Telford and near Wrexham during the same period.

The figures - which do not include Telford & Wrekin - are included in a Shropshire Waste Partnership report which also details what happens to waste after people put it out for collection, take it to a recycling centre or place it in a recycling bank.

For example, composted waste is spread on farm land to improve soil or sold, while aluminium cans are sent to Novelis in Oldbury, before being melted down and re-used by the steel and aluminium industry.

Glass goes to Recresco in Ellesmere Port where it is recycled and then re-used by the glass industry.

Paper is sent to a paper mill on Deeside and plastic bottles go to companies in Welshpool, Nottingham and Shrewsbury before being used to make new products.

Councillor Joyce Barrow, partnership chairman, said: “Shropshire residents now have some of the best waste and recycling services in the country, and are recycling and composting more than ever.

“However, we hope that showing people exactly what happens to the waste that they send for recycling will encourage them to continue to recycle.”

The report was presented to members of the partnership joint committee.

Since last October, Veolia Environmental Services have been responsible for managing waste and recycling services on behalf of the partnership and under the contract, the company provides details of where and who receives the collect waste and from where it originated.

The partnership includes the county council and the borough and district authorities of Oswestry, North Shropshire, Bridgnorth and South Shropshire.

By Dave Morris