Frequently Asked Questions

No cleaning is completed at Crayford of the recyclable commodities. Crayford is the first stage of the reprocessing process, sorting the recyclable materials into individual grades. Materials are then baled and sent to dedicated reprocessors per material stream. These reprocessing facilities will often employ washing and drying facilities into their processes to de-label and remove contamination of products.

The recycling is sorted by Viridor at their plant in Kent, using machinery.  To view films of this process, please follow this link to You Tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DAk8m7sVM4

There is a value to recycling, as it can be sold onto manufacturers to be made into new things.  Any income generated from selling the recycling is put back into the service provided, so helping to keep Council Tax to a minimum.  

Under the previous contract, the Council were paid a fixed, low rate for the recycling.  Whilst this gave security through a guaranteed income when the value of recycling was low, it didn't take into account times when the value was higher.  

The new contract for the sale of recycling to Viridor has a fluctuating value associated with the materials, so that when the market value is high, the Council get more money for the materials, and when the value is low, we get less.  For security, there is a minimum value built into the contract, to ensure that we always get a reasonable payment for the materials.

The contract with Viridor also requires them to provide, at their expense, a transfer facility so that the Council is only required to travel to Mountsorrel to tip the waste collected.  Under the previous contract, each vehicle had to travel to Coalville two or three times a day to tip.  This change represents a big saving in terms of fuel (both financial and environmental savings) and time.

The cost of introducing green bins has been met by Serco, the Council's waste collection contractor.  These represent a long-term investment with a one-off payment for bins, which is more cost effective over time than the continual supply of recycling bags.

We're really sorry, but this bit on the leaflet is incorrect.  The recycling is no longer hand sorted, but sorted mechanically, so there is no risk to people because of sharp pieces of glass.  However, it is still important that needles are not put in the recycling collection - a special clinical collection should be arranged.

There will be physical identification marks on the green bin to make it easy to distinguish between the two types of bin.

Stock is limited, and therefore those households that have a small black bin and wish to have a small recycling bin will take priority.

With our current levels of recycling we estimate that in most cases the standard sized green recycling bin will provide the most suitable solution and we would urge residents to try them out before considering applying for alternatives.

These alternatives will only be supplied where storage or access is a problem following an assessment by Council officers.

Should you not want a green wheelie bin for recycling, and you do not qualify to be an exempt property, you can choose not to participate in the recycling service, but you will not receive a Council Tax refund, nor an additional black bin collection. This also means that bags of recycling will not be collected.

To minimise the amount of space recycling takes up in the green bin, items should be squashed (where possible), and not bagged up before being placed in the bin.

Recycling which will not fit in the green wheelie bin will be accepted, but it must be presented next to the green wheelie bin, in a suitable container or bag, but it MUST be clearly identifiable as recycling.  As such, black bags should be avoided.

Properties frequently producing more recycling than will fit in one bin are eligible for a second green wheelie bin. 

These properties will be visited individually to assess the most appropriate method of collection.  This may result in the use of 240 litre green bins, 1100 litre bins, or purple sacks and green boxes.

The change is linked to the new contract with Serco, which began in August 2009.  Serco proposed the introduction of fully-comingled recycling (i.e. all recyclate in one container) as a means of increasing Charnwood’s recycling rate, by making it easier for residents to recycle.

This wasn’t introduced at the same time as the Serco contract, as the recycling collection vehicles in use didn’t have bin lifting mechanisms on them, meaning that they couldn’t empty wheelie bins.  The lease for these vehicles has now ended, and Serco have purchased a fleet of recycling collection vehicles with bin lifting mechanisms.

Viridor showed good value for money, whilst providing a service which meets the needs of the residents of Charnwood.

Serco retain the contract they started operating in August 2009 for the collection of refuse and recycling.

The contract for receiving the recyclate has recently been taken on by Viridor, through a tendering process.  The contract with Viridor started on 1^st August 2011. Recycling is now tipped at a waste transfer station in Mountsorrel. This change will not affect residents.

Plastic film such as supermarket carrier bags and LDPE sacks from commingled collection rounds are removed at the front end of the process. The Crayford facility utilises bag splitters, that have a rotating ripping drum that splits the bags and empties the contents. The film is then removed manually from the remainder of the recyclable stream.