Purple Bag and What Goes in It

Those items cannot be accepted at present. As pointed out these comprise of metal and plastic that cannot easily be separated at a materials recycling facility at present. Viridor is constantly looking to expand the list of recyclable materials that can be accepted at its facilities so as technology develops, those and other type of materials may be accepted for recycling.

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.

This 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.

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.

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

Some properties are not suitable for wheelie bins, such as if they have steps.  These properties, known as exempt properties will remain on a purple bag and green box recycling collection, and your surplus bags and boxes will be collected and used at these properties.

Green boxes are also available to schools and community groups should they have a use for them.  The remainder will be recycled.

The green wheelie bins will be delivered to all properties over a six-week period, starting in the week of 5^th September 2011.  Exactly two weeks prior to the bin being delivered, an information leaflet will be put through the letterbox of each property by the collection crews, along with a battery collection bag.

Bins should be delivered exactly two weeks before the first collection, so if the collection day of a property is a Wednesday, the bin will be delivered on the Wednesday recycling collection day.  Please be aware that whilst this is the intention, unforeseen circumstances may result in slight alterations.

The green wheelie bin can be used straight away, and should be put out for collection instead of purple sacks and the green box on the next recycling collection day. 

For example:

• Week 1: purple bags and green box emptied; leaflet and battery bag delivered through letterbox
• Week 2: refuse collection
• Week 3: purple bags and green box emptied; green wheelie bin delivered
• Week 4: refuse collection
• Week 5: green wheelie bin emptied; purple bags and empty green boxes collected
• Week 6: refuse collection

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

Charnwood Borough Council undertook a competitive tender process to find out the most efficient and cost-effective solution for the processing of recyclables collected across the borough. After the council’s comprehensive assessment, Viridor's tender successfully met the council’s criteria and proved to be the preferred option.

The Crayford MRF facility is located in close proximity to a number of its reprocessing partners, so although the front end movement of material from Charnwood to Crayford may be seen as a long journey, the movement from Crayford to the next stage of reprocessing is in many cases reduced. An example of this is that Viridor trades with Aylesford Newsprint Ltd, a large recyclable newsprint mill in Kent, which is only approximately 20 miles from the Crayford facility.

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.

These are no longer required for recycling.  If residents would like to keep them, they are welcome to do so.

Should residents not want to keep them, they can apply the ‘Please Collect Me’ sticker, which will be delivered along with the leaflet, and put them out for collection on the first two green wheelie bin collections, and they will be re-used or recycled.

Please note that there is only one sticker per property, so residents should group the items and apply one sticker.

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.

Those schools on the Schools Recycling Programme will be visited in September/ October 2011 to assess their individual needs. 

All University properties receiving a recycling collection from the Council will be contacted to assess their individual needs.

Please note that a wheelie bin takes up no more ground space than a green box for recycling.

If you believe that storage of a green wheelie bin will be a problem, you can be considered for an exempt collection (to remain on purple sacks and the green box), although a visit to your property by Charnwood Borough Council will be required to make an assessment. 

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 not be used.

Properties frequently producing more recycling than will fit in one bin may be eligible for a second green wheelie bin.  This will be at the discretion of Charnwood Borough Council.

In order to check how the materials you recycle are being treated please click on the follow links for each type of material:

Plastic

Metal

Glass

Paper

There will be two key changes: 

Recycling will be collected in the green wheeled bin, replacing the purple bags and green glass box. 

Batteries will be collected Borough-wide, using the battery collection bag which will be distributed to all properties two weeks before the green wheelie bin, along with an information leaflet.  Bags of batteries should be put out for collection NEXT to the green wheelie bin on recycling collection day.  When this bag is collected, a replacement bag will be left.

There will be no change to the collection day, presentation point, materials collected, white Mind sack collections or collection crews.  There will be no change to the black wheelie bin.

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

The contract for receiving the recyclate has now been won by Viridor, through a tendering process.  The contract with Viridor starts on 1^st August 2011, when recycling will be tipped at a waste transfer station in Mountsorrel. This change will not affect residents.

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.

This 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 is now ending, and Serco are purchasing 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.

As a general rule, if a property uses a black 240 litre wheelie bin for refuse, they will have a green 240 litre wheelie bin for recycling.

If they use a 1100 litre refuse bin, they will have a 1100 litre recycling bin.

If they are an exempt property, they will continue to use purple sacks and a green box.

However, Charnwood Borough Council reserves the right to make individual decisions about properties, depending on individual circumstances.