Contamination of recycling could cost council £1m

NORTHUMBERLAND residents who persistently put contaminated waste in their recycling bins will see their bins issued with red tags and could even see their recycling service suspended “indefinitely”.

- JAMES ROBINSON Local Democracy Reporter [e-mail]

It comes after new figures showed almost a quarter of recyclable material collected in Northumberland is contaminated.

The county council say 23% of material collected from kerbside recycling bins is contaminated, including nappies, dog waste and electrical items.

Just one contaminated bin can result in an entire load of recycling from multiple streets and hundreds of homes being spoiled and rejected.

This means the entire load will be sent for incineration instead of being recycled.

Cabinet members say the issue could cost the council up to £1m this year if not addressed.

In response, the council is set to increase inspections to ensure non-permitted items are not present in recycling bins.

Any bins found to contain contaminants will be rejected and have a red tag applied.

The resident will then receive a letter prior to the next recycling collection, providing more detail and explaining how this can be avoided in future.