Separate paper and card recycling collections in South Kesteven have been such a huge success that the council is now bringing in measures to help the public with the rest of their recycling.
Silver wheelie bins across the district, for other mixed, dry recycling, have proved more of an issue for some householders – so for a limited period, to help residents, SKDC will leave a helpful yellow tag/sticker on the bin where people have mistakenly placed items which aren’t accepted.
Although the list of what can and cannot be recycled in the silver bin is unchanged, collection crews need to be strict on incorrect items – such as paper and card, soft plastics including bin bags, plastic carrier bags, clingfilm and crisp packets – or risk having the lorryload rejected at the recycling plant.
The full list of what goes in which bin can be found online: www.southkesteven.gov.uk/whichbin
Following on from the introduction of the twin stream recycling collections across South Kesteven it was recognised that some residents needed a little longer to get used to the system.
In particular, only clean, dry recycling such as glass bottles, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays, metal tins and cans, must be placed loose in the silver bin. These items should not be contained in plastic bags.
Cabinet Member for Environment and Waste, Cllr Rhys Baker, said: “The idea is to make sure that as much of the waste people have carefully separated for recycling can actually be recycled, and we thank everyone who has been carefully sorting their recycling to make this task so much easier.
“We are pleased to say that we have already seen an improvement in the quality of the silver bin contents but there’s still a proportion of material we are unable to recycle in the loads being collected from the silver bins.
"Feedback showed that many people needed longer to get the right thing in the right bin, so now that everyone is more familiar with this, we are offering guidance when we spot they haven’t put the right thing in the right bin.
“We will be working together with residents to make sure we all continue to recycle everything we can in the simplest and easiest way.
"Clean, dry paper and cardboard must always go in your purple-lidded recycling bin. If it's not clean and dry it goes into the black bin, to be sent to produce energy from waste.
"Soft plastics can be taken to your local soft plastic collection point or left in your black bin.”
Supermarkets and drop off points for recycling soft plastics can be found online: https://www.recyclenow.com/recycle-an-item/plastic-bags-and-wrapping
The Council cannot collect any additional recycling left out by the side of bins. Excess waste should be disposed of at your nearest Household Waste Recycling Centre. Locations can be found at www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/recycling-waste
SKDC staff continue to work directly with those residents without bins who still have to use sack collections, and those who use bins in communal areas.