March 11, 2022 6.30 pm This story is over 24 months old

Oh, the irony! West Lindsey ‘tags of shame’ telling you off for not recycling… aren’t recyclable

It has faced large amounts of criticism online
Residents are given advisory tags when they put an ineligible item in their recycling bin. | Photo: Lizzie Bell
By Local Democracy Reporter

West Lindsey District Council’s new recycling bin scheme has come under fire, after it was discovered advisory tags telling residents they have put non-recyclable goods in the bin, are themselves not recyclable.

The scheme was introduced alongside the delivery of a new purple-lidded recycling bin in the district, for clean and dry paper and card collections.

West Lindsey was the third district to introduce the card and paper bins, following Boston Borough Council and North Kesteven District Council, and the rest of Lincolnshire is expected to follow suit by 2024.

The advisory tags have tick boxes to let you know which items can’t be recycled. | Photo: Lizzie Bell

The council’s waste removal teams have begun using advisory tags on existing blue bins which have items that cannot be recycled, reminding residents what they cannot put in their bins.

A post by WLDC on social media explained a bit about the tags and why they are being introduced, and residents were left with a burning question.

Rather ironically, the tags themselves need to go in the black household waste bin. | Photo: Lizzie Bell

One person commented: “Are the tags recyclable?” to which the council replied: “These educational tags will need to go in your black household bin. This is due to the material being waterproof, meaning they cannot be recycled.”

Needless to say, this prompted a strong reaction from residents, who questioned the point of a recycling scheme which uses non-recyclable items to remind residents about their recycling errors.

However, the council has said these tags would eventually be used for electricity at a local energy plant.

Bins have already been hit with the ‘tag of shame’ in West Lindsey, a sight all too familiar for people in North Kesteven. | Photo: Lizzie Bell

It is a similar move to what happened in North Kesteven last year, which saw more than 9,000 bins in the region rejected for collection and given a so-called “tag of shame” in just one week.

The tags were introduced by West Lindsey District Council on March 7 and will be used until April 15, with refuse collectors starting to reject inadequate recycling bin loads from the start of May.

Check out the West Lindsey District Council website for an A-Z of waste disposal, outlining what items go in which bin.