March 28, 2022 4.30 pm This story is over 24 months old

‘Tags of shame worked’: North Kesteven council celebrates bin scheme’s success

Praise for the local community by the council
North Kesteven District Council's bin team collected around 1,000 tonnes of recyclable dry paper and cardboard in the first collections back in 2021. | Photo: NKDC
By Local Democracy Reporter

New recycling figures released by North Kesteven District Council suggest residents are taking more care in putting items in the correct bins, aided by advisory ‘tags of shame’.

In the most recent green bin collections across the district between February 28 and March 4, 97% of recycling bins were emptied as they contained the correct items.

This was up from 96.5% in the previous month’s collections, as well as an impressive 96% in January’s collections and 94% in December 2021’s.

The numbers have gradually gone up since the new recycling scheme was introduced by North Kesteven District Council in September 2021, in which every resident was given a purple-lidded bin for dry and clean paper and cardboard.

Alongside the rollout of the purple bins came new ‘advisory tags’ on your existing green recycling bin, which saw council waste disposal teams flag up items in the bin that shouldn’t be there, and subsequently reject collections.

This caused initial chaos in the district, as over 9,000 bins were tagged and not taken by waste crews in the first collections, equating to almost 20% of residents in North Kesteven.

Green bins (North Kesteven) were left with ‘tags of shame’. | Photos: Darren Cook and James Stout

However, after a few months of the scheme, it would appear that local residents are now getting the hang of the Right Thing Right Bin project, which North Kesteven District Council says is down to the concerted effort of households in the area.

When the scheme began in September 2021, 33% of what was collected in green bins was the wrong material, which caused a burden on waste management and associated costs.

However, the most recent data shows that level to have reduced to 14%, while an average of 99.8% of purple bins presented are emptied each month, containing only clean and dry paper and card.

A North Kesteven District Council illustration of what should go in each bin. | Image: NKDC

Council Leader Councillor Richard Wright said: “These figures show just how positive and impactful every person and household’s actions are in North Kesteven when it comes to our waste and recycling.

“Clearly our residents are working incredibly hard to keep putting only the right things in the right bins as best they can, despite all the pressures they face day to day, and I’d like to sincerely thank everyone who is doing so.

“Every item placed in the right bin at home helps ensure as much as possible in recycling bins can be recycled, in turn meaning there is less pressure on our planet’s natural resources and less carbon produced.

“I’m excited to see the difference we can all make though the next six months by keeping up these amazing efforts together and reducing waste where we can.”

The advisory tag scheme has also been rolled out in West Lindsey, with one resident voicing their discontent at the “complete waste of money” of a new bin and tags.