Congratulations North East Lincolnshire – September was the first month ever that we did not send any waste to landfill.
Nearly all North East Lincolnshire’s household waste that can’t be recycled is used to generate electricity at the Energy from Waste Plant near Stallingborough, only a small amount (less than five per cent) goes to landfill.
In September, the Council and its waste management contractor Newlincs sent no waste to landfill – all household waste was either recycled or recovered to generate energy.
Recycling crew emptying bins in Cleethorpes. | Photo: North East Lincolnshire Council
Mattresses are one example of an item that until last year were sent to landfill, but now they are taken to be recycled by a company in York.
It comes as North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC) gives its backing to Recycle Week 2022, the nation’s biggest annual celebration of recycling.
The Council is saying a big thank you to Households in North East Lincolnshire who are recycling more than ever in 2022.
Bin lorry tips load at Energy from Waste Plant. | Photo: North East Lincolnshire Council
This year’s current recycling rate stands at 39.37 per cent, up from 39.14 per cent in 2021 and 35.08 per cent in 2020.
Recycling rates have increased greatly since 2017/18 when they were 31.8 per cent. The target for 2025 is 55 per cent.
Households are recycling much more since the Council introduced new wheelie bins in 2020. To make it easy, each bin lid is clearly labelled with symbols showing what to put in them. Paper and card go in the blue wheelie bin. Washed plastic bottles, tubs and trays, food tins and drink cans and glass bottles and jars go in the grey wheelie bin.
NELC also expanded its food waste recycling pilot this year to include more homes. The pilot started in April 2020 and included 4,680 households. Now, more than 5,500 households have bins to recycle food waste every week. The Council is expecting an update from central government with a date for when food waste recycling will be rolled out nationally.
A grabber takes the waste and empties into a hopper. | Photo: North East Lincolnshire Council
All recycling collected in North East Lincolnshire stays in the UK to be processed. Recycling more saves energy and gives existing materials a new life by transforming them into something new.
Cllr Stewart Swinburn, the Council’s portfolio holder for Environment and Transport, said: “It’s fantastic to see more and more people in North East Lincolnshire are recycling.
“Recycling is an easy way to help the environment and prolong the lives of materials such as aluminium, plastics and paper.
“By sorting recycling at home, households are creating a much better-quality product for reprocessing.
“People tell us that recycling is very important to them and I’m grateful to everyone who makes the effort to sort their recycling at home.”
Inside the energy from waste plant. | Photo: North East Lincolnshire Council
Households can check their bin days online at www.nelincs.gov.uk/bins. The bin calendar is the most visited page on the Council’s website. On average, the page has 5,000 views per day.
Before Christmas, the Council will post a handy illustrated recycling guide to households to remind them what goes in each bin. The leaflet also contains information about collection days over the Christmas holiday.
Burning rubbish inside the furnace at the Waste Plant. | Photo: North East Lincolnshire Council
Now in its 18th year, Recycle Week, is the nation’s biggest annual celebration of recycling. This Recycle Week, Recycle Now and North East Lincolnshire Council are getting real, about where we are, where we want to be and how we’re all going to get there, together.
Following its biggest year ever in 2021, Recycle Week is back for 2022, and this year it’s about to Get Real. Citizens have more questions than ever about their recycling and Recycle Now is giving people real answers throughout the Week and beyond.
This year’s campaign will focus on three common questions that many of us have when it comes to recycling: –
Recycle Now will be providing recycling information and insights to answer these questions and clarify that by recycling we really can make a difference. In fact, recycling in the UK saves 18 million tonnes of Co2 a year – all these factors reduce greenhouse gas emissions which lead to climate change.
By getting our recycling right we can also have an impact. One wrong item in the recycling bin from each of us can make whole lorry loads unrecyclable. Recycling doesn’t have to be confusing – that’s what the Recycling Locator is for! Just pop in your postcode to find out what you can recycle where you live.
To find out more about Recycle Week visit www.recyclenow.org.uk/RecycleWeek.
