I work in recycling & waste management AMA

[amawaster]

I've worked in waste & recycling for the last 12 years for various different councils. I've worked on waste reduction projects, Home composting, waste & recycling collections, waste disposal & contracts & lots & lots of communication projects!

Waste & recycling are something people always seem to discuss & the media coverage of my industry is rarely positive despite all of the incredible efforts of the many committed individuals working in it.

Hoping I should be able to answer your questions!

[amawaster]

I know recycling should be clean but how clean exactly? Mostly clean or could-eat-off-it clean?

Basically clean/dry enough that it's not going to damage any materials that are collected with it (e.g. paper/cardboard) or go mouldy if it's stored for a few weeks. So basically pretty clean & dry, but not enough to get hung up on it. Unless you really love washing up.....

[Tomboytown]

I need you
I'm in apt in Spain and there are 3 bins

Solo plastics
Solo paper
Solo organics- is this the food/compost?
Where do I put teabags/eggshells?

[amawaster]

I've never worked in Spain but I'm guessing you're right @Tomboytown eggshells & teabags in with organics would be my best guess hope there's glass recycling nearby too

[alphajuliet123]

Hi OP. Bit of an odd one. I'd like to know your thoughts on the Corrie McKeague case, the RAF serviceman who vanished nearly 2 years ago. It has been in the news that it is believed Corrie slept in a Biffa bin and eventually ended up in landfill, though the bin he was in should have gone to a recycling centre. Sorry if you know nothing about Corrie, but if you do I'd love to know how his body could have been missed.

[amawaster]

I have a lot of respect for the forensics team that excavated the landfill site. That was a thankless & very hazardous job. Don't really want to say anything else about Corrie's disappearance as no-one knows what happened to him, least of all me.

On the subject of people sleeping in bins, Biffa have actually done some great work in London to prevent the deaths of homeless people seeking shelter in their bins. Whilst the issue of homelessness is rising everywhere, I doubt a relatively small market town like Bury St Edmunds would be implementing those ways of working.

[kaitlinktm]

What about sellotape or any tape on cardboard boxes. I try to take it off, but sometimes a box is covered and I can't - so do I still recycle the box or do I need to put it in the non-recyclable?

[alphajuliet123]

Thank you. But thinking about the process (rather than Corrie's case specifically) how easily is it for "large" items to pass through the waste system unnoticed? I believe the bin lorry was meant to have gone to recycling, where presumably the rubbish is sorted through mechanically with some human intervention. IF a body went through that process surely it would be noticed? It's a big IF, because obviously landfill got searched extensively so it seems the bin didn't end up being emptied where it should have.

But hypothetically, would you think a body would be discovered? When you first heard about the case and the bin and the searches, did you reckon he'd be found easily? I'm struggling to believe he went to landfill as he wasn't found despite months of looking, so I'm wondering if the recycling process is even plausible.

[amawaster]

What about sellotape or any tape on cardboard boxes. I try to take it off, but sometimes a box is covered and I can't - so do I still recycle the box or do I need to put it in the non-recyclable?

The pulping process cardboard goes through will remove some sellotape, but if it's layers thick & completely covering the box it's unlikely to "come clean".

[kaitlinktm]

Ah - I see, then I was right to put some of my boxes in the non-recycling then.

This thread really has been enormously helpful - thank you.

[extinctspecies]

What do you think about the move towards gasification plants i.e. waste -to-energy?
I understand some of them in some areas are being fed with recyclables because the capacity is so high, and it's cheaper for councils.
Isn't it better to recycle than burn waste, even if it is used to generate energy?

[DryHeave]

Someone told me that rinsing your recycling is a waste because it all gets washed anyway. By rinsing (ineffectively) at home, we’re just wasting resources. Is this true?

[amawaster]

What do you think about the move towards gasification plants i.e. waste -to-energy?
I understand some of them in some areas are being fed with recyclables because the capacity is so high, and it's cheaper for councils.
Isn't it better to recycle than burn waste, even if it is used to generate energy?

I think there's only 1 gasification plant in the U.K., they're very uncommon! More common are incinerators with steam powered turbines attached to make electricity. Heat from burning the waste is used turn water into steam which turns the turbine & creates electricity.

The U.K. overall has a massive capacity issue- ie more waste than places to treat it so some of our residual waste is exported abroad to countries with the opposite problem- more capacity than waste.

It's always going to be cheaper to recycle than burn because of this capacity issue. Energy creation regardless of technology used is always better than landfill.

[amawaster]

Someone told me that rinsing your recycling is a waste because it all gets washed anyway. By rinsing (ineffectively) at home, we’re just wasting resources. Is this true?

I would put money on that person not understanding the recycling market! As I said upthread, quality is king and clean material is more marketable and therefore more valuable than dirty material. Also dirty stuff mixed in with clean stuff buggers other stuff up.

TL;DR keep it clean it's worth it!!

[mammmamia]

Thank you for this thread. It’s really useful and interesting.

[mammmamia]

Can biros that no longer work be recycled?

[amawaster]

Can biros that no longer work be recycled?

Nope- too small to make it through a sorting process from a kerbside collection or even a specific hard plastic collection I would expect. Unless there's a specific biro recycling scheme, which I've never heard of tbh...

[Newkitchenideas1]

Should milk bottle tops and plastic bottle tops be taken off the bottles to recycle or left on?
My dad says they need to be removed but colleagues said they believed they should stay on?

[BrightonBB]

Beer bottle tops - they are metal with a plastic inner bit. Can they be recycled or are they too small?
Thank you.

[mammmamia]

I would also like to know about beer bottle tops! Thank you

[kaitlinktm]

@amawaster - please come back and tell us about the beer bottle tops!

I thought they could be recycled - didn't realise they had some plastic in them.

[amawaster]

Sorry it's been a horrid week at work and my love for recycling has waivered

[amawaster]

Damn! Not that bad!!! Posted too soon!!

I put beer bottle tops in a jar and then in the bottle bank, otherwise they're too small. Alternatively you could collect them & take to your local recycling centre, but again I think they would be too small.

[amawaster]

Should milk bottle tops and plastic bottle tops be taken off the bottles to recycle or left on?
My dad says they need to be removed but colleagues said they believed they should stay on?

Milk bottle tops on please- lots of work has been done to get these compatible with the bottles for recycling 🎉

[scrivette]

Thank you @amawaster this was a really interesting thread.