Why would the council empty my recycling bin with general waste?

[neutralfoxx]

Our black bin I emptied once a fortnight as is our grey (recycling) bin. The last few times our black bin has been emptied, they have also emptied our grey recycling bin. Why would they do this? My grey bin was full of cardboard today they emptied it with the black bin general rubbish …

Because there’s something in there that shouldn’t be.

Because they haven't enough wagons/drivers/loaders to do a separate run so it all gets tipped in the same motor.

Do you not have to wheel them out to the pavement? Were they emptied into the same bin lorry?

Because the storage facility at base for cardboard is full? Because the price of cardboard for recycling has dropped to the point where it’s uneconomical to recycle it and so they are landfilling it? Because the recycling rig has broken down so they can’t collect it separately this week? Because the collector was thinking about what he was going to have for lunch, or was worrying about his wife’s test results, or how he was going to pay for the repair his car needs, and did it by accident? Or any one of a number of other reasons.

If you’re very exercised by it, you could email your council’s waste department and ask. There’s usually an email address on their website.

This is a number one complaint in my local FB group!

The council have to keep explaining that the truck is split into two - recycling and non recycling.

Have a look next time and you should be able to see that the separate coloured bins will either be put to the left or the right of the back of the truck.

Split bin trucks in the UK, often called twin-pack or split-body refuse collection vehicles (RCVs), feature divided compartments (e.g., 70/30 or 50/50 splits) to collect two different waste streams simultaneously.

These vehicles are essential for efficient recycling, allowing crews to collect materials like dry mixed recyclables and food waste or general waste in one pass.