From your local communities…
Local Community Activist Nik Mckiernan talks about her recent visit to the household waste recycle centre:
Why bother recycling?
Every item we throw away has the potential to become part of the solution to the growing waste problem. Recycling conserves precious resources, reduces the strain on landfills and helps combat climate change by cutting down on energy use and emissions. But how much of what we put into our household recycling bins gets recycled? Does any of it end up in landfill or get shipped off overseas?
To find out, I went to visit the Sherbourne Resource Park in Coventry to see what happens to the contents of our waste recycling bin after they’re collected.
The site, which began operations in August 2023, is a state-of-the-art materials recycling facility, using advanced technology and automation to process 47.5 tonnes of waste every hour! The aim of the site is to separate materials and compact them into 1-tonne cubes of metal, paper, plastic or glass, known as ‘recyclate’. Sherbourne achieves a world-leading 99% purity of recyclate, which is then sold exclusively to UK-based companies. The waste separation process includes advanced robotics, AI technology and optical sorters that distinguish between different items. It was amazing to see this technology in action.
Unfortunately, some of the items people put into recycling bins cannot be recycled – these are called residue. During our visit, we saw an unusual assortment of non-recyclable items, from microwaves to large rocks! These items get sifted out early in the process to prevent damage to the rest of the machinery. The remaining residue is then sent to Nottingham, where it is processed at a cement kiln.
The facility is co-owned by eight local authorities in the Midlands, with North Warwickshire Borough Council as one of the founding partners, alongside Coventry City Council, making this £65M investment happen. Impressively the site uses solar panels on the roof with other local power sources, so it doesn’t rely on energy from the grid - a great example of its commitment to sustainability.
We are good recyclers but we could do better!
Here are tips from what I learned about your kerbside collection service:
Always put lids back on items like milk cartons and wine bottles; they will be dealt with by the automated separation process.
Recycling plastics is complex due to the difficulty of breaking them down. Brown plant pots can be recycled at Sherbourne, provided the soil has been cleaned off. However, hard plastics, like toys, cannot be recycled.
Foil should be kept flat not scrunched; otherwise it won’t be recognised by the optical sorters.
Items smaller than 55cm in diameter (about the size of a beer mat) cannot be recycled, including small piece of paper. These get filtered out as residue.
Drinking glasses are not recyclable as they are made from a different type of glass to beer and wine bottles.
Disposable vapes are non- recyclable and dangerous in recycling bins because they contain lithium-ion batteries, which can easily catch fire.
Large items, like metal brake discs, saws or catering tins should be taken to a Household Recycling Centre.
