By The unusual items found in North East Lincolnshire’s recycling bins
North East Lincolnshire Council have introduced a ‘red tag’ system after increasing numbers of unusual items have disrupted the local recycling service.
The new scheme, which has already been trialed, resulted in more than 150 bins being tagged.
Some of the most common items crews found in the tagged bins include polystyrene, food waste, bubble wrap, plastic bags, nappies, wipes and types of plastic not recycled in the kerbside bins.
But, some more unusual objects including kitchen cupboards and a bike seat were found in the grey recycling bins, and bedding, carpet off-cuts and a coffee machine in the blue bins.
If you find a red ‘Ooops!’ tag on your bin it means you have put something in the wrong bin, and it will not be emptied by the crew.
Councillor Stewart Swinburn said:
“I’d like to thank everyone who uses the new bins correctly, but a small number of households are putting the wrong items in the recycling bins.
“We’re bringing in the tags to encourage people to put the right thing in the right bin.
“Putting the wrong thing in the wrong bin can contaminate the whole load. If people put the wrong things in their recycling bins, we will not empty them until they put it right.
“Paper and card collected from some rounds recently was rejected by the reprocessing plant because the load was contaminated.
“When the lorry was unloaded, workers found wallpaper, chip board, carpet, bedding and food packaging. None of these things go in the blue bins – the blue bins are for paper and card.
“We collect good quality recycling in North East Lincolnshire and I’m proud to say our recycling stays in the UK to be processed.
“We are now rolling out the tags in other parts of the borough to make sure the quality of our recycling is as good as it can be.”
Households that are given a tag will need to check their bins and take out anything that is in the wrong bin.
The crews will then empty the bin on the next scheduled collection day.
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