Use them (properly), or lose them!

Banks at community recycling sites could be removed if people continue to abuse them, Powys County Council has warned.

The council’s Waste and Recycling Team has seen an increase in the number of cardboard and green waste banks that have been contaminated with residual waste. Instead of being recycled or composted, the contaminated material has to be sent to landfill.

Material that is not accepted at community recycling sites should either be taken to the household waste recycling centres or disposed of via the kerbside collection (wheeled bin or purple sacks).

Cllr Phyl Davies, Cabinet Member for Waste and Recycling, said: “The vast majority of people use the banks at the community recycling sites properly but there are a small minority who continue to abuse them by dumping their residual waste into the containers.

“By dumping residual waste in these banks, people are contaminating the recyclable materials within them. As a result, we are unable to recycle the contents and instead this is landfilled.

“If the level of contamination continues, we will have to review these facilities and could remove banks from sites.”

The Council says that if you are recycling as much as possible there should be sufficient capacity within the wheeled bin or purple sack allocation for non-recyclable waste. 

If you are struggling to manage your waste and recycling or have any questions please contact the council on 0845 602 7035 or 01597 827465 or email waste.awareness@powys.gov.uk

PICTURE: Some of the residual waste that has been found when cardboard was collected from banks at a local community recycling site.