Careless Wigan residents are contaminating recyclables

The team at Wigan’s three recycling centres has been intercepting black bags and checking the content. T

his is done at many sites up and down the country to ensure that as much waste as possible is recycled thereby reducing any going to landfill.

But staff at the centres at Kirkless in Higher Ince, Slag Lane in Leigh and Chanters in Atherton, have been reporting an increase in food waste in these bags, which not only makes the task unpleasant, but food waste should be placed in residents’ household green recycling bins or, as a last resort, in the black bin for collection at the kerbside.

FCC environment contract manager,Barry Elder said: “Since the BBQ season came to an end, the team have been ‘talking rubbish’ as more and more of our food waste is finding its way into the bags being taken to the recycling centre.

“This is not only making it hard for the team to pull out recyclable materials but in some cases it is contaminating the recyclable materials making them unfit to be made into something new. We also spend a lot of time going through these bags and it can be an unpleasant task.

“So we are asking residents to put food waste into their green bins and take out any items that can be recycled from the bags they take to the recycling centre and bring those items in separately to us so we can focus our energy on providing help and advice and recycling as much as we can which reduces landfill costs and is good for our environment.”

Coun Paul Prescott said: “We’re really pleased to see residents recycling more and recycling right, in line with the deal, here in Wigan borough – I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who is doing their bit.

“We know we can always go further. That’s why we are encouraging residents to take their recycling to the next level.

“Recycling food and garden waste in the green bin is important as it saves that waste from going to landfill and it has an important role to play in helping grow our future food.

“Crucially, recycling correctly using all three recycling bins will save space in your black bin. The black bin should be a last resort for items that cannot be recycled.

“And for everything else, we provide three recycling centres in the borough where the team really are dedicated to recycling as much of what comes in as possible.

“Helping them by sorting recyclable items before you set off not just makes it easier for them, but also saves you time unloading when you get to site.”

Residents are reminded that our recycling centres can be exceptionally busy, particularly in peak hours between 10am and 3pm, so are advised to visit outside of these hours to avoid queues. To further reduce queues residents can also help by pre-sorting their recycling at home before they get on site.

For further information about the sites and the waste permit scheme in operation please visit: www.wigan.gov.uk/Recycling