BINS across Calne have been left unemptied today as collection crews step up checks of blue lidded bins for a new Wiltshire Council awareness campaign.

Residents have been voicing their concerns today as lines of bins have been left unemptied and tagged with a red hanger to identify a heavily contaminated bin that will need to have the offending items removed before the next scheduled collection.

The move is part of the council's new 'Recycling - let's sort it!' awareness campaign to provide people with more information about what can and can't be recycled using its kerbside collection services.

One of the council's Business Plan missions is to take responsibility for the environment, and an increase in the county-wide recycling rate will help to achieve this.

However, residents have been quick to point out the possible pitfalls of the initiative as lines of bins in Calne can already be seen spilling on to the street. A post from Clean Up Calne Crew said: 'I can see the new recycling drive by Wiltshire Council is going to cause issues. Seen today, 4 out of 7 bins not emptied due to the wrong items being included. How long before bins are spewing out contents all over the place.'

Another resident commented; "And this is why people choose not to recycle! Maybe put your orange labels on warning people that next time bins won’t be emptied. But hey the power they hold …."

Calne News spoke to one resident on Hungerford Road where the problem is particularly bad today - she told us: "The thing is people will just end up chucking everything in the green bin at this rate and then they will know it will be collected. There are so many rules , I try my best with it but it is getting harder and harder to do right for doing wrong!"

Cllr Nick Holder, Cabinet Member for Waste, said: "We all need to do our bit to recycle more in Wiltshire, and the easiest way to do that is at home, using our kerbside recycling service.

"However, it's important people put the right things into their blue-lidded recycling bins, or it may not be recycled, and these hangers will help to inform people if they're making mistakes. Many people think they are doing the right thing, but unfortunately, we cannot collect all items for recycling in blue-lidded bins.

"We find all sorts of things in blue-lidded bins that shouldn't be in there - including dirty nappies, knives, tools, and hard plastics such as toys and coat hangers. But perhaps the most common wrong item that people put into their blue-lidded bin is plastic bags - this includes carrier bags, bin bags and plastic film such as fruit bags or the film on top of meat or ready meal trays.

"People can take all these items to their nearest household recycling centre, while plastic bags and film can go in the general waste bin; we convert this waste into energy. Alternatively, many supermarkets have collection points for carrier bags and plastic films.

"Please check before you chuck so we can all increase recycling in Wiltshire and help to protect the environment."

Items that CAN be placed in the recycle bin:

Plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays (but no black plastics)
Bleach bottles
Cooking oil bottles
Drinks bottles
Handwash bottles
Juice or squash bottles
Laundry liquid and fabric conditioner bottles
Milk and yoghurt drink bottles
Plastic food trays i.e. meat, fruit and vegetable trays (no black plastic or plastic film)
Shampoo and conditioner bottles
Upright 'pump' type toothpaste tubes
Yoghurt pots, margarine tubs, ice cream tubs
Washing up liquid bottles
Wash and squash bottles, and keep the lids on.

Tins, cans, empty aerosols and clean foil

Clean foil and trays
Clean food tins
Drinks cans
Empty aerosols - make sure aerosols are depressurized (completely empty) otherwise they can explode when compacted
Food and drink cartons
Metal biscuit tins
Rinse out food cans and trays.

Cartons
Custard cartons
Drink cartons
Food cartons, e.g. passata
Milk cartons
Wash and squash all cartons.

Paper and cardboard of any colour
Brown paper
Cereal boxes
Corrugated cardboard
Directories and catalogues
Egg boxes
Envelopes (no need to remove windows)
Food packaging boxes and sleeves
Frozen/chilled pizza boxes
Greetings cards
Newspapers and magazines
Ready meal sleeves
Shoe boxes
Toilet and kitchen rolls
Wrapping paper if it scrunches into a ball and doesn't bounce back (not the foil kind)
Remove all non-cardboard/paper packing such as bubble wrap or polystyrene. Keep recycling clean and dry. Wet cardboard may not be collected.

What you must not put in your blue-lidded bin

Black plastic - plastics are sorted using laser technology that can identify different plastic types. Black plastics are difficult for the equipment to detect so these cannot be separated for recycling from other materials managed at the facility, so are rejected.
Cardboard contaminated with foodstuff e.g. takeaway pizza boxes
Film lids from pots, tubs and trays
Cling film
Plastic bags, eg, carrier bags, sandwich bags, freezer bags, bin liners
Crisp/sweet packets
Pet food pouches
Disposable drinks cups and plastic straws
Compostable plastics (including cups, trays, films, and cartons)
Plastic packaging and polystyrene
Plant pots (including black) - these can be taken to most household recycling centres or returned to garden centres for reuse
Rigid plastic eg toys, garden furniture
Boxes with plastic windows, please remove the window first
Foil-lined cardboard tubes (eg Pringles tubes)
Dirty cans or tins - please rinse all recyclables first
Clinical / medical products
Batteries
Scrap metal
Books
Textiles
Plastic tubes (including toothpaste, hand cream tubes)
Shredded paper
Coffee pods

To find out more about what can be recycled in the blue-lidded kerbside recycling bins, please go to: www.wiltshire.gov.uk/recycling;

or to find the nearest supermarket that collects plastic, people can go to www.recyclenow.com/recycling-locator 

Photo Credit: Calne Clean Up Crew

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