On 31st March 2022, members of Ruddington Baptist Church visited the Veolia Mansfield Material Recovery Facility. This is where the material you put in your blue recycling bin goes for separating and baling. From Mansfield, it goes to specialist re-processors who convert it into brand new products.
We all enjoyed the visit, which lasted about two hours and was hosted by a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable lady. It was very interesting and we recommend it to others.
Below are some things we learned.
- All recyclable material from Nottinghamshire County Council goes to the Mansfield facility (Nottingham City Council doesn’t use it).
- There are five product lines: paper, card, steel, aluminium and plastic.
- One bale of recycled paper (approx. 1 tonne) saves the cutting down of 17 fully grown trees.
- The facility handles around 85,000 tonnes of material every year.
- 10 to 20% of the material put into blue bins is “contaminated” or non-recyclable (e.g. carrier bags, plastic film, dirty nappies!) and should not be put in the recycling bin.
- Paper and card contaminated with foodstuffs cannot be recycled.
- Reprocessing steel and aluminium cans is 95% faster and cheaper than manufacturing them from scratch.
Plastics
Acceptable:
- Any household plastic bottles including the tops. Please put the tops back on after rinsing out the bottles. Note: spray heads and pump action tops are not recyclable but the bottles are.
- Butter and margarine tubs including lids; these should be washed out to prevent contaminating paper with foodstuff.
- Yogurt pots.
Unacceptable:
- Film (e.g. clingfilm, single use wrappings), plastic fruit punnets (even if it says they are recyclable), plastic food trays, carrier bags.
Paper
Acceptable:
- Newspapers, magazines, paperback books, junk mail, writing paper, envelopes.
Unacceptable:
- Shredded paper (clogs the machines), wet wipes.
Card / cardboard
Acceptable:
- Card packaging (such as cereal boxes), plain gift cards, cardboard.
Unacceptable:
- Tetra-pak cartons, gift cards with embellishments (e.g. ribbons, glitter and jewels), pizza trays/boxes (contaminated with food).
Metal
Acceptable:
- Food cans, drinks cans, aerosols.
Unacceptable:
- Foil, lumps of metal.
Please note that the above lists concern blue bins only. There may be other outlets for some of these waste products. Also, the lists are not exhaustive. For full lists see the Rushcliffe Borough Council website at www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/environmentandwaste/recyclingandwaste/bincollections and click on “Blue bin”.
We should recycle as much as we can to preserve our planet. At the same time, we should keep in mind “If in doubt, leave it out.” After all, the contents of the grey bin don’t go to landfill, but end up in an energy recovery plant where they’re burned to make energy which is then fed back to the National Grid.
Tony Whitton
Editor’s Note:
Veolia are reminding residents that placing batteries in grey or blue bins can cause fires.
They’re appealing as part of their “Battery Savvy” campaign to never put any type of battery in a kerbside, general rubbish or recycling bin, but instead use using special collection points at recycling centres or electrical retailers.
Batteries can be put in the recycling box at the Parish Council office, or left on top of any bin in the special bags you can obtain from Rushcliffe Borough Council.