What happens to your waste?

What happens to your waste?

 

Recycling

All of the material you place in your RED recycling bin is sent to a recycling facility, here the mixed material is separated into different streams including:

• Paper
• Cardboard
• Plastic
• Steel
• Aluminium

These fractions are then screened and any contamination is removed, from here the individual material will be bulked up and baled, these bales can weigh up to one tonne. These bales are then transported to  a manufacturing facility or a mill where they will be used to make new products, for example the paper bales will be sent to a paper mill, the baled paper will be processed into a pulp and then used in the production of new paper products.

 

Organic Waste

All of the material you place in your BROWN bin is sent to a composting facility, here the material enters a specialised facility designed to create compost in a very short time frame, typically the waste will become compost within 3 to 4 weeks. These facilities are highly regulated by the EPA or Local Authorities and the Department of Agriculture with the compost being tested on a regular basis to ensure that it is of the highest quality. Once the compost has passed the quality standards it is then used for farming, land reclamation and gardening.

It is important that you only put the allowed material into your organic waste bin otherwise the compost will not meet the required standards.

 

General Waste

If you use your recycling and organic bins correctly you should have very little material left to go into your GENERAL  waste bin. Once mixed material is placed into your waste bin it becomes very difficult to sort any of the components. It is for this reason that it is extremely important not to put any recyclable or organic material into you waste bin. Also the less you put your waste bin out for collection, the less you pay.