An estimated one in five blue bags – meant for cans, cartons and certain plastics – has items which cannot be recycled in them and must be re-sorted by hand or thrown into general waste.
Clint Blondel, who runs waste collection rounds in Vale, St Martin’s and St Saviour’s, said parishes were instructing him not to collect any blue bags that contain non-compliant items and to leave stickers instead.
‘We are having to crack down on it because the amount we are getting is mental. We have rejected over 800 bags in just two days and stickered them,’ said Mr Blondel.
‘Some people don’t seem to understand while others are taking the mickey.’
He said the main items which appeared mistakenly in blue bags were plastic bags, crisp packets, polythene and foil pet food sachets.
‘But we’ve also had to sticker bags with a jar of hot dogs in, tea bags and fruit peel,’ he said.
‘It’s not rocket science. People need to realise it will just push up the cost of the black bag stickers that we all have to buy.’
Other non-recyclable items often placed in blue bags by error include cling film, polystyrene, coal sacks, tablet blister packs, plastic toys, paint pots and black plastic.
Vale parish said their advice to anyone whose recycling has been stickered in this way is to remove the ‘wrong’ items and then either put bags out again on the next collection night, or take it to the Household Waste & Recycling Centre at Longue Hougue.
Guernsey Waste, whose job it is to manage the processing of materials collected by the parishes, said the aim was to increase awareness of contamination.
‘This is absolutely not about making life difficult for households,’ said Guernsey Waste contracts and compliance manager Rachel Lowe.
‘Most people are genuinely trying to do the right thing. Unfortunately, including film with other items in kerbside bags is the wrong thing and causes more harm than good.
‘We appreciate the inconvenience of having your bag left behind. However, if you put out the wrong materials for collection and they still get picked up, you naturally assume you have put in the correct items. The only way to break the cycle is if it gets left behind.’
She added that dirty containers that still have food contents or residues were also likely to be left behind, as these items are deemed by processors as contamination and cause problems in sorting.
‘However, so long as they are clean, they could be included in blue bags,’ she said.
However she said that thin film plastics should always be put in with general waste, which do not incur any extra costs to households, because it was lightweight and easily compressed.
Ms Lowe added that islanders were not being helped by information on some thin film packaging that suggests it can be recycled.
‘This is not just an issue for Guernsey. Although thin film plastics are technically recyclable, the processing capacity in the UK simply does not exist to deal with all this packaging.
‘A lot of work is going on now to resolve that, so there may be a solution in the next couple of years, which we will be delighted about.
‘However, for now the message is really clear – we cannot recycle thin film plastic, so please leave it out.’
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