The way Milton Keynes City Council collects waste is changing from the 4th September.
MKCC believe that the wheelie bins will be a more sustainable option for waste in MK?
Annually, 11 million single use plastic sacks are used to contain recycling for each household in Milton Keynes. Residents will be able to place their rinsed recycling items straight into the bin without using sacks.
Further advantages of switching to wheelie bins include:
higher levels of recycling,
better quality recyclable materials,
fewer injuries as a result of lifting sacks for residents and collection crews,
less street litter from sack spillage,
easier to monitor the misuse of bins, to support better recycling.
The only waste that should be bagged is non-recyclable rubbish that is intended for the black bin. Waste that goes in the black bin tends to be ‘dirty’ waste and so bagging it will help to keep your wheelie bin cleaner and is safer for the crews.
The non-recyclable waste can be contained in any type of sack, not only black sacks. Leftover clear or pink sacks can be used to contain the waste in the new black bin.
Where does your non-recyclable waste go?
Waste that is disposed of in the black bin and black bag are considered non-recyclable but that doesn’t mean it isn’t useful. When it arrives at the Waste Recovery Park in Wolverton, the bags are split and the waste is sorted via various processes to remove recyclable and organic waste.
Recyclable materials are sorted again and then baled to make it easier for transportation to companies where these materials will be used again in new products.
Organic waste is moved to an anaerobic digestor where it is heated for 28 days to produce compost. The gas from this fermentation process goes into an electricity generator that feeds into the national grid.
Any waste that is left after these processes goes into advanced thermal treatment (ATT), also known as gasification. It is heated to a very high temperature and turned into syngas which then powers turbines and produces electricity. From September, the electricity generated from this process will charge the electric vehicles in the new fleet via a private wire.
This process only produces clean emissions and is so efficient that less than 5% of Milton Keynes waste is sent to landfill.
Click the link below to find out more about recycling in MK from September
