Foods and drinks Tetra Pak cartons can now be recycled with cardboard in the blue bag for the first time ever as part of the Council’s weekly kerbside recycling collection service.
Until now, these cartons ended-up in landfill sites resulting in extra greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere and additional Landfill Tax charges being imposed by the Government on the Council.
According to Tetra Pak, UK households consume an estimated 57,000 tonnes of paper-based cartons every year – the equivalent of 331 blue whales. That’s 2.3kg per home.
Councillor David Dixon (Lib-Dem, Odd Down), Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, said, “We’ve listened to local people who have told us they want to recycle foods and drinks cartons. Bath & North East Somerset Council is always looking at ways to extend recycling and waste reduction services to make it easier for households to help the environment and cut Landfill Tax charges. We are very pleased to offer this new service.
“If residents make full use of their green recycling box, blue bags for cardboard and food waste recycling bin collections they should have very little left to put out for the rubbish collection.”
In the past, cartons have been difficult to recycle as they are made from a mixture of 70-90% paperboard, aluminium foil and plastic but with improving technologies they can now be recycled. All sorts of products can be made from recycled drinks cartons including envelopes, plasterboard liner, paper carrier bags, broom handles, roof tiles and even garden furniture.
Lucy Powell, Bath resident, said, “I’m really pleased that this new service is available from the Council. My family will definitely be using it because we no longer have to put cartons in the refuse and we are helping to protect the planet for future generations.”
How to help them:
Empty, wash and squash your cartons and put them with your cardboard in your blue bag – by squashing your cartons, you can fit in 3 times as many cartons in your recycling container, saving on space both in your container and the collection vehicle. One way to squash them is to stamp on them. Remember to flatten, fold or cut all cardboard so that it fits into your blue bag.
Find out more about which other materials you can recycle with the Council’s weekly kerbside collection. Go to http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/wasteservices.
