Quarter of all recycling in Hartlepool contaminated - here's how to avoid the problem

The recycling rate for Hartlepool for 2018/19 was 32.5%, the percentage of all waste which was recycled in the town.

The contamination rate for 2018/19 was 25.5%, which meant the waste could not be recycled.

Paul Herwood, from the council waste and environmental services team, gave an update on waste and refuse in the town to the North and Coastal Community Forum, urging residents to recycle where they can.

He said: “The recycling rate for last year was 32.5%, we want that to be higher, we’re always wanting that to be higher.

“The contamination rate, what that refers to is the amount of waste inside the recycling bin presented by residents that shouldn’t have been in there.

“It ranges from things like the wrong type of plastic, and we understand that’s always going to be the case, right through to things like dog fouling, nappies, food, things people do know shouldn’t be in there, which is a big problem

“What we do say, even though we want as much recycling as we can possibly get, if you’re in any sort of doubt, put it in your green bin [general waste].

“It’s better to go in the green bin unfortunately than to risk putting it in the recycling bin and interfering with the sorting process.”

Dos and Dont’s

Mr Herwood stressed items that can be recycled in the grey recycling bin are paper, cardboard, cans, glass bottles, jars and plastic bottles, and added items should be left loose and not in plastic bags.

Council officers also stressed rubbish will not be collected if it’s left to the side of bins.

Certain items can also be taken to the Household Waste Recycling Centre in Burn Road to be recycled.

Brown bins are for garden waste, such as grass cuttings, and cannot be used for items such as pet waste or kitchen waste.

Council officers noted waste operatives, commonly known as a bin man, cover just over 43,000 properties every week.

Each operative walks around 12 miles a day, emptying approximately 600 wheelie bins each day.

In January this year Hartlepool Borough Council’s neighbourhood services committee approved implementing the joint waste management strategy for the Tees Valley for 2020 to 2035.

The aims of the policy included seeking to increase recycling and aims to ensure 55% of waste collected by local authorities is recycled by 2025, increasing to 65% by 2035.

People can check for information as to what can and can’t be recycled at https://www.hartlepool.gov.uk/recycle.