NEWS Report

The other week, Bob and I went with a small group of people from our village [mostly Parish Councillors and spouses] to look at the Norse Environmental Waste Services [aka NEWS]  plant on the edge of Norwich. It was a really interesting tour, and I learned loads about this state-of-the-art facility which has been open almost 20 years.

Recycling bin lorries deposit their contents onto a series of moving belts which travel round the huge building, and the various recyclables [card, paper, glass, certain plastics] are removed at different points.

At an early stage, there us a lot of hand sorting when stuff which really should not have been put in the recycling bins has to be weeded out and discarded. I was horrified to hear what the staff have to deal with.

Things like

disposable nappies

dead pets

bags of animal faeces

medical waste including 'sharps'

gas cylinders

ammunition 

lithium batteries

These things are all dangerous- some can pass on infection, others [batteries, ammunition and gas cylinders can explode or catch fire] Before we started we were given instructions in case of fire, and dressed in PPE. Here's a helpful video of what goes on

Much of the stuff which arrives is not recyclable. Dangerous items are removed and disposed of safely. Other stuff goes off to be incinerated. For every 15 tonnes like this that providesd the same fuel at 10 tonnes of imported coal. 

All the card goes out to the Far East - because they need to make new boxes for their manufactured goods. Sadly the price of used paper has fallen - recycled paper is made into cheaper stuff like newsprint and fewer people read a newspaper now [most read online] 

Glass is an issue - the Norwich Plant would prefer not to deal with it, and until recently we were told not to put it in our domestic bins, but to take it to communal bottle banks. This pre-sorted glass is much easier to process. [One half full wine bottle which breaks can ruin the whole bin load] But the glass which goes to NEWS is sorted, washed and sent on to make new glass.. 

Plastic drinks bottles and regular translucent milk bottles can be sold for food grade recyclables. Cans, aluminium and steel, are sorted and sent on too.

The council says we can put Tetrapaks in our bins - but they are hard to recycle, so they are sorted and sent to regular waste. Ditto some heavily coloured plastics [even if they have the recycle symbol on the bottom] Our guide said he loathes plastic flowerpots and Cravendale milk bottles

It is so important to check your labels [see here] There is a helpful page of recycling myths here. We had loads of questions. And got really surprising answers

What about shredded paper ? No thank you  Not even tied in a bag? Staff do not have time to sort tied bags, and they may contain contaminants- all tied bags and sealed boxes are left closed and sent straight to waste!

Why can't we have food waste bins like they do in other places [Like Leicestershire, and Dorset] We do not have facilities to deal with it. No 'bio digester' locally

Is it helpful to crush cans, squash bottles and flatten boxes? NO!!! Many of the machines sort by shape - they can 'recognise' a can, a milk bottle etc. Crushing slows up that process.

One member of the group spoke about living in Germany where everyone had 'domestic' bins, but there were lots of communal bins for different recycling easily available in the towns, and people used them, it was considered antisocial to do otherwise. Our guide said that in many countries, people understand their personal responsibility in this - but in the UK, people say "I'll put it in the bin, and somebody else will sort it for me" We all need to learn to sort it for ourselves and put rubbish in the appropriate bin [and where possible avoid using some things in the first place] Refuse, reduce, reuse, repair and rethink come before recycle in the sustainability scheme

So I encourage you to look at how you recycle - and PLEASE - remember every area is different, do check your local provision and instructions. [Our guide was Very Cross with the Government for not having a standardised national recycling policy!!]

He said the two really busy times of the year were the holiday season [and many of the people who visit our lovely county sadly leave a lot of ill-managed rubbish behind] and Christmas [when people are too busy having fun to think about responsible recycling]

So please think about what you use to wrap your gifts - avoid foil and glitter, and keep sticky tape to a minimum.

"🎵Brown paper packages, tied up with strings, 

these are the best for recycling things...🎵"