It’s a wheelie bad idea
Residents are being reminded that wheeled bins can not be accepted to deposit waste or recyclables at any household waste recycling centres (HWRCs) in Warwickshire.
Following a number of incidents where people have turned up at one of the centres Warwickshire County Council is reminding residents that there are a number of reasons why the county council is unable to accommodate waste contained within wheeled bins at its sites.
For example three of the county’s districts now collect garden waste mixed with food waste directly from the kerbside and the garden waste deposited at a HWRC cannot contain any food waste.
The system for composting green waste from recycling centres is different to the method of composting kerbside garden and food waste collections in order to comply with the Animal By-Products Regulations 2005.
The regulations were introduced to help avoid animals and birds coming into contact with the waste which could potentially spread diseases. Therefore, all mixed garden and food waste collections must be recovered and composted in an in-vessel composting or covered facility.
For health and safety reasons the county council discourages members of the public against loading garden waste into wheelie bins and then attempting to lift them, because of the accumulative weight of the bin and the waste.
Wheeled bins are designed to be raised by mechanical equipment attached to district operated dustcarts and are not intended to be lifted or emptied manually.
People who are unable to compost all of their garden waste at home and would like to continue to recycle their garden waste without food at their local recycling centre may continue to do so in a suitable reusable container or bag, many of which are now available on the market at a small cost.
Warwickshire County Council provides facilities at all nine household waste recycling centres across the county to enable residents to recycle their green waste more easily.*
Cllr Alan Cockburn, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio
Holder for the Environment, said: “The Warwickshire Waste Partnership has exceeded targets for recycling and composting 10 years early.
"The county is now recycling 43.2% of its waste compared to just 15% in 2003/04 and it is with your help that we have exceeded the 40% target set in our Warwickshire Waste Management Strategy.”
For further information about composting please visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/composting and for details regarding the locations, opening times and types of materials we can accept at our nine Household Waste Recycling Centres in Warwickshire please visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/hwrc
If you have any questions about recycling and disposal please contact the Waste Management Team at WCC on tel: 01926 412593 or email waste@warwickshire.gov.uk.
* Vehicle restrictions apply
* Green waste at HWRCs must not contain any food waste