Recycling "fly-away" plastic?

Mon 7 Aug 2017, 12:26

Could WODC have fly-away plastic recycling containers in the Spendlove Car Park and other recycling centres instead of adding to landfill. I think OCC gets charged for this but maybe the WODC cabinet don't care as they won't be the ones paying!

Wed 2 Aug 2017, 11:56

Oh dear, all sounds like a bit of a backward step to me but thanks all for the heads up.

Tue 1 Aug 2017, 20:58

According to the WODC weblink any bags that might line the food waste bins will be stripped out and sent to Ardley Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) for incinerating and generating electricity, so in future they will join the bubble wrap, cling film & crisp packets, that we were told to date was broadly recycled. Lucky local residents of Ardley who will now presumably experience an uptick in emissions for incinerating this waste stream. I do not recall this consequence being part of the WODC consultation.

Tue 1 Aug 2017, 19:26

Malcolm: there's absolutely no point arguing the point here! I've got the official council position. Do take it up with them!

Tue 1 Aug 2017, 09:02

Thanks Jon, that's pretty clear. Will just have to reduce rather than recycle...

Tue 1 Aug 2017, 00:02

Surely anything polythene should be ok? That is easily recyclable, and we get a number of weekly subscription packets which are obviously polythene. These should be put in with containers and drinks bottles - same stuff, just less mass? Clearly bags marked biodegradable won't, so they seem to be destined for burning. Better than micron sized particles deposited in the geology, suppose...

Mon 31 Jul 2017, 23:28

I asked the council, and got this reply:

"No, unfortunately once the new service starts in October, we'll no longer be collecting flyaway plastics. The recycling plant where your recycling will be sent will not accept them. We tried to retain this service, however it did not provide good value for money.

Please note that plastic bags, such as carrier bags and those which contained food, i.e. bread and salad bags, can now be used to line your food waste bin. For more information see www.westoxon.gov.uk/news/july/food-waste-liners/

Bubble wrap, cling film, crisp packets etc will need to be put in your rubbish bin. This will be taken to the Ardley Energy Recovery Facility (ERF) for processing (generating electricity)."

Mon 31 Jul 2017, 15:28

The advice from WODC is
Plastic: flyaways are carrier bags, polythene, small clear food packaging, bubble wrap, cling film and compost bags only.
These should be placed in a plastic bag (carrier bag or similar) in your black recycling box.
Presumably the same will apply to the new blue bis

Mon 31 Jul 2017, 14:03

Thanks Matthew, I was wondering this exact same thing! The lid of my new box seems to have a more restrictive 'contents' list than our current options.
And good luck liz with the new campaign, will get my support.

Mon 31 Jul 2017, 11:24

Hi Matthew, I intend to put everything plastic in the recycling as we have always done. Sustainable Charlbury is planning a re-launch and reducing plastic from the shops in our town is going to be an early campaign. I hope you'll join us. There are now plastic-free shops. See plastic.free.co.uk

Sun 30 Jul 2017, 13:24

Dear recycling experts of Charlbury,

I notice inside my nice new blue-topped bin there is handy information regarding which plastics are acceptable to go in for recycling. Basically it seems to be plastic bottles and cartons (e.g. yoghurt pots) with no mention of thin plastics such as plastic bags or wrapping (often referred to "fly-away" plastic).

In the past we were advised to put all of this type of plastic into a large plastic bag and then to the recycling boxes which I have been doing for several years. My question is, should I still bother?

Many thanks in advance for any advice...