feature: What is Better Haringey?
28 May 2008
Better Haringey is our top priority programme. We've invested £20m to make real, visible improvements to our environment, working with you for a cleaner, greener and safer borough.
Improved recycling is in the mix
From this month thousands more residents will start receiving Haringey Council’s full mixed recycling service. We take a look at what you can recycle in your green boxes, and why the council offers the mixed recycling service.
By the end of June 20,000 more households across the borough will be receiving the service. That means it’s now being offered to virtually every home with a green box collection.
The service will enable residents to put plastic bottles and cardboard into their green box, as well as the paper, cans and glass that they could previously recycle. They will also have weekly collections of food waste and garden waste.
The collections will be made using special dual-compartment vehicles that can pick up all of the materials at the same time. This prevents the council from having to operate two separate trucks to collect the different types of recycling, so reducing vehicle movements in the borough.
The council hopes the new service will make it much easier for residents to recycle more of their household waste, and help the borough reach its target of recycling or composting 35 per cent of all household waste by 2011 – up from 25 per cent now.
For the same reason, the council plans to introduce mixed recycling facilities to on-street bring sites and housing estates later this year. Residents will no longer have to separate their newspapers, bottles and tins, as these materials will all be put together in a single recycling bin. The facilities will also be able to accept plastic bottles and cardboard.
The council is also looking at ways of introducing the mixed recycling service to the handful of roads which are currently inaccessible for the larger collection vehicles that are needed to provide this service.
Cabinet member for environment and conservation Cllr Brian Haley said:
“Our policy has always been to try to make recycling as easy as possible for our residents. That’s why we offer the mixed collection service.
“We want to cut the amount of waste in this borough that goes to landfill or incineration. To do so we need to encourage more people to make recycling part of their daily routine.
“I hope people will make use of our improved service, and we will continue to work hard to make recycling as simple as possible for everyone in this borough.”
If you don’t yet receive the mixed recycling service, please look out for leaflets and new containers that will be delivered to you. To check if you receive this service, please contact the Haringey Enterprise Call Centre on 020 8885 7700 or visit www.haringey.gov.uk/mixed_recycling_service
What happens to my recycling?
Mixed material recycling is sent to a company in Greenwich where it is sorted out into the individual materials, such as paper, plastic and metals, using a range of machines and state-of-the-art devices. The sorted materials are then sent to re-processing companies to be recycled into new products. Some of these are in the UK, some in Europe, and some are further afield.
When sending separated materials on longer journeys the recycling industry uses a process called ‘backfilling’, which involves making use of space on cargo ships that would otherwise be empty. These ships have brought products to the UK to be sold, and then return to pick up more manufactured items that are destined for sale in Europe.
By using the space on the ships as they make the return journey, materials are fed back into the manufacturing industries in those countries, which reduces their demand for raw materials. This goes some way to redress the balance between what we produce in this country and the vastly greater quantity of materials we consume.
What you can recycle in your green box on the mixed recycling service
- Paper and card, including:
- Junk mail
- Envelopes
- Newspapers
- Magazines
- Catalogues
- Telephone directories
- Yellow Pages
- Cardboard boxes
- Cereal boxes
- Glass bottles and jars
- Plastic bottles, including:
- Milk bottles
- Fizzy drink bottles
- Squash bottles
- Water bottles
- Shampoo bottles
- Shower gel bottles
- Washing up liquid bottles
- Fabric conditioner bottles
- Bleach bottles
- Food tins and drink cans
- Clean foil
Please rinse all tins, cans, bottles and jars. The lids should also be removed and put into your refuse bin.
Things to avoid
- Clothing
- Cartons, including:
- Juice cartons
- Milk cartons
- Any other plastic items, such as:
- Yoghurt pots
- Margarine tubs
- Plastic bags or wrappers
- Polystyrene
- Window glass
- Books
- Light bulbs
For more information please call 020 885 7700 or visit www.haringey.gov.uk/mixed_recycling_service.
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