Are the right things going in your blue bin?

Residents are being reminded to take extra care when putting recycling in their blue bin this Christmas.

Over the festive period, the Council understand that there will be plenty of wrapping paper, cards and everything in between.

To help crews this Christmas, they ask you only put the correct materials in your blue bin. Unfortunately, in recent weeks, there have been a number of contaminants found in these bins including used nappies, car seats and tin cans.

Sadly, this means the material that should be recycled often can’t be accepted when it reaches the recycling plant.

Ultimately, the hard work by residents who recycle correctly goes to waste. To ensure this doesn’t happen, make sure to check what should and what should not be going in your blue bin.

Some of the unwanted items found in recent weeks should be placed the grey bin and others in the green bin.

For example, used nappies and items such as car seats need to be placed in the green bin or can be taken to the Community Recycling Centres (CRCs) if your bin is full.

Alternatively, washed plastic bottles, tubs and trays, food tins and drink cans and glass bottles and jars go in the grey bin and can also be recycled at the CRCs if you run out of space.

For more information about which items go in which bin, visit What goes in your bins and recycling | NELC.

What can be recycled – Christmas items

Over Christmas, the Council know there will be a higher volume of waste and recyclable material. To make sure everything goes in the right bin, here are a few key tips:

• Tin foil – If unused, it can go in the grey bin, but if it has been used and is contaminated it should go in the green bin
• Wrapping paper and cards – Any paper and card may go in the blue bin, unless it contains glitter, in which case it should go in the green bin
• Empty bottles, cans and glasses – These can all go in the grey bin

Remember, if you run out of space this Christmas, Grimsby and Immingham CRCs are open every day barring Christmas, Boxing and New Year’s Day from 8am to 6pm. Both sites are run by North East Lincolnshire Council’s waste management contractor Newlincs Development Ltd.

Grimsby CRC is in Estuary Way, Grimsby DN31 2UD. Immingham CRC is in Queens Road, Immingham DN40 1QR. Visit www.nelincs.gov.uk/tip for more details.

Examples of contaminated loads

Shoe and flips flops

Broken glass

Car seats, bubble wrap and cans

In these loads, the red circles denote the contaminants which include shoes, broken glass, car seats, cans and bubble wrap.

Speaking about recycling over the Christmas period, Portfolio Holder for Environment and Net Zero, Councillor Henry Hudson, said: “Firstly, I’d like to thank everyone for their efforts to recycle over the past year.

“From the residents to the crews who collect the recycling, you are all playing a seminal role in making North East Lincolnshire a greener place to live.

“However, over the next few weeks, we ask that you take a moment to think about which bin your waste should be going in. Let’s make sure that our collective efforts help us deliver high quality recycling to the recycling plant and conserve our natural resources.”