End of bin tagging trial 'disappointing'

Blue bins were tagged if the wrong items were placed in them

A tagging trial to stop residents putting wrong items into recycling bins has been stopped.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council began the trials in 2023 with a view to improving recycling rates and reducing contamination, which it said was costing thousands.

It had seen recycling rates increase by 7% and a saving of £350,000 over a 12-month period, the council reported.

Labour council leader Alec Brown said the scheme was only meant to be a short-term "sharp shock". Liberal Democrat Jemma Joy, chair of the council's climate scrutiny committee, said ending the trial was "disappointing".

The scheme, which began in Normanby and was extended into Redcar and Brotton, saw blue bins checked for the likes of food waste, nappies and takeaway boxes ahead of collections.

If the wrong items were found, bins were not emptied and were tagged with an explanation as to why, before a follow-up visit was scheduled with the offending household told what items needed to be removed.

Just one wrong item can contaminate an entire load, costing thousands of pounds to rectify, the council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

'Real progress'

Samples are taken from loads when they arrive at a facility to be recycled and if contaminants are found they have to be separated out.

If this proves impossible, waste has to be disposed of by some other method, for example incineration or landfill.

Brown said bin tagging was never meant to be a long-term policy.

He said officers had wanted to implement it as "business as usual", but his administration disagreed and ended it instead.

Alec Brown says there will be another trial if contamination "horrifically flares up again"

Joy, who is also part of the Guisborough Eco Group which works with the council to improve recycling rates, said the pilot showed "real progress".

"Decisions like this are too important to be waved through without proper democratic scrutiny," she said.

"Contamination in recycling bins fell from 48.8% in December 2023 to just 26.9% which means that we get better recycling rates.

"This proves that with the right approach people will change their behaviour but behaviour change takes time, effort and consistency."

'One of worst'

Brown said if contamination "horrifically flares up again" and some [households] have not changed behaviours, then another trial would be implemented.

Last year, the council said 40% of recycling sent to the facility it uses in South Bank was contaminated, which increased costs by as much as £100 per tonne.

It said only 33% of household waste in Redcar and Cleveland was being recycled, with the borough one of the worst performing in the country.

While rates have inched up in the past few years, this is still down on a recent peak of 40.3% in 2019/20.

The council's climate and scrutiny committee will discuss the decision at its next meeting.