Blue bin, blue box and blue bag collections
The material you separate is collected on behalf of the District Council by Serco Limited and taken to their depot at Longcliffe here in the Derbyshire Dales. It is stored in bays and bulked into container wagons to be transported to the re-processors:
- The paper and cardboard is taken to UPM Deeside.
The material is split into 3 grades of recycled material. News (Newspaper) and PaM (paper and magazines), Old corrugated containers (OCC) and leftover residue.
News and PaM is recycled by UPM Hürth paper mill, in Germany. This mill has one of the most modern paper machines in Europe, which produces newsprint from 100% recovered paper.
OCC (Old corrugated containers) is processed at one of 3 mills in the UK and is turned into new cardboard boxes. This is an example of closed-loop recycling process which guarantees cardboard is never sent to landfill or used as waste for energy.
The residue waste is sent for incineration through Lancashire Waste.
- The mixed glass and jars, food and drinks cans, aerosols, aluminium and foil trays, beverage cartons and plastics are taken to a materials recovery facility – HW Martins in Alfreton.
The materials are separated into their separate streams for reprocessing.
Glass above 10mm is processed for re-melt into new glass containers and any glass under 10mm is processed for re-melt into water filtration systems, shot blast medium and fibre glass products.
Steel cans are taken to a processing plant in Doncaster where they are baled and sent to steel works in the UK to be made into new steel ingots.
Aluminium cans and Aerosols (high grade) are taken to a processing plant in Warrington where it is melted and turned into plate rolls for the car and automotive industry.
Aluminium Foil Trays (low grade) are taken to a local metal merchant and melted into aluminium ingots and used in items such as window frames.
Beverage cartons are mixed in with cardboard at HW Martins for recycling.
HDPE Plastics are taken to a processing plant in Leeds, where they separate polymers by type to produce pellets / flakes which are sold to companies for remanufacturing. A significant amount of this plastic is used for making underground water / sewage pipes.
PET Plastics are taken to a UK Manufacturer where they are melted down into pellets then put into a process that goes back into food grade manufacturing of plastics.
Pots, Tubs & Trays are segregated out before being sent to processors in the UK or Europe before being used in plastics grades products.
Hard Plastics are sent to a processing site in Selby before being sent to Holland to be used in plastics grades products.
