What happens to our rubbish, after it goes in the bin?

And how to be more sustainable.

Businesses and organisations have to dispose of waste legally and responsibly, but what happens to the waste once our bins are emptied?  What can we do to make the process more sustainable?

The contents of our recycling bins is separated into different material types, metals, different types of plastics, glass and paper & cardboard.  Some of these are more valuable and easier to recycle into raw materials than others.

The reality is that in the UK as much as a half of our recycling is shipped abroad, it can then be moved between multiple countries.  This may be because some countries have better recycling infrastructure and costs may be lower, but also it may be that they have lover environmental standards.

A proportion of material that ends up in recycling bins cannot be easily recycled and will end up in general waste.  This might be because it is contaminated, for example cardboard packaging soaked with food waste, or because different materials are combined and can’t be easily separated.

In the UK most rubbish in general waste bins is incinerated, and the heat is generally recovered to generate electricity or captured for local industrial use.

Before going into the incinerator there will be some processing to remove metals and things that shouldn’t be burnt for example batteries.  Some of these may be diverted into recycling, the rest is likely to end up in landfill.  In the UK about 10% of general waste still goes into landfill.

What can we do to make a difference?

The biggest thing is to try to minimise the amount of rubbish we produce, though buying less and reducing waste.

After that the important things is to avoid waste getting contaminated, make sure it is kept separated and goes into the correct bins.

If you are producing items, they can be made more recyclable by avoiding mixing materials.  For example a paper brochure with plastic laminated covers may not be recycled, but an even better option would be an on-line brochure to avoid the paper use.  Similarly a plastic container might be easily recycled, but with a cardboard label glued on it will be harder.

The power of our spending

The final step is using the power of the money we spend.  Buying things made from recycled materials makes recycling more viable, and sends a message to suppliers.

If recycled and easily recyclable options aren’t available, tell companies and suppliers it is something you would like to see.  The more we send these signals, the more suppliers will be encouraged to change to more sustainable options.

This is a really interesting video tracking what happens to plastic bags put in a recycling bin.      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmGrI_BVlnc