We are advising users of the cardboard and garden waste collection service on how to avoid contamination by plastic materials.

The main materials that have been contaminating the loads include:

• Plastic film - particularly from boxes that contain both cardboard and plastic such as plastic windows on cake boxes
• Plastic bags
• Cardboard drinks cartons – these cannot be composted because they contain a mixture of cardboard and plastic film which does not break down in the composting process
• Plastic described as ‘biodegradable’ or ‘compostable’ – the Council cannot compost these contrary to what the labels might say

Materials such as plastic contaminate the load because they do not rot down and cannot be composted.

Plastic that claims to be biodegradable, compostable or made from cornstarch or similar such labels are also unsuitable.  This is because the outlets that the Council uses do not have the facilities to deal with it and also it is not possible to easily distinguish compostable plastic from non compostable plastic.

All material collected is being composted at present because the re-processors can do a limited amount of screening, but there is a danger that in the future some of this might get rejected and sent to landfill. Bath & North East Somerset Council is keen to stop this happening and is urging people to make sure that they don’t put any contaminant into the cardboard and garden waste collection.

The Council has issued the following guidelines to help people:

• When you put material out for collection, please make sure that you remove any plastic including plastic windows, handles, sticky tape or other attachments
• Make sure that you don’t put your cardboard out in a plastic bag. Tie it with string or pack it into a cardboard box
• Please also make sure that you don’t put any drinks cartons in.  These can be recycled at various banks throughout the area (please go to Drinks Carton Recycling).
• Make sure that you don’t put in any plastic material even it if claims to be biodegradable or compostable
• Finally if in doubt, leave it out.

Thank you for your co-operation with this.  Please go to Cardboard and Garden Waste collections for further information about the service.

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