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What happens to your recycling

Plastic bottles, tins, cans and aerosols

Plastic bottles, tins, cans and aerosols collected from the kerbside are taken to a Materials Recovery Facility for sorting. Then they are sent for processing. Recycled plastic can be made into drainage pipes, compost bins, water butts, carrier bags and fibres for clothing such as fleeces and carpets.

Mixed cans and plastics are sent to:

Glass

Glass is 100% recyclable with no loss of quality. All glass collected from the Forest of Dean is sent to Recresco’s facility, where the end product mainly goes to make glass insulation products.

Textiles 

There are a number of textile banks throughout the district which can be used to recycle clothing and paired shoes and we also collect from the kerbside. 

The collected materials are taken to A-Tex's (formerly Soex) warehouse in Germany where they are sorted into different grades. Most items are then sent abroad to developing countries where they are sold at markets to be re-worn. Items which are not suitable to be reused as clothing are broken down so that their fastenings, trimmings and fibres can be recycled.  

Paper and cardboard

Recycled paper and cardboard is made into new paper and cardboard products. 

Electrical appliances

Metals will be extracted for resale and where possible other materials, such as plastic, will be captured for recycling. Waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) is taken to Repic in Bristol. 

  • Repic, Bristol

Batteries

  • ERP, Normanton

Food waste

Food waste is taken to Severn Trent Green Power’s anaerobic digestion plant in Gloucestershire where it is treated. At the plant any caddy liners will be removed. The food waste is mixed and pulped to create a thick liquid which is then pasteurised to kill any harmful bacteria.

As the food waste breaks down it produces biogas (a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide) which is extracted and fed back to the grid. Once the gas has been removed a liquid food fertiliser (known as ‘digestate’) remains which can be used on local farmland. Digestate is high in valuable nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus and other elements required for healthy plant growth and fertile soil.

Garden waste

Garden waste collected from the kerbside is taken to Rose Hill Farm, Dymock where it is composted to make a nutrient rich soil improver. 

The green waste is shredded and then turned at regular intervals. Any contamination is separated from the compost by passing the material over screens. The compost is high in valuable nutrients required for fertile soil and is used on local farms.

Bags of soil improver are available to purchase from the Household Recycling Centres for a small charge (currently £3.50 for a 40ltr bag).

Cartons

Cartons (such as tetra paks) can be recycled at five sites across the district.  The material is then taken to a mill in Halifax where the components are separated before being recycled into board packaging (fibres) and garden furniture (composite plastics). Find out more about the Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment (ACE UK) and Sonoco Alcore.

Data Reporting

We report on the weight (in tonnes) of the material it collects and the destination of where the recycling is taken to central Government on a quarterly basis. This information is available to the public at www.wastedataflow.org.

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