As part of WRAP’s Be Mighty. Recycle. campaign for Recycle Week 2020, we’re being asked to conquer our cardboard. WRAP says that the amount of online shopping and cardboard packaging that’s passing through our homes is huge.
The good news is cardboard can be recycled at the kerbside, and although most of us in Wrexham are already doing this, it’s well worth reminding ourselves how to recycle cardboard correctly.
That might sound a little strange, but it can be very easy to get this wrong.
For your cardboard packaging to get recycled, we need you to do more than just take out your item and drop the rest of the contents in your paper recycling.
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Remove everything extra
Yep, and we mean everything! So, any tape, staples, bubble wrap, plastic film etc must be removed from your cardboard box before you recycle it.
Unfortunately, some of us aren’t doing this…we’re just taking our item from the box and not thinking about what other materials might be left behind.
In some cases, at our recycling centres, we’ve found clothes, rugs, food and mixed plastics in with your cardboard, so please stop and take a look what else you might be leaving behind.
Cllr David A Bithell, Deputy Leader of the Council and Lead Member for Environment and Transport, said: “The only materials that you should be putting in your blue sack or top wheelie box are cardboards and papers, so any bubble wrap, film or tape should be removed beforehand. It’s a small thing people can do to help, which makes a massive difference.”
Flatten your cardboard
To get the most out of your recycling box/bag it’s important that you flatten your cardboard boxes. If you don’t flatten them, your recycling box/bag will fill up very quickly and your unlikely to have enough room to fit your other cardboard packaging and papers in.
To get the most out of your recycling box/bag it’s important that you flatten your cardboard boxes #wrexham #mightyrecyclers pic.twitter.com/35s2ysPrBT
— Wrexham Council (@wrexhamcbc) September 23, 2020
Remember, we can’t collect loose cardboard
More than ever, we have had to have very strict hygiene precautions in place, and because of this our operatives can’t touch any of your recyclables…so they can’t pick up any loose cardboard.
If your recycling boxes/bags get full, you can leave the extra recyclables in solid containers next to your other recycling on your collection day. We’ll recycle the materials and leave behind your extra containers, for you to use again.
So, we must stress that the only safe way for us to take your extra recycling is for you to sort it correctly and leave it in separated solid containers for us – No plastic bags please. Unless you do this, we can’t take it away.
Cllr Bithell added: “Taking the time to flatten cardboard so that our workers can empty your bags and boxes straight into the vehicle compartment – without touching any materials – is a really important part of keeping them safe. We thank everyone for their understanding on this.”
So, the next time that package arrives, please take the time to recycle everything correctly…it makes a big difference.
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