Morningthorpe Recycling Centre

The disposable materials that we generate in our homes, depending on whether they are treated correctly or not, end up in landfills or household waste recycling centers.

A landfill is a site designated to dispose of the waste we generate. Typically, at these designated sites, large holes are built into which garbage is buried.

The recycling centers or household waste recycling centers, are places where recyclable waste is collected, separated and laid up, to be later transferred to another area or facility for recycling or transformation.

The recycling rate in the UK has increased in recent years, but so has the generation of waste.

The percentage that is recycled in the UK so far is approximately 45% of the waste generated.

The latest report from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) indicates that the waste generated in British homes amounts to approximately 26 million tonnes of waste each year, of which only 12 million are recycled. The other 14 million tons end up in landfills.

Brown bins are not that common in the UK. However, if the town hall to which you belong has them, this is what you can deposit in these containers:

The brown containers are for mixed recycling in most of the country’s municipalities where this color is issued. These mixed recycling materials include:

• Plastic bottles
• Food cans
• Beverage cans
• Aerosol sprays
• Aluminum foil (including trays)
• Glass bottles and jars

However, you must make sure what type of materials you should deposit in your brown container by contacting your nearest recycling center directly, since in some municipalities the brown containers are intended for organic waste from the garden and food waste.

The UK recyclable waste service is a municipal service. However, it is only for materials generated in homes.

The cost of commercial materials is variable and depends on many factors:

• Location: in more frequented industrial estates, costs are usually lower than in rural places that are more difficult to access.
• The type of waste: some materials, such as toxic waste, need special treatment so they use more resources to manage them, and therefore their price is high.
• Volumes: the greater volume of waste you generate, the higher the price you have to pay for it. However, if the amounts produced are tons, you may get a reduction in the payment for handling your waste.

It is better to contact your nearest recycling center by phone or email to check the final cost.

In the UK, recycling centers and rubbish collection services commonly use blue bins to identify dry waste such as:

• Paper
• Newspapers and magazines
• Cardboard
• Unwanted mail
• Telephone directories and catalogs
• Cereal boxes (without the plastic liner)
• Egg cartons
• Greeting cards
• Drink and food cans

However, not always the container for dry recyclables is blue. Some municipalities use red recycling containers or some even issue blue and red containers for this type of material.

To have precise information, you can consult your nearest recycling center.