Our street recycles more than the county average — and still gets a quarter of it wrong. Last spring the collection crew left forty green bins unemptied on a single Tuesday, almost all for the same five mistakes. Here’s how to fix them before your next bin day.
1. Rinse it, squash it, lid on
A quick rinse stops the whole load smelling of last week’s soup — crews can reject an entire street’s recycling over contamination. Squash bottles and keep lids on: loose lids jam the sorting screens.
2. Cardboard goes flat and dry
Soggy, food-stained pizza boxes belong in general waste, not the green bin. Flatten everything else so the bin holds twice as much and the crew aren’t fishing out air.
3. Soft plastics stay out
Crisp packets, film lids and carrier bags tangle the machinery. Save them for the supermarket collection point — Fern & Field’s refill station takes most of the rest.
4. Batteries never go in bins
One lithium battery can set a collection lorry alight. Drop used batteries in the red box at the Memorial Hall or any supermarket till point.
5. When in doubt, check the crib sheet
Pin the one-page guide from our resources page inside a kitchen cupboard. Two weeks of glancing at it and the whole household will sort on autopilot.
The payoff
Streets that sort properly get fewer rejected bins, lower collection costs passed back to all of us — and a lane that smells noticeably better on a Tuesday morning.
Priya Raman
Society treasurer, orchard volunteer and chief bin-day pedant.