Covid, contamination and a Chinese ban: why less is being recycled in the region

Covid, contamination, fewer bin collections and a Chinese ban on importing waste have all contributed to Greater Manchester’s recycling rates falling.

Less than half of the region’s waste, 47.8 pc, was recycled between April and June this year, down from 52.9 pc during the same period in the previous year.

The amount of recycling rejected in the region has increased twenty-fold.

A total of 2,594 tonnes of rubbish from recycling bins was rejected over the three-month period because it was ‘contaminated’ by non-recyclable waste.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service understands that this is partly due to people disposing of their used face masks and tissues in recycling bins.

Fewer bin collections at the start of the pandemic may have also contributed to households running out of room for their rubbish and using bins incorrectly.

But David Robinson, head of service operations at Salford City Council, said part of the problem comes from China banning the import of foreign waste.

He said: “There’s been a lot of debate about the fact that we were taking our paper and cardboard – our pulpables – over to China.

“As a result of the Chinese closing down their markets, we’ve had to source internal markets, and the internal marketplace in the UK is far more stringent in terms of their quality control. That clearly has a knock on impact.”

Reporting to a scrutiny committee this week, Mr Robinson said recycling rates are starting to return to normal now that household waste tips have reopened.

He assured councillors that a ‘range of actions’ have been put into place with the waste contractor, Suez, to make sure fewer loads of recycling are rejected.

This includes screening loads before they are sent to the recycling plants.

He said that councils like Salford will also need to need to put plans in place to ensure the public fully understands what type of waste goes in each bin.

But Mr Robinson also revealed each household could soon have more bins.

Consistent collection systems across all councils has been proposed as part of the government’s waste strategy with suggestions of a standard of six bins.

A costing exercise is currently underway, but Mr Robinson said the move to standardise all the bins could cost local authorities “well in excess of £50m”.

Speaking at the scrutiny meeting on Monday, assistant director David Seager said the cost to councils in Greater Manchester could be more than £100m.

Councillors raised concerns that having more bins will confuse people further.

The committee voted to support the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in the objections it makes to the consistent collection systems requirement.

Councillor Tanya Burch, chair of the scrutiny committee, said: “Even that very conservative figure sounds like something that could be used to support local communities going through a pandemic rather than changing bins.”

The specific requirements of the consistent collection system and how it will be funded has not yet been agreed by local authorities and the government.

A spokesperson for the Greater Manchester Combined Authority said: “We welcome the aims of the Government’s draft national waste strategy to increase recycling rates, and are awaiting a further round of consultations early next year before we can fully understand the implications and impact on Greater Manchester.

“There may be an impact on both waste collection services and disposal but the detail will not be known until the next round of consultations have been completed.

“We will continue to work closely with local councils throughout this process on a consistent response."

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