What happens to Oxfordshire's recyclable waste?
Oxfordshire councils ask residents to sort as much of their waste for recycling as possible, but councils also have a responsibility to make sure that waste does actually get recycled. This responsibility is one that all Oxfordshire authorities take seriously.
Monday night's Tonight programme on ITV showed how a small number of UK councils don't actually know what happens to their recyclable waste once they've collected it.
Cllr John Tanner, Chair of Oxfordshire Waste Partnership, wants to reassure local residents about their recyclables: "We collect many different materials for recycling across the county. We've a firm commitment to make sure we know where that waste goes and what it's turned into."
Some council's collect their recyclables separately, while others mix them together, but there are common markets for some resources. Steel cans for example get reprocessed in Wales and could be turned into anything from another can, to a car part or even a nail.
Alex Cutts runs one of the UK's most advanced Materials Recycling Facilities (MRFs) in Milton Keynes where much of Oxfordshire's mixed recyclables get sorted. He says, "It's paramount that we have a high quality product to pass on to reprocessors. The Milton Keynes MRF uses high-tech equipment such as near infra-red light technology to grade plastics and manual sorting for quality control. This gives us an excellent end product to recycle."
Where do Oxfordshire's recyclables go?
- Cherwell District Council sends its recyclables to Milton Keynes Council's Materials Recycling Facility
- Oxford City Council
- South Oxfordshire District Council
- Vale of White Horse District Council
- West Oxfordshire District Council
