This week is Recycle Week so Noella took the opportunity to visit our client J&B Recycling for a tour of their Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Hartlepool ♻️
J&B Recycling have been based in Hartlepool since 1998 and operate household and commercial waste collections all over the North East. It is an incredible operation, spanning over four separate sites and we have been delighted to support them with their planning applications to help them grow over the last few years!
The purpose of Recycle Week is to raise awareness of good recycling practices. So what did Noella take from her visit to the MRF?
“I was so impressed by the process. I had absolutely no idea what goes into recycling my household waste. The visit was a complete eye opener!”
“The main things I took from the visit is just how much can’t be recycled! I thought I was a really good recycler, but actually a lot of what I put in the recycling bin at home can’t be recycled.”
“Things like the plastic film on top of supermarket chicken/meat, crisp packets, sweet packets… even the packaging that bread comes in. That probably surprised me the most.”
“Labelling is really confusing. Some packaging looks like there is a recycle logo on, but when you look closely it isn’t a recycle logo, it is a Teracycle logo. This means that it has to be sent off to a specialist scheme and can not be recycled in your recycling bin at home.”
“Some of the labels actually have a recycle logo on them, but then it has a number inside. To me that means it can be recycled… but no! The number is what tells you whether it can or can not be recycled…”
1 = PET, Polyethylene Terephthalate, and is widely recycled.
2 = HDPE, High-Density Polyethylene, and is also widely recycled.
3 = PVC, Polyvinyl Chloride, and is capable of being recycled but harder to do so, so check with your local authority.
4 = LDPE, Low-Density Polyethylene, also capable of being recycled, but check with your local authority.
5 = PP, Polypropylene, hard or not possible to recycle, so try to reuse or avoid it. PP is used in tupperware, disposable cups, and some food containers.
6 = PS, Polystyrene or Styrofoam, hard or not possible to recycle, so try to reuse or avoid it. PS is used in disposable coffee cups, plastic cutlery and packing foam.
7 = other. This is usually a mish mash of lots of different plastics and is pretty tricky to recycle.
“There are loads of things that have the number 5 on them! I, along with many others I am sure, have been putting them in my recycling bin without knowing how the labelling works.”
“I feel really lucky to have had the opportunity to go and learn more about recycling with J&B Recycling. I have definitely come away with a new perspective on recycling.”
“If you ever get the opportunity, I would strongly recommend you pay J&B Recycling a visit. They don’t do the visits very often as it is a large scale plant operation, but if you have a genuine interest it is always worth requesting a visit. It is such a friendly team and they go out of their way to help educate you about the recycling process.”
