Thursday 28-03-2019 - 11:40

Part-time Officer Ella Wilkinson writes…

 

Most people now see recycling as the “right thing to do” - they recognise its importance in tackling resource depletion and environmental degradation internationally. Some people even relish the thought of their unwanted rubbish being made into something new and exciting, whilst others see it merely as their duty in order to be responsible citizens. All of these reasons are valid, and it’s great that the majority of people (and students!) now recycle without a second thought, it’s become so ingrained into society.

 

The recent enthusiasm for recycling, however, has led to another issue: the issue of contamination.

 

So what is contamination?

 

Contamination is when an incorrect item is placed in a bin - this may be a recyclable item, or it may be a non-recyclable item. So, for example, if a glass bottle is placed in the paper bin, then this item will go through the same treatment as if it were paper, except that the chemical composition is different, and so it will react differently and lead to problems at the recycling plant. Worst case scenario, it will melt or be shredded along with the paper, “contaminating” the perfectly good paper recyclables, and lead to the whole lot (known as the “load”) having to be disposed of in landfill.

 

Most recycling plants, known as “Material Recovery Facilities” (MRFs), have a way of sorting through the recyclables which they collect - this is a fascinating process involving various different machines, magnets and hand-sorting (if you’d like to read a bit more about it, check out the Blog I wrote last month about our trip to Nantycaws MRF with TSD Swansea Environment Society). However, this is expensive, time consuming and energy intensive (just think how much electricity it must take to keep those machines running). This is a cost which is passed on to the businesses and people disposing of the contaminated waste. To put it simply: it’s cheaper for us, and the University, to dispose of recyclable waste which has been sorted correctly, rather than incorrectly sorted or “contaminated” waste.

 

It costs the University £310/tonne to dispose of general waste, regardless of whether the items in the bag are recyclable or not, compared with just £170/tonne for correctly sorted dry mixed recycling. Likewise, glass is even cheaper again at £160/tonne (because glass is a great recyclable, and doesn’t degrade in quality as easily as plastic and paper). Even food waste costs less to dispose of than general waste at £210/tonne, because it can be turned into compost and sold by the MRF. If there are too many incorrect items in any given bin, then it will be classed as contaminated and all of its content will be disposed of as general waste, and end up in landfill.

 

So why is this?

 

Well, quite simply, the facilities staff who empty our University bins don’t have time to go through each and every bin and pull out what is or isn’t recyclable. They are busy people with a host of other duties to perform, and they shouldn’t have to go through bins which, theoretically, should be correct anyway. If students and staff paid more attention to what is/isn’t accepted in each bin then there would be a marked reduction in contamination across the University, and our recycling rates would increase as a result.

 

One major contaminant of recycling bins across the board is food waste. Food waste can make its way into recycling bins through food containers, such as sandwich packets or food trays. Food is often wet and contains oils, which are not only dirty and make the bin smell unpleasant, but can also degrade the quality of recyclables. Take paper, for example: the amount of times which any given piece of paper can be recycled is determined by the length of the paper fibres it contains, the longer these are, the more times it can be recycled. Unfortunately, food oils (or any liquid, for that matter) can saturate the paper and degrade the paper fibres, making them shorter. If an item with food residue is placed into a recycling bin, then this may transfer onto paper items in the same bin and cause them damage.

 

If you’re unsure about how to dispose of a particular item, you can find useful links and resources on the University's website

 

Waste Management & Recycling at UWTSD

 

It’s important to remember that recycling services differ between private housing, Halls of Residence, and even between University campuses (Lampeter have a different waste contractor to Swansea and Carmarthen!). This means that you will need to dispose of your waste differently depending on where you are. If you’re still unsure about which bin to put your rubbish in, then follow the simple rule of “if in doubt, leave it out” - this means that potentially problematic items don’t cause issues further down the line, and render more items un-recyclable.

 

This is a lot to take in, so please don’t worry if you make mistakes. The important thing is to keep trying and tell your friends about the issue of contamination, and how we can work together to eliminate it!