If you have received a sticker on your black bag, CLEAR recycling bag, food waste bag, GREEN sack or PURPLE bag then it usually means that the way you have presented your items may not have been in line with the guidelines that the Council has set.
The biggest reason for this is contamination!
What do the stickers mean?
TOO MANY BLACK BAGS
You have placed more black bags out for collection than the current waste limits allow. You will need to remove these bags from the kerbside and take back into your property.
You can find out the current waste limits here.
NOT COLLECTED FOOD WASTE
You have put non-food items in with your food waste recycling. This means it is now contaminated and will not be collected. Please remove the items and place back out for collection on your next collection day.
Find out what can be recycled in your food waste here.
WARNING GREEN WASTE TAG
You may have put the wrong items in your green waste sack.
This means it is now contaminated and will not be collected. Please remove the items and place back out for collection on your next collection day.
Find out what can be recycled in your green waste sack here.
SORRY WE MISSED YOU
The Council's Enforcement and Awareness team were in the area today and called to chat to you. This could be regarding a waste issue, to offer you advice or to let you know about changes in your area.
Contaminated recycling happens when the wrong items are put into a bin, bag or sack.
The most common wrong items are:
- nappies, tissues and sanitary items in the wrong bag
- food waste in with clear bag recycling
- clothing or textiles in with clear bag recycling
- electricals and batteries in with clear bag recycling
- Green waste in a clear bag or in a green sack with soil, garden ornaments, stones etc. These items are recyclable, just not at the kerbside. Please take to your local Community Recycling Centre
- the right items, but dirty or with leftover food, oil or grease in them
- Food waste that contains plastic packaging such as bread bags
Our collection crews won’t be able to collect your recycling if it is contaminated or contains items not accepted at the kerbside. We need your recycling to be clean, dry and empty.
Please ensure that food waste is recycled in the right green food waste bags and that you register for nappy collections and green waste collections, if needed, and that nappies are put out in PURPLE bags and green waste into the GREEN sacks. All clean, dry recycling should be placed into CLEAR recycling bags.
What do I do now?
You will need to address the issue and follow the instructions on the sticker immediately.
This could mean removing nappies from your clear bag and applying to become part of the nappy recycling scheme to get PURPLE bags and a nappy collection day allocated - this can take up to 10 days, so you can put these items in your black bag/bin waste until they arrive.
If you have placed food in your CLEAR bag with other recyclables, especially paper, these items would now be contaminated and will need to be placed into your black bag/bin waste as they can no longer be recycled. Plastics, glass etc., could be rinsed in leftover dishwater, air dried and placed bag into a new CLEAR bag.
What happens if you ignore the sticker?
If you continue to ignore the advice on the sticker and leave the item out on the kerbside this will lead to three further enforcement notifications.
This further action could result in a £100 fine or court action.
What if I am struggling to recycle?
If you are doing your best to recycle and would like more support, please email the team and we will look to assist you further.
If you are struggling to stick to the waste limits you can request an additional black bag allowance - please note that your waste and recycling may be monitored as part of the decision process.
If you are struggling to get your recycling and waste to your collection point because of illness or physical difficulties, you can request an assisted collection.
Challenging the sticker
If on reading the above information, you still would like to dispute your waste is contaminated or that you have complied with how waste is to be presented, please contact us below.
Bin Contamination Dispute