Council Reports Recycling: what can we do to help? Latest figures published show that since April 2021, Colchester residents have recycled 52.37% of their waste. The target for England was a recycling rate of 50% by 2020 and the current national average is around 44%, so on these figures we are doing well. However, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has announced government commitments to recycle 65% of municipal waste and reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill to 10% by 2035 and this also includes ambitious targets for business that generate waste, so it’s not just our efforts that will count. We are lucky in Colchester that we have ways of recycling a whole range of items from plastic and glass through to food waste, textiles and crisp packets via a number of sources, although some of these aren’t via the curbside collection and other school or supermarket collections points have to be used. There are also many active Facebook groups available for swapping items and passing on those things we no longer need, so there are plenty of ways to do what we can. But what happens to our waste when it is collected and what about the things we think are recyclable but aren’t? All glass and cans are sent off to a company called James Hayes, who are Essex-based. They will sort and start the job of processing this prior to be it being sold onto the open market to be recycled. Food waste is shipped off to make electricity, so next time you switch your lights on, it could be powered by your food waste! Garden waste is shipped off to a large plant in Birch just past Colchester Zoo and all of it gets turned into compost, which then gets sold back to garden centres. So your old garden waste could well end up back in your garden! Finally plastic is processed in theUK and resold for recycling.Where the plastic is contaminated, or unable to recycled, it is sent to a cement factory in Turkey and burned safely and cleanly to make electricity. For those things we are unsure about Love Essex has a useful list of what can be included in each type of collection: CLICK HERE As does the Colchester Borough Council website. 8
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