Recycling rejected in Cannock Chase after used tissues found inside
Two loads of recycling were rejected at the materials facility in Cannock Chase as as they were contaminated with used tissues and wipes.
Yesterday two loads of recycling were rejected at the materials recycling facility as it was contaminated with used tissues and wipes, clothing, bedding and household items.
And all dry recycling goes through hand sorting by people at various stages.
Government guidelines during this pandemic are to place personal waste – such as tissues – in a bag, which should be tied securely. This should then be put aside for at least 72 hours before disposing in your general waste bin.
Cannock Chase Council has instructed its recycling collection crews to operate a zero tolerance towards any recycling container that is seen to contain tissues, wipes or other domestic waste.
But the council has reassured residents that waste and recycling collections are continuing as normal during the Covid-19 outbreak for the time being.
Council officers are talking daily with contractors Biffa and updates are being posted daily on the website and social media pages.
Should there be any disruption to the service, due to operatives being taken ill, this will be posted on the council's website, Facebook and Twitter accounts.
Mike Edmonds, head of environment and healthy lifestyles, said: “We would ask residents to check our website or social media pages daily for updates on our waste and recycling collections rather than calling our customer services team. As you can imagine in these uncertain times we are experiencing high call volumes, which is why we are trying to keep our dedicated coronavirus webpage as up to date as possible.
“We are asking residents to help by taking extra measures and to clean the handles of their bins before and after collections to prevent the spread of Covid-19. We would also ask residents to respect the Government guidelines for social distancing and not to approach our operatives.”
To access the council’s services page and coronavirus click on the following link cannockchasedc.gov.uk/residents/other/coronavirus-information-and-advice-council
