The Royal Borough of Greenwich has seen a 10.7 per cent drop in the amount of recycling being rejected, when it is first sorted, following the launch of the borough’s new contamination policy last November.

Cllr Averil Lekau, Cabinet Member for Cabinet Member for Climate Change, Environment and Transport, said: “Thanks to the efforts of our residents to recycle effectively, the amount of recycling being rejected when it’s first sorted has decreased from 14.5% in November to 3.8% in December 2022.

“This is brilliant news – by putting the right thing in the right bin, together we’re ensuring that more of our waste is recycled and less is being incinerated as a result. By recycling more of our household waste there will be more room in our black top bins, which will be collected every two weeks from 27 February.

“If you’re still unsure of what should go into your green, blue and black top wheelie bins, you can find up to date information on our website.”

Recycling is rejected when it contains non-recyclable items. Unfortunately, large amounts of contaminated items can result in the entire truck load being rejected by the first sorting station, which means everybody’s efforts to recycle go to waste.

To tackle this problem, from 14 November 2022, the Council stopped collecting green and blue top bins containing the incorrect items.

If the Council’s waste crew find the wrong item(s) in a bin, a tag is placed on the bin and the resident receives a letter explaining that the item should be removed. If a bin is contaminated three times within a three-month period, it will be removed permanently.

The Council’s waste advisors have also been attending many affected properties to help residents identify the items they need to remove.

Since the new policy began, over 60 per cent of all residents who had one of their recycling bins tagged, removed the incorrect item and have not gone on to contaminate their bin again.

Residents can avoid contaminating their recycling bins by:

rinsing any items that have food on

putting dry, mixed recycling into the blue top bin loose, not in bags

using a clear plastic sack if they don’t use wheelie bins

only putting food and garden waste in the green top bin

making sure compostable bags have the seedling logo on

checking what should go in each bin at using our online directory.

The Council’s updated contamination policy is part of the borough’s move towards zero waste. From 27 February, general waste wheelie bins will be collected every two weeks. Extra bags that aren’t contained within the black top wheelie bin won’t be collected.

Properties that do not have bins, and use sacks only, and residents in flats with large communal/shared bins will not be affected by the upcoming changes.

Improving household recycling rates are just one of the ways the Royal Brough of Greenwich is tackling the climate crisis and improving its environmental sustainability – one of the missions of the Council’s new corporate plan, Our Greenwich, which will guide its decisions over the next four years.