April 2008 - Village Voices

The Recycling Experience
Ten of us from Hollesley WI visited
Viridor Waste Management at Great
Blakenham to see what happens to the
contents of our blue-topped waste bins. It
truly was an amazing experience. We were
welcomed by Gaye Glading, the Education
Officer, who regularly takes adult groups
round the plant. We donned our hard hats
and high visibility waistcoats and were
connected by radio so that we could hear
Gaye as she explained each step of the
recycling process as we followed her
round.
We watched as lorries brought in the
contents from customers’ blue-topped bins
and tipped them out in a great mountain.
The recyclate was carried up ramps and
around the enormous space and through
channels which begin the process of
separation. Paper is spun in large drums,
magnets extract metal cans and a different
machine removes aluminium cans.
Teams of Lithuanian workers work
very hard and fast at different moving
belts taking out anything which is not in
the category they are dealing with. They
come to work here on a short contract,
living in local rented accommodation.
They earn enough to buy a car and to send
money home for their families, or perhaps
to pay for a child to go to university.
The last process is to bale up the sorted
recyclate which is taken by container to
Felixstowe and shipped to China and other
countries where goods are made from the
recycled materials such as plastic
containers, linings for anoraks, sleeping
bags and even clothing. We were
impressed with the cleanliness of the plant
and the efficient way extractors kept dust
and dirt to a minimum. We spent some
time asking questions over a welcome
mug of coffee. We all have a list at home
of what we should or should not put in our
bins.
What else should we NOT put in our
bins?
1. Plastic carrier bags are a big
problem. They cannot be recycled
and take 500 years to degrade.
We must say NO to them and
find alternatives.
2. Any film or soft plastic that can
be scrunched up by hand cannot
be recycled at the plant.
3. Flower pots, however clean
should not be put in bins.
4. Tetrapaks, packaging from tablets
and other bonded materials
cannot be separated at the plant.
5. Shredded paper clogs up the
machines. Put it in with the
compost.
6. Any long items, especially tapes
which may get wound up in the
mechanism.
7. Aerosols can explode.
8. Polystyrene, pots and pans,
string.
Landfill sites are filling up fast
everywhere and all of us must do our bit
to recycle what we can. At Great
Blakenham the plant serves most of
Suffolk except the far north of the region.
It is one of the most efficient recycling
plants in the country and can recycle up to
97% of what comes in. It is up to each one
of us to do our bit and make that figure
rise even higher, (see colour photo
page 4).
Helen Macleod
April 2008 page 34 www.villagevoices.org.uk