Recycling bins unemptied as East Lindsey District Council's new recycling era dawns

East Lindsey District Council rolled out the new purple bins earlier this year as 30 percent of the recycling materials collected was unable to be recycled, mostly due to residents putting the wrong materials in their bin which meant that paper and card had to be disposed of rather than being recycled.

And so purple-lidded bins for paper and card only were rolled out in East Lindsey following a successful launch in Boston, North Kesteven, and West Lindsey, leading to glass bottles and jars able to be placed into grey recycling bins.

A new leaflet entitled "Right Thing, Right Bin" was sent to all households in August urging residents to place all paper and cardboard (except shredded paper, tissues, or used takeaway boxes) into purple-lidded bins – which must be dry, loose, and clean with no food residue.

This week has seen the first rejections for contaminated waste for the district council’s paper and card collections, and ELDC is now urging residents to check either on their website or the guide sent to each household to ensure the right items are placed in the right bins.

Many people took to social media to say that their bins had not been collected, and as Christmas is now approaching and household waste will be naturally higher, ELDC is now urging residents to check which items can go in which bin to avoid contaminating waste.

Cards and wrapping paper with glitter or shiny foil cannot go in the purple-lidded bin, they have to go in the black bin and not the grey recycling bin.

A spokesman for ELDC said: “This is the first week of rejections for contaminated waste for the new paper and card collections, following several weeks of informing and educating our residents through our website, social media as well as a letter sent to every household in the district on what can and can’t be placed in the purple lidded bin.

“Wet paper and card cannot go in the purple lidded bin, it has to go in the black bin. There is also writing on the bin to inform no wet paper or card.

“We have an ongoing campaign to help residents understand what can and can’t go in their new bins, we post regularly on social media and we will be having adverts in local media to help with this.”