We have been sending most of our waste to landfill for many years. This means that valuable resources, such as our cans, paper and plastic bottles, have been simply thrown away. Sending our waste to landfill has also contributed to severe environmental damage.
New laws have been passed to prevent further environmental damage and to make sure that our resources are not wasted. These laws mean that we must all start to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle as much of our waste as possible.
Recycling your waste
By recycling your waste, you are helping to:
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save the earth's natural resources
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save energy and reduces the risk of climate change
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reduce the need for landfill
After your recyclates are collected they are taken to reprocessing plants where:
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cans are sorted and recycled into new cans, sheet metal and building materials.
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paper is sent to paper mills and recycled into newsprint and other paper products.
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plastic bottles are recycled into new plastic products such as garden furniture.
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garden waste is taken to a central composting facility, where the compost produced is used as a soil conditioner and for land restoration.
You can find out more about what happens to the waste in the waste journey documents, which can be downloaded from this page.
Further information on what happens to recyclates can be found on the recycling your waste page.
