PETrecycling CZ is non-commercial, independent, free & unsponsored Czech web portal for funs, communities, administrative, law-makers, politicians, PET plastic industry etc. in the Czech Republic.

My closing statement read: "There is only one real effective and incentive method to encourage environmentally sound collecting of beverage one-way containers and it is deposit in combination with High-Tech R&D resulted Reverse Vending Machines!

Choosing the Right Recycling Collection System

However, where local authorities have the choice, and kerbside collections are not an option, two stream collections which keep paper and card separate from other materials, especially glass, are preferable. This is because they produce the best material for recycling by keeping contamination levels down. Fully co-mingled (mixed) collections have cost and quality disadvantages which should limit their use except where other options are not suitable.

WRAP recognises local authorities are best placed to judge the circumstances in their areas and make the choice of collection system, and WRAP’s views are intended to help them in considering options.

Among the conclusions is that sorting recycling at the kerbside provides the best quality material and, when total costs are taken into account, is cheaper for council tax payers. This flies in the face of the popular belief that co-mingled recycling collections are cheaper.

WRAP argues the evidence is clear that the quality of the materials recovered for recycling is affected by the way they are collected. Quality is important because it affects the uses the material can be put to. Quality materials can be easily reused in ways which give the most benefit to the environment. Kerbside sorted materials are consistently good quality with less than 1 percent being rejected. Co-mingled collections are subject to higher contamination rates and have higher levels of rejection.

Reprocessors of recycled materials in the UK are currently struggling to find enough good quality material for their needs from UK sources despite the volumes being exported. As a result they are importing some material.

Although kerbside sorted materials have the best quality and are likely to go to the most beneficial uses, consumers can still be confident that the great majority of co-mingled materials are recycled in some form and are not sent to landfill. The leaflet says that the claim that co-mingled collections help boost recycling rates does not tell the whole story. What is important is not the type of collection but the size of the containers householders are given for their recycling, and how often they are collected.

Liz Goodwin, CEO, WRAP, said: “Our evidence shows that in the vast majority of cases, sorting materials for recycling at the kerbside is the best option. It provides the highest quality and means materials can be used in the best end uses from an environmental and economic perspective. We do not believe that householders will object to sorting recycling into different containers. Our research indicates that 87 percent who have to separate recyclables into different containers say they do not mind doing this. Co-mingled collections should only be used where no other system would work. It cannot be right that we cannot provide enough recycled materials of the right quality in the UK and that we are looking to other countries to supply them instead.”

Source: WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme)

Related external links:

Choosing the Right Recycling Collection System (PDF, 8 pages)
UK: Municipal waste arisings down, recycling up, Defra estimates
European Waste Directors tackled the downturn of recycling markets
Market sentiments of paper and plastics reprocessors in China
UK: Total municipal waste decreased for 0.7 percent
To halve the amount of waste in the construction sector