Changing to a bag will make it easier for you to recycle a wider range of items. As you can put out more than one bag, you can recycle more. Also, your street will be tidier as you can tie the bags up after you have filled them, which helps to reduce litter. As the bags are taken away with the recycling, nothing is left on the streets after the collection (unlike the boxes). This will enable Leicester to improve its recycling rate and help reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill.
No, your black bin and orange bags should only be put out on the street on your collection day.
That is ok – use as many orange bags as you need, but please try to ensure you fill them up to reduce wastage.
The first roll we delivered had 50 bags on it. When you order more bags, each roll will have 30 bags on it.
No, each bag can contain any mix of the recyclable materials accepted.
Rinsing items ensures that any food waste is removed.This is important because it reduces smells and will ensure that the recycling is not attractive to rats, foxes and other animals. Also, food waste will contaminate the materials
in your orange bag, which may mean that we cannot recycle them.
If you have large pieces of cardboard you can flatten them and place them under your orange bags for collection.
The orange bags are specially designed for recycling and are strong. However, if there is a spillage of waste on the footpath or road, the recycling crew will either attempt to clear it up themselves or they will report it so that it can be cleaned up by our Cleansing Services team.
Don’t worry - if you don’t have a yellow sticker you can more bags by calling 0116 252 7002.
A distinctive colour was required to reduce the chance of the crews missing any collections. Other colours were considered but many are already used for other services i.e. yellow is used for clinical waste, green is used by City Cleansing services for trade waste.
Yes, if you already have an assisted collection for your bin we will
automatically provide an assisted collection for your orange bags. Just leave your bags next to your bin as normal.
Householders that are elderly and/or disabled and cannot present their bags at the kerbside for collection can request assistance. In such cases the collection of recyclables can be made from an agreed point, for example from the side gate, with bins being returned once emptied.
To request an assisted collection please contact us.
If an orange bag is badly contaminated with food or garden waste etc.
the recycling crews will not be able to collect it. They will put a note
through your door explaining how you have contaminated the recycling
and they will inform a separate crew which will collect the contaminated
recycling and where possible, recycle it.
Batteries contain toxic materials so please do not dispose of them in your black bin or orange bags. You can take them to the Community Recycling Centres but you can also now recycle them at most shops and supermarkets - in fact most places that sell batteries will have a collection point. In the long-term, why not consider rechargeable batteries instead?
Energy saving or low energy lightbulbs contain small amounts of hazardous materials and should not be put into your black bin or orange bags. They can be recycled at the Community Recycling Centres.
The recycling collected in the orange bags is sent to a Materials Recovery
Facility (MRF). At the MRF, the recycling goes through a number of
processes to separate out the different types of materials, including:
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Bag splitter – opens any bags and breaks up the recycling for sorting.
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Optical sorters and air jets – these identify and separate the different
types of plastic.
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Different sized filters – separate cardboard and glass.
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Magnets and eddy currents – separate ferrous and non-ferrous metals.
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Picking lines – some items are still checked by staff on a picking line,
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this helps to ensure quality and reduce any contamination.
Once separated the materials are baled and sent on to the next location
where they will start to be recycled. We try to ensure as much as possible
is recycled in the UK.
