When waste and recycling leaves your kerbside, chances are you forget about it. All of us want our waste to stay concealed and not obstruct daily life, but it doesn’t just disappear after collection. Mismanagement is a huge problem across the world and major waste companies in the UK have come under fire for illegally exporting and dumping waste in other countries. Luckily, there are other ways of dealing with rubbish that minimise our impact on the environment – ‘waste’ is reconceptualised as ‘material’ to be repurposed and reused.
From our base in Bristol, we support clients across the UK as they work towards achieving zero waste to landfill. At Great Western Recycling, we’re committed to helping firms of all scales discover eco-friendly alternatives to traditional management methods and reduce overall business waste. We show them how to rationalise their waste output for the good of the environment – and their wallets too!
In this blog, we demystify a complex system and reveal exactly what happens to your waste after collection. Don’t take the ‘out of sight, out of mind’ approach – we’re here to help you become more conscious of this hidden realm.
What Happens to General Waste in the UK?
Traditionally, waste that cannot be recycled has been sent to landfill sites. Today, other methods are generally preferred and eco-friendly waste management companies like Great Western Recycling have zero waste to landfill policies in place.
Landfills are usually lined with materials like clay or strong plastic to prevent leachate escaping into the soil and water table. When a site is full, it is capped with compacted clay and must be continually managed to prevent contamination of the surrounding environment.
Greener alternatives are all about finding a use for this waste, rather than just stowing it away. For us, that use is as green fuel. After material recovery, anything that is not salvaged undergoes thermal processing which generates electricity for the National Grid – this is called ‘energy-from-waste’. Solid recovered fuel can also be made into bales and used in kilns instead of fossil fuels.
Find out more about our General Waste Service >
What is the Waste Management Hierarchy? >
What Happens to Recycling After Collection?
Sometimes recycling is sorted at the kerb, but often it is sent to a Materials Recovery Facility for processing. Here, materials are loaded onto conveyers and undergo various rounds of sorting.
Firstly, incorrect items are removed like plastic bags or other non-recyclable items that might contaminate the load. Then, the materials are separated into categories using a range of methods depending on the contents of the collection such as picking stations or trommel screens. Paper and card are extracted using a vacuum or ‘air knife’, magnets and eddy currents distinguish ferrous and non-ferrous metals, and plastic is graded using optical scanners leaving just glass behind.
Below, we expand on how each category of recyclable waste is dealt with.
Glass
Glass can be infinitely recycled without degrading its quality or value. To do so, the material is cleaned and crushed in a cullet processor, then sorted by colour ready to be melted down in high-temperature furnaces. Processed cullets are generally 25mm or bigger as anything smaller cannot be used. Glass that is not recycled can be used for other applications such as aggregate in the construction industry.
See more: Glass Recycling FAQ – All You Need to Know About Recycling Glass >
Plastic
Plastic is notoriously difficult to recycle, which might be why only 9% of all plastic ever made has been. After cleaning, plastics need to be separated by polymer type, shredded, and melted down into pellets. But this process degrades the plastic each time, eventually making it unsuitable for certain applications like food packaging.
Chemical recycling has been cited as the answer to this problem, breaking polymers down into their separate monomers using thermal cracking through the feedstock recycling process.
Plastic Recycling – A Beginner’s Guide >
Metal
Metals are separated into ferrous and non-ferrous before being shredded and melted in furnaces. The melted metal is then formed into blocks or sheets which can be sold to manufacturers who make the material into new products. Recycling doesn’t diminish the value of the primary metal, leading to an endless, sustainable loop!
Paper & Card
First of all, paper and card are divided into different types and grades. After this, it is washed with soapy water which removes ink, any plastic film, glue and other unwanted elements like staples. This pulp is then spread out with rollers into large thin sheets that are left to dry before being rolled ready to cut.
What Happens to Food Waste After Collection?
Food waste is dealt with in two main ways: anaerobic digestion and composting. Anaerobic digestion involves sealing the food waste in a container. It then breaks down in the absence of oxygen to produce methane gas which can generate green electricity. Where food waste and green waste are mixed together, it is commercially composted to produce a nutrient rich bio-fertiliser.
Benefits of Food Waste Recycling >
What Happens to Hazardous Waste After Collection?
Hazardous waste is disposed of in a variety of ways depending on the type and severity. Some of these include chemical disposal, incineration, biological methods like landfarming and physical treatments such as solidification. This process involves making the waste more stable by mixing it with concrete, plastic or asphalt.
Read more: Everything You Need to Know About Hazardous Waste
Worry-Free Waste Management in the UK
Our tailored waste management solutions and bespoke zero waste to landfill packages are designed to help businesses from large conglomerates to small independents earn their eco-credentials and save money. We offer general waste, washroom and sanitary services, hazardous waste and confidential waste removal as well as recycling.
For over 35 years, we’ve been encouraging businesses all over the UK to reduce their environmental impact and helping them meet their sustainability objectives. If you’d like to be next, get in touch with our friendly team today!
Related: A Guide to Commercial Waste Collection & Disposal
Related: Commercial Bin Size Guide – A Guide to Business Bin Sizes