for Hertfordshire

Ever wondered how materials are

recycled?

What happens to your

glass bottles and jars?

The glass bottlesand jars are takento the recyclingmill.

At this stage allunwanted material,such as labels are

removed before theglass is crushed

into cullet.

The glass will theneither be made into newcontainers or re-used for roadaggregate:

When it is used for new containers theglass is colour separated and sent to themanufacturer. Here it is mixed with sodaash, sand, limestone and additives forcolouring.

It is then fed into a furnace. The moltenglass is then fed into the bottle makingmachines to be formed into new bottles orjars.

These are then sent to the filler and theretailer ready for consumers to buy.

Alternatively the cullet can be used for anumber of other uses such as aggregate inthe construction industry or a new roadlaying material called ‘glasphalt’. Someother uses for recycled glass are: fibreglassinsulation in houses and as a water filteringmaterial.

Please remove any lids or tops

and rinse out your glass bottles

and jars. Why not use the water

at the end of your washing up!

Introduction

Have you ever wondered what happens to the items you place out for recycling,be it in your kerbside collections, recycling sites or at the Household WasteRecycling Centres?

Councils in Hertfordshire all have different methods of collecting your waste andrecycling, but ultimately many of the materials are recycled in a similar way.

If your local Council does not collect some of the materials listed in this leafletfrom your doorstep you can contact WasteAware to see where your nearest siteis for recycling that material.

What happens to

your paper?

The paper is washed and breaks up intofibres and ink. Large contaminating itemsare filtered out andcentrifuges removethe staples.

The ink is thenremoved byflotation. Airbubbles create ascum that the inksticks to and floatsto the surface. After6 months the ink is harderto remove so ‘young’ paper is better.

The pulp is heated to 850ºC and hydrogenperoxide (which breaks down into oxygenand water) is added to brighten the mixture.No synthetic bleach is used.

The state of the art paper machine runs allthe time at speeds of up to 60mph. Thewatery pulp is squirted between two layersof fine wire mesh to form a sheet. The sheetis then passed between sets of heated rollersto dry out. It is then ironed to create a shinysurface.

This whole process can take as

little as 4 days!

The finished paper isrolled onto a jumboreel, weighing over 30tonnes. This is cut intosmaller reels and wrapped ready for use.

The paper is thendelivered to theprinting houses whereit becomes the nextday’s newspaper orcomic.

What happens to

your cans

Cans are either made from steel oraluminium. They are taken to a MaterialsRecovery Facility (MRF) and loaded onto aconveyor belt where they are separated byan electromagnet before continuing on theirrecycling journey.

The cans are thencrushed into bales tomake them easier totransport.

Steel bales are putinto a furnace whichheats up to around1700ºC. Molten ironis added and oxygen isblasted in. The steel isformed into big slabs,which are rolled intolarge coils.

This steel can beused to make allsorts of newproducts, such asbikes, cars,bridges,paperclips oreven more cans.

Please wash and

squash your cans.

Why not use the

water at the end of

your washing up!

Aluminium

Bales of aluminium areshredded and hot air isused to remove paint. Itis heated to 750ºCbecoming molten metal,which flows into moulds.The metal cools forming26 tonne ingots. Eachingot contains enoughaluminium to make 1.6million drinks cans.

The ingots are reheated and rolled intosheets, which are fed through acupping press to make

new cans.

What happens to your

plastic bottles?

Plastic bottles are taken to aMRF where they areplaced on a conveyorbelt.

The bottles are thenmanually sorted intoskips according to type,however in some verymodern MRFs infra-redtechnology is used to identifythe plastic by colour and type and plastic; forexample PET (fizzy drinks bottles) and HDPE(typically opaque plastic milk bottles). Oncethe type of plastic has been identified jets of airblow the bottles off the conveyorbelt into skips.

The separated bottles are thensquashed into bales beforebeing transported to areprocessing factory.

At the reprocessing facility thebaled bottles are split andpassed through a hot wash toremove labels and gluebefore beinggranulated into smallpellets or flakes ofplastic.

These flakes and pelletscan now replace the raw

material that would have beenused in the production of new products.

The flakes / pellets are then heated up andforced unto a mould under pressure, formingbrand new products of all shapes and sizes.New products include drainage pipes, bollards,bins, new plastic bottles and even fleecejackets!

Please wash and squash

your plastic bottles and

remove the lids. Why

not use the water at

the end of your washing up!

Future developments

It is clear many residents would like to beable to recycle all plastics, not just bottles,however these services are still indevelopment. As technology improves itis likely that markets for recycled plasticwill expand. Hertfordshire’s Councils willcontinue to explore ways to develop thetypes of plastic collected. Visitwww.wasteaware.org.uk to find aboutrecycling plastics at the Household WasteRecycling Centres.

In-vessel composting:

The vehicles arrive at the compostingsite where they are weighed and thecontents tipped into thespecial receptionbuilding.

Before shredding, thewaste is sprayedwith ‘good bacteria’to minimise odour.

It is at this stage whenloads can be rejected ifthey contain any generalrubbish. If this happens the entire loadwhich could be up to 12 tonnes has tobe sent to landfill.

The waste is carried to

closed storage vessels.

In order to kill harmful bacteria, the wastemust reach a temperature of at least 60º fortwo consecutive days ineach vessel. Theaction of bacteriain the rottingprocess makesthe temperatureincrease.Temperaturescan reach as highas 80ºC.

Thecompost is

put into rows tomature. This takes

between six andeight weeks and

needs regularturning

The compost is sievedto remove impurities

and then graded andsold to farmers acrossthe region.

What happens to your green waste?

Some Councils in Hertfordshire are already able to collect cardboard and foodwaste in with garden waste. However other collections, including at theHousehold Waste Recycling Centres, can only accept garden waste.

This is because at the current time (2007) there are limited composting facilitiesthat can include food waste, as these sites need to be compliant with the AnimalBy-Products Regulations. These regulations were introduced as a result ofmeasures to combat diseases such as BSE and foot and mouth and require thatcomposting is carried out in an enclosed space with specific time andtemperature requirements. It is hoped that in the future all district / boroughCouncils will be able to collect food waste and cardboard.

If your council can

currently only collect

garden waste then this is

how it is processed:

The green waste is tippedand shredded as it is inthe in-vessel process.However after shreddingit is placed outside inrows and turnedregularly. It may beshredded several more timesalso. Temperatures aremonitored to ensure bestcomposting conditions are met.

After about 3 months in the summerand 6 months in the winter the

compost is put through a screener toremove materials that are not broken

down enough and these are returned to theheap for further breakdown and shredding.

You can recycle green

waste at home with a home

compost bin

1. Placing Your BinChoose a level, well-drained partially sunnyspot that will allow helpful creatures such asworms to get in and break down the contents.

2. Put these inThese are called “Greens,” vegetable peelings,fruit waste, teabags, plant prunings and grasscuttings. They are quick to rot and provideimportant nitrogen and moisture. You canalso compost cardboard egg boxes,scrunched up paper and fallen leaves.These are called “Browns” and areslower to rot. Crushed eggshells canbe included to add usefulminerals.

3. Keep these outNo cooked vegetables, no meat, nodairy products, no diseased plants,and definitely no dog poo or catlitter, or baby’s nappies. Alsoavoid composting weeds withseed heads (such as dandelionsand thistle). Remember noplastics, glass and metals.

4. Making Good CompostYou need to keep your Greens and Brownsproperly balanced. If your compost is too wet,add more Browns. If it’s too dry, add someGreens. Making sure there is enough air in themixture is also important. Adding scrunched upbits of cardboard is a simple way to create airpockets that will keep your compost healthy.Mix the contents regularly. After approximately6-9 months your finished compost will beready.

5. Using Your CompostFinished compost is a dark brown, almost blacksoil-like layer that you’ll find at the bottom ofyour bin. Some bins have a small hatch at thebottom that you can remove to get at thefinished product, but sometimes it’s even easier

to lift the bin or to tip it over to get at yourcompost. Spreading the finished compostinto your flowerbeds greatly improves soil

quality by helping it retain moisture andsuppressing weeds.

Composting is the easiest way to

make your garden grow more

beautiful.

Contact your local authority to

find out how to get your

subsidised compost bin

for Hertfordshire

This leaflet is producedby WasteAware – apartnership of allauthorities inHertfordshire.

To find out more contactWasteAware on 08457 425000 www.wasteaware.org.uk or your local council

Printed on recycled paper Printed: October 2007

Know your 3 Rs

Next time you have something to throw away or recycle,

stop and think if the item can be reduced in the future or if it

can be reused in an innovative way.

It’s only rubbish if you throw it away!

At Household Waste Recycling Centres householders can recycle paper, magazines, cardboard,green garden waste, glass bottles and jars, cans, plastic bottles, wood, textiles, engine oil, fridges,

TVs, tyres, fluorescent lighting tubes, batteries, toner cartridges, metals and mobile phones.*

* Cole Green HWRC does not have facilities to recycle plastic bottles or mobile phones.

The recycling processes shown in this leaflet are examples of typical methods. The exact collection andreprocessing arrangements for your waste and recycling may vary slightly from the processes shown