Bag drop taking place ahead of recycling trial
Residents who have been chosen to take part in a trial project that aims to recycle more plastic wrapping and packaging have been receiving their supply of bags and more information through their door this week.
The households in Wirral that have been selected to take part were informed earlier this month about what will be required from them.
From this week, not only will they have the details they need – they will also have their distinctive blue bags in to which they can place currently unrecyclable items such as sweet wrappers, foil-lined packets, pouches and sachets, cheese, fish and meat wrapping, bubble wrap, cling film, plastic film and plastic bags that things like bread, cereal and loose fruit and vegetables come in.
They can even put any plastic carrier bags that are no longer reusable in there.
Once their bags are full, residents taking part in the trial just need to tie them in a double knot and place the bag in their grey recycling bin. It will be collected along with the rest of their recycling on their usual scheduled grey bin collection day.
The trial will run from June to August 2025 and will help the council and its partners to understand about the collection and processing involved with recycling these items and how it will work in Wirral.
At the moment, the kind of items covered in this trial are not recyclable through the grey bin as they cannot be successfully separated from the rest of the waste and can cause issues for the machinery at the recycling plant.
Putting them in a separate bag within the recycling bin – as long as they are clean and cleaned of any food residue – should help overcome that issue. It should also lead to a marked improvement in the recycle rates as in the UK currently only around 6% of plastic bags and wrapping materials are being recycled.
The blue bags will be removed from the recycling and the items contained within it will go to another facility to be processed, melted and converted into a material that can be used to make benches and planters.
Included with the information the residents taking part in the trial have been receiving is a list of items that still can’t be recycled and so should not go in their blue bag. This includes things such as plastic bottles, pots, tubs or trays, plastic straws, cups or cutlery, ready meal trays, disposable gloves or masks, gift wrapping, balloons and blister packs used for pills and medication.
The trial is being run by Wirral Council and its partners such as Veolia, Biffa, Liverpool City Region’s Waste Partnership and Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority. It will start from June 2nd 2025 and run for 10 weeks. A number of residents in Eastham, Rock Ferry, Noctorum, Pensby, Heswall, Greasby and Leasowe will be asked to take part.
More information on the trial.
