What’s in your black bag?

A campaign to improve recycling rates at Household Waste Recycling Centres is being rolled out across Merseyside.

The education campaign launched by Merseyside Recycling and Waste Authority (MRWA) and its contractor Veolia, is focusing on black bin bags of household ‘waste’ which are sent to landfill. This campaign has already proved a huge success after trials in St Helens.

It involves staff at Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) asking visitors to think about what materials can be recycled at their local HWRC’s and consider how they can reduce the amount of ‘black bin bag’ waste going to landfill.

The campaign provides members of the public the opportunity to learn more about what can and can’t be recycled at HWRC’s whilst encouraging people to sort recyclable materials at home.

Councillor Laura Robertson-Collins,Chair of Liverpool City Council’s Neighbourhoods Select Committee  said: “This is an important step for staff at the Household Waste Recycling Centre to actively engage with the people using the centre and to raise awareness. Many people still just do not realise that almost all ‘waste’ can be re-used or recycled! Well done to the MRWA for working to prevent things going to landfill unnecessarily”

MRWA Chief Executive, Carl Beer said “Hundreds of people turn up at HWRCs with black bin bags of waste that would normally have gone into their rubbish bins.

“The campaign is about showing residents that most of what they bring can actually be recycled – and could even have been simply left out for their regular kerbside recycling collections if they sort it first.”

MRWA Chairperson, Councillor Graham Morgan said: “The pilot has been great. People have been surprised when they learned what they could have recycled using kerbside collections or recycling containers at HWRCs.”

The black bag campaign, which piloted at St Helens’ redeveloped Ravenhead site, will now be extended to HWRCs elsewhere across Merseyside.

PICTURED :  Councillor Robertson-Collins, (centre) with MRWA Chief Executive, Carl Beer (left) and Mike Carroll (right) from Veolia help to launch the black bag campaign at Otterspool Household Waste Recycling Centre.

Liverpool Waterfront