Temporarily stop collecting plastics separately for recycling
We propose that in the short term residents should put their plastic into their black bins/blue bags and separate plastics collections should stop. The main benefit of returning plastics to the black bin/ blue bags is that we will know exactly where our plastic goes and what happens to it, so there is no risk of it ending up in overseas landfill or worse. This is because we would be able to process the plastic in Swindon, converting it into fuel at Swindon’s solid recovered fuel (SRF) plant in Cheney Manor.
Another benefit of this approach is that it may increase recycling of other materials like glass, cans and paper/card which are currently put in black bins/blue bags. This would happen because there will be less room in the black bin/blue bags for these materials so residents will be more likely to use their recycling boxes instead.
We do not consider this a long-term solution and when plastic recycling becomes more environmentally-friendly and cost effective, we will consider reintroducing a plastic collection service.
The Government has proposed an initiative to phase out single use plastics, are encouraging bottle recycling via a deposit return scheme and are also encouraging manufacturers to streamline the number, type and recyclability of the various plastics used in packaging. This will take a number of years to have an impact but will make plastic recycling collections more feasible in the future.