What happens to your waste?

Items that can be recycled will be sent to the appropriate facility to be broken down and re-used. When the mixed recycling arrives at the facility, it is separated mechanically and manually into different types of high quality recyclable material. Over 95% of the materials that go through the facilities are recycled.

Glass

All the glass we collect is recycled in the UK. Glass in good condition can be recycled infinitely with no loss of quality. Broken glass can be ground down and used for aggregate in the construction industry.

Metal

Almost all the metal we collect is recycled in Britain. A very small amount is sometimes sent for specialist repurposing in various countries in north-west Europe. A metal tin that you put in your recycling bin could be back on supermarket shelves in less than 60 days.

Paper and cardboard

Much of the paper and cardboard we collect is recycled in the UK. Some is sent abroad but always to facilities that are accredited and licenced by the UK Environment Agency. Paper and cardboard are pulped and reprocessed into fresh paper products.

Plastic

Most of the plastic we collect is recycled in this country. Some types of plastic are sent abroad but always to facilities that are accredited and licenced by the UK Environment Agency. Unlike many companies, we collect black plastic packaging and ensure that it is recycled here in the UK.

We take your food waste to an Anaerobic Digestion plant near Cassington, Oxfordshire. The waste food is broken down by bacteria and turned into biogas and liquid fertiliser.

Biogas is a renewable energy source used to generate electricity. The Cassington plant processes over 50,000 tonnes of solid and liquid wastes a year, generating 2.1MW of electricity.

The liquid fertiliser is spread on local fields – helping to naturally boost crop yield.

We don’t put any of your general waste into landfill. We take material that can’t be recycled just up the road to Ardley Energy Recovery Facility in Oxfordshire. At Ardley, the waste is converted to energy in a process that meets the highest environmental standards and significantly reduces greenhouse gas emissions. The facility generates enough electricity to power at least 56,000 homes – that’s more than the whole of Oxford.

Owing to its potentially toxic or infectious nature, clinical waste will be safely and securely removed from your premises. The waste will then be disposed of, in accordance with national guidelines, such as incineration at an Energy Recovery Facility. The waste will be incinerated at a very high temperature. The heat energy created from this will then be converted to electricity and fed back into the national grid.

Only approved waste carriers such as ODS, can remove hazardous waste. This waste is then taken to appropriate disposal facilities, dependent on the materials, and disposed of in accordance with UK laws.

Where possible, this waste will be sent to an Energy Recovery Facility, (ERF) where it will be incinerated at a very high temperature and converted into heat energy. This energy is then converted into electricity where it will power up to nearly 60,000 homes in the area.