262 tonnes of recycling rejected from homes in St Helens

According to data from the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, St Helens rejected an estimated 262 tonnes of waste that was sent for recycling in 2020-21, which are the latest figures available.

While residents are often well-meaning in their recycling, the rejected waste cost taxpayers in St Helens an estimated £24,366 over the year.

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The council collected around 77,000 tonnes of waste in 2020-21 (Image: Stock)

77,000 tonnes of collected waste

In total, the council collected around 77,000 tonnes of household and non-household waste, and recycled around 32 percent of this (around 25,000 tonnes).

Around 49,000 tonnes could not be recycled because they were either non-recyclable items, put in the wrong bins, or contaminated and rejected from recycling streams.

No non-recyclable waste goes to landfill, the council confirmed, and instead is burnt to generate electricity for the national grid.

To try and bring the figure of rejected waste down, the council are urging residents to ensure materials are not contaminated and placed in the right recycling containers.

Leader of the Council David Baines and Cllr Andy Bowden with recycling teams in St Helens (Image: St Helens Council)

Councillor Andy Bowden, St Helens Borough Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Transport, said: 

“This figure represents an estimate of the amount of waste collected both on the kerbside and at the borough’s household waste recycling centres that can’t be recycled.

"This includes materials such as polystyrene, plastic bags and film, and plant pots.  

“Last year we collected and recycled over 25,000 tonnes of waste, so the estimated figure of rejected waste is small by that measure, at around 1%.

"We’d encourage residents to ensure they place the right materials in their recycling containers and check out our website for more recycling tips.  

“While our method of recycling does ask more of residents than a comingled collection, it allows us to collect higher quality and pre-sorted recycling at the point of collection.

"This means we get the best value for our recycling which is in more demand by recycling facilities. 

“Finally, we assure residents that none of the recycling or non-recyclable waste we collect in St Helens Borough goes to landfill, with the waste we can’t recycle going to energy from waste facilities to generate electricity for the national grid.” 

Across England, 647,000 tonnes of recycling were rejected in the year to March 2021, up from 525,000 tonnes the year before, and the largest amount since records began.

Ravenhead Recycling Centre (Image: Google Streetview)

Common items that can't be recycled

• Tissue and kitchen roll
• Plastic wrap, cling film, bubble wrap and plastic bags
• Coffee cups
• Plastic and paper contaminated with food - including grease-stained pizza boxes and paper food plates
• Crisp packets and sweet wrappers
• Polystyrene
• Nappies
• Soft plastic / metallic packaging like pet food pouches

For more information on recycling, visit the council's website here.