How is it recycled?

Your grey recycling bin is emptied by Biffa and transported to the Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) at Bidston.  The recycling is put onto a high speed conveyor belt and travels through a pre-sort cabin; cardboard is manually removed for recycling and obvious contamination is removed for disposal (Examples of items previously removed are teddy bears, a false leg and a car exhaust!).  The recycling is then sorted mechanically and the separated materials are baled and transported to the reprocessors.  The Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority estimates that 85% of the recovered materials from the MRF at Bidston are recycled in the UK.

MWDA and Veolia Environmental Services have launched a range of new and exciting opportunities for community groups, families and schools to learn more about the world of recycling and managing waste at the Merseyside Recycling Discovery Centres.

The Bidston Centre in Wirral includes opportunities to watch recycling and recovery in action via TV links, explore the smarter shopping zone, creepy compost corner and observe landfill monitoring. You can participate in a range of hands-on activities including playing giant recycling snakes and ladders. Learn from Education Officers better ways to recycle, prevent waste and reuse materials. Watch this short film on the Recycling Discovery Centres

Watch this short video to find out what happens to your recycling?: