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Cromwell Polythene, specialists in sacks, bags and speciality products for the capture and containment of waste and recyclables, has helped boost kerbside recycling over the past year, through thirty local authority contract wins.
In total, the sacks bags and liners supplied by Cromwell each year, have helped the containment and collection, and treatment, of around 1.5m tonnes of dry recyclables. Additionally, using these products, 300k tonnes of food waste for composting and anaerobic digestion (AD) digestion, and 2.0m tonnes, of general waste for treatment via energy from waste, or landfill.
The most popular order from local authorities across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland has been for Cromwell’s polythene recycling and waste sacks and liners. This includes its LowCO²t™range, engineered to provide maximum performance using minimal resources. This reduces the volume of plastic used and cuts carbon emissions during production and transportation.
Another popular choice is Cromwell’s compostable sacks and liner range, to support local council food and garden waste recycling collections. Manufactured from Ecopond® biodegradable plastic, using starch and lactide-based derivatives of plant sources, these products are fully compliant with the European composting standard (EN13432). This requires more than 90% of the plastic mass to convert into biomass, CO2, and water, with no harmful residue. The liners are designed to stop this waste from ending up in landfill, where it decomposes and gives off methane, which contributes to climate change.
Other products purchased include sacks for nappy collection, and kerbside recycling bags, which are tailor-made for the collection of dry recyclables, such as plastic, paper, cans, and cardboard. The bags are of varying capacities, typically in the range of 50 to 90 litres, are colour coded in line with common industry practice, and are multi-trip, designed to be used many times over.
Waste that isn’t segregated properly can result in contamination, meaning materials cannot be recycled. The East Anglian Daily Times recently reported that Suffolk County Council had to reject over 10,000 tonnes of waste each year because of contamination from wrong items being put in bins – including 3,000 nappies per day, which had to be removed by hand.
As part of its resources and waste strategy, the government has outlined plans for a consistent set of recyclable materials to be collected from all households and businesses. These include weekly food waste collections, and simplification of the process.
Cromwell Polythene Managing Director, James Lee, said: “We are proud to support local authorities across the UK with their recycling and waste management strategies. From a practical viewpoint, our sacks, bags, and liners provide the most convenient, hygienic, and economical solution for the capture and containment of resources for recycling. They enable easy separation of materials, thus limiting the chance of contamination, whilst having the lowest environmental impact and save valuable resources being sent to landfill.”
