14 Aug. 2023: Redcar and Cleveland council has announced plans to “phase out” separate paper collections, saying they are “no longer worthwhile” because of low demand and an advancement at its sorting facility. 

In a statement earlier today, the authority explained that the council’s new recycling contractor, the council-owned Cumbria Waste Management, has the facilities to sort the paper at its recycling centre, meaning residents can now dispose of their paper in the blue bins with the rest of their recycling.

“This, as well as the decline of people reading physical newspapers, means that the benefits associated with the provision of caddies are no longer as worthwhile,” the council explained.

Previously, black caddies were distributed to households facilitating the separation of paper from other recyclables during the waste collection process.

Councillor Adam Brook, cabinet member for neighbourhoods and housing at the council, said: “This is a sensible decision which means we, as a council, no longer have to purchase and distribute the caddies to households throughout the borough, saving time and money.

“We would like to stress that the paper will still be recycled. We’re asking residents who have black caddies to no longer put these out on bin collection days, and by all means repurpose the caddies as toolboxes or storage boxes. If you have no use for them and would like to return them, you can drop them off at your local library and we will dispose of them for you.”

The council serves around 137,000 resident and recorded a 38.2% recycling rate in 2021/22.
Unsustainable
Paper will now be collected in the commingled dry recycling bin

Redcar and Cleveland is not the first to be making such a move in recent times, with a number of councils have been making similar decisions brought on by falling demand.

The South Tyne and Wear Waste Management Partnership said it will “consider alternative collection models” when its sorting contract is renewed in 2025, as the separate collection of paper is “not sustainable in the longer term” (see letsrecycle.com story)

The partnership manages waste and recycling for Sunderland, South Tyneside, and Gateshead councils. Each collects paper separately from other dry mixed recycling in a blue bin.

This has continued a trend seen in recent years as newspaper volumes decline, wo South Cambridgeshire doing the same in 2017 (see letsrecycle.com story).

Hayley Gues, LetsRecycle