Waste Minimisation

 As part of our drive to reduce the amount of waste in black bins that cannot be recycled, we would like to encourage parents to purchase cloth nappies (instead of disposables)  as these can be up to 40% better for the environment and also save them up to £1,000 compared to disposable nappies even taking laundry costs into account.  
 
Essex County Council is currently offering a £30 refund per child on the purchase of any cloth nappies or laundering service.  The nappies come in a variety of colours/styles and many are preshaped and fasten with poppers, grips or Velcro.  Just £80 will kit out a baby with all the nappies they will need. 
 

Mixed Dry Recycling

The quality of recycling collected in the Braintree District is very high and the majority of the residents separate items very carefully.  However, we know that there is still confusion about what items can/cannot be recycled and every month our crews report sacks contaminated with nappies, food, glass and polystyrene.  If this goes unchecked, it can result in a whole vehicle load being rejected by the processing plant which is a huge waste of everyone’s time and effort in sorting their waste.  We have therefore published a list of what items can/can’t be recycled and this can be found on our website using the link below.  
 https://www.braintree.gov.uk/info/200198/recycling_information_and_advice/161/kerbside_recycli ng-what_goes_in_my_clear_sack
 

Food Waste

Many residents do not recycle their food waste, despite the fact that this is collected weekly. This waste is processed using anaerobic digestion which not only produces compost and fertilizer, but also provides a source of energy to power our homes.  No amount of food waste is too small to recycle – every little helps.