#ShakeItOut

The #ShakeItOut campaign has been launched by the Suffolk Waste Partnership to encourage households in Suffolk to help improve recycling rates across the county by making sure black bin bags and other plastic sacks are not thrown in with recyclable materials.

The Partnership, made up of the county, district and borough councils in Suffolk, says more than a quarter (26%) of the materials in Suffolk’s recycling bins in 2022/23 were not able to be processed as they were spoiled.

Items that contributed to spoiled recycling collections included:

• Materials that were not clean and dry, or contained food and drink residue
• Rubbish sacks or plastic bags containing recycling
• Non-recyclable items, such as nappies and food waste

Plastic bags and rubbish sacks are a particular problem – recycling handlers can’t see what’s inside them and they are often full of rubbish or other non-recyclable items.

For more information, visit: www.suffolkrecycling.org.uk/shake-it-out