Where recycling goes

Click here to see a full list of what you can and can’t put in your recycling bin at home.

Recycling collected through Suffolk’s kerbside recycling bins is taken to a Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) to be sorted. Items are currently sorted at the MRF in Great Blakenham, which is owned and operated by Biffa and contracted to Suffolk County Council. The MRF underwent a signigicant upgrade in 2019 and now uses some of the latest state of the art sorting technology.

At the MRF, Suffolk’s recycling is separated into individual material streams before being sent for further processing. After this initial sort, baled materials are sent to reprocessors to enable them to be made into new products, or further sorting facilities.

39% of Suffolk’s recycling (by weight) is recycled in the UK, and 61% is exported to other European and worldwide destinations for recycling. The majority of exported material is paper and card.

See 'Why is much of our recycling exported?' FAQ for an explanation on why it is necessary to recycle some materials outside the UK. Exported materials will go to Environment Agency accredited and licensed processing facilities where they are transformed into ready to use materials e.g. plastic pellets/flakes and are therefore no longer a waste product. This webpage shows the End Destination Register for Suffolk’s home recycling bin waste.

About 74% of material from our recycling bins was recycled last year. The remaining 26% is rejected for a number of reasons: it is the wrong material, it is dirty or contaminated or it is too small to be recycled (items under 4cm). To see what should go in your recycling bin click here.

The most common contaminants are food waste, nappies, plastic film, textiles and glass.

• Plastic film can be recycled at supermarkets (check in store) and textiles and glass can be recycled at bring banks and Recycling Centres.
• Nappies are not recyclable and need to be placed in your rubbish bin.
• For food waste reduction tips and ideas for meals made from leftovers which will save you money, see the Food Savvy website. We also recommend home composting food waste which can’t be reduced.

Over 13,000 tonnes of materials were rejected from the MRF due to contamination last year, equivalent to 1000 full loads of recycling (or one in every eight collections) costing Suffolk taxpayers over £750,000 every year. Rejected material is sent to the Energy From Waste facility in Great Blakenham.

As with many other modern industries, the recycling industry is global. Many of the manufactured products we use come from overseas, in particular Asia, therefore there is a higher demand for certain types of materials in these countries and they often have a far larger capacity for recycling certain materials than in the UK. Paper and card make up the majority of exported materials, 97% of metal and 85% of plastic collected from Suffolk was recycled in the UK last year. Exporting materials for recycling is still a far better environmental option than not recycling. One of the reasons is because exports are often taken in shipping containers which would otherwise travel back empty on their return journeys.

(Adapted from Recycle Now, 2018)

Recycling conserves resources

When we recycle, used materials are converted back into new products, reducing the need to consume more virgin natural resources. If used materials are not recycled, new products are made by extracting raw material from the Earth, through mining, crude oil extraction and forestry, therefore recycling helps conserve important raw materials, reduces stored carbon release and protects natural habitats for the future.

Recycling saves energy

Using recycled materials in the manufacturing process uses considerably less energy, water and time than that required for producing new products from raw materials – even when comparing all associated energy needs, like transport. A lot more energy is required to extract, refine, transport and process raw materials ready for industry compared with providing industry-ready recycled materials, e.g. reprocessing of aluminium cans in Wales uses 90% less energy than the mining of bauxite in Australia and extrusion of new aluminium.

Recycling helps protect the environment

It reduces the need for extracting, refining and processing raw materials, all of which create substantial air and water pollution. As recycling saves energy, it also reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which helps to tackle climate change. UK recycling is estimated to save more than 18 million tonnes of CO2 a year (2018) – the equivalent to taking 5 million cars off the road.

As well as being harder to recycle plastic with less value than other plastics, it is also difficult to separate plastic bags and film from other materials. It is also easily contaminated with food waste and other material, making it unsuitable for recycling. Most large supermarkets have a dedicated collection point where you can take plastic bags and clean plastic film (check in store). It is easier for supermarkets to recycle this material as they can collect a dedicated single stream product and recycle it with large amounts of plastic used in store during the transport and food industry process, making it financially viable. 

Search our A-Z for advice on what to do with most things or explore our website for more waste information and advice.