What happens to your Recycling in Stevenage

In Stevenage we collect your recycling through a process called source-separated recycling, this means we provide different containers for residents to separate recycling into. 

Collecting materials separately like this allows us to independently source companies that deal with waste materials so that they can be used again. It also means we can generate an income from the recycling collected, which has a much higher value when each material is collected separately.

See our video below to see how your recycling is collected and sorted from the kerbside and what happens at our depot. 

The main recycling streams are tendered out to UK suppliers with the aim of keeping as much as possible within the UK for reprocessing. Very little of the material goes to landfill or incineration directly and it would only be residues from the end process where there could be anything to go to incineration, for example Residue Derived Fuels (RDF).

Our paper and card is collected and goes to a UK mill for reprocessing into paper products. Our glass is collected and goes direct to remelt for reprocessing. Our plastics and cans go to a facility where the plastics are separated by polymer for processing into secondary plastic feedstock for plastic items and metals separated into steel and aluminium for reprocessing.

While we cannot guarantee that our recycling is always 100% reprocessed in the UK, we actively search for UK markets where possible. The material, market conditions and availability of UK reprocessing facilities all dictate the onward reprocessing journey.