08 February 2012Residents are being asked to reuse their old plastic carrier bags, or put them into their black sacks which, along with the rest of their rubbish, will be used to generate electricity.
Plastic bags are no longer suitable for recycling as the demand for such plastics from the companies that once bought them has dropped dramatically. Residents are being asked to purchase reusable bags. Alternatively reuse their plastic carrier bags when they go shopping or as kitchen bin liners where possible.
At the end of a carrier bag’s useful life, residents are encouraged to put them into their black sacks for disposal. Sevenoaks District's household waste is not sent to landfill. Instead, it is sent to the Kent Enviropower energy from waste plant in Allington where it is used as fuel to generate electricity for the National Grid.
The use of household waste rather than fossil fuels to generate electricity helps to limit the gases that contribute to global warming and climate change. The energy from waste facility generates electricity from household waste for up to 40,000 homes in Kent.
Cllr Avril Hunter, Sevenoaks District Council's Cabinet member with responsibility for refuse, says: "Changes in the market for recycled materials means we can no longer take plastic carrier bags for recycling. Even though they only make up a small part of the materials we pick up, the good news is they won't go to waste, they'll be put to good use to help generate electricity for the National Grid."
For more information on recycling, waste or refuse collection dates, visit www.sevenoaks.gov.uk/refuse.
