Residents urged not to put broken glass in kerbside recycling box

Cotswold District Council is urging residents to ensure they recycle responsibly to avoid unnecessary injury to waste operatives.

In recent weeks, crew members working for the Council’s waste service provider, Ubico Ltd, have raised concerns over a number of instances where residents have attempted to recycle broken glass. This is a significant health and safety hazard and increases the risk of crew members sustaining cuts and other injuries.

Ubico has instructed its crews to avoid collecting boxes which they identify as containing broken glass, and is calling on the public to help avoid this risk by recycling responsibly.

Please follow these five simple steps to ensure that recycling is presented safely and considerately:

• Step 1 – Use one black recycling box for paper and magazines. (If you only have room for one box - put the papers at one end and the glass at the other).
• Step 2 – Use a second black recycling box for all glass bottles and jars - no broken glass please. (Order a second box if you need one).
• Step 3 - Use the white recycling sack for tins/cans, aerosols, plastic bottles, food trays, yoghurt pots and other types of mixed rigid plastics.
• Step 4 – Use the blue recycling sack for corrugated (brown coloured) cardboard or light (grey coloured) card.
• Step 5 – Use the green caddy for food waste.

If residents do need to dispose of broken glass, it should be carefully wrapped (in paper, bubble wrap or carrier bags), and disposed of in the black, general waste bin.

Cllr Andrew Doherty, CDC Cabinet Member for Waste, Flooding and Environmental Health, said: “Ubico work extremely hard to ensure all waste is collected and processed correctly, and keeping our crews safe is of the utmost importance. Handling broken glass is dangerous so if crews handle kerbside boxes containing it, they have been advised by Cotswold District Council and Ubico to exercise caution and refuse to take it.

“Following the Council’s five-step advice will not only help to ensure that all waste is collected quickly and efficiently, but will, most importantly, ensure crews stay safe from harm when emptying recycling containers.

“If you are unsure how to recycle glass safely, contact the Customer Service team.”

To request an extra black box please or contact the CDC Waste team email us at cdc@cotswold.gov.uk or phone 01285 623123. The CDC Customer Service team can be contacted on 01285 623000.