Nappies and dog poo disposed in wrong bins in North Yorkshire leads to new recycling campaign

The stickers will act as a reminder of what can and can’t be recycled after figures showed the district has fallen below its target of recycling 50 per cent of all waste since at least 2018. The average household in Craven produced 474kg of waste last year and just under 40 per cent was recycled. The district also missed its target to reduce contamination to 10 per cent.

This is where items are placed in the wrong bins, resulting in thousands of pounds of extra costs for Craven District Council. The most common wrongly recycled items include black bagged waste, coffee cups and crisp and sweet wrappers. The council also listed dog waste bags and nappies as problem items.

Tracy McLuckie, environmental services manager at the council, said wrongly recycled items “cause more harm than good” as she also urged people to use their blue bins “responsibly”.

She said: “If everybody makes a small improvement in how they allocate their waste, we can make a positive impact across the district. Let’s create a greener and more sustainable district for everyone.”

Councillor Chris Moorby, lead member for greener Craven, also said the council “cannot emphasise enough” that black bin liners should not be used in blue bins.

“This is extremely important because if recycling is dirty or in a black bag, it can contaminate a whole lorry full of collections, which would result in none of it being recycled,” he said. “Many people still find themselves hovering over a recycling bin, not sure whether the item in their hand can go in the blue bin or not. They may look for a label, but still be unsure. Now, they can look at the recycling bin sticker and check.”

As part of the campaign, the council had hoped to employ a waste education officer to spread its message. However, it has been unable to recruit a suitable candidate. A specific campaign for over Christmas and New Year was also previously discussed for when waste teams are at their busiest.