Northumberland County Council is urging residents to minimise contamination in household recycling after recent analysis showed that nearly a quarter of recycling materials collected in the county was contaminated.
The council says incorrect items such as plastic bags, textiles and non-recyclable packaging can disrupt collections and increase disposal costs.
Officials are reminding households of what can and cannot be placed in recycling bins and encouraging the use of the council’s online resources to check items before disposal.
Cabinet Member for the Environment Councillor John Riddle said: ‘Firstly we’d like to thank the thousands of residents who are putting the right waste in the right bins – you're all doing your bit for the county and the environment.
‘Unfortunately, contamination is very frustrating because tonnes of otherwise clean recycling material thoughtfully and responsibly disposed of by the majority of our residents could go to waste and this also has serious financial and environmental implications.’
