Revealed: BAD item sent for recycling most often UK News

The Hertfordshire waste manager revealed that the item most often sent for recycling is NOT recyclable.

While food-covered cartons, expired cans, and plastic bottles with milk are common mistakes, the biggest mistake is smelly – diapers!

The chairman of the Hertfordshire Waste Partnership, Cllr Eric Buckmaster, said: “The worst we get are the disposable diapers in the recycling stream.

“If we could pick one item, click my fingers and the problem would go away, it’s how much disposable diapers we get in the dry recycling stream.”

Cllr Buckmaster added that if people are fully involved in recycling services, there should be no reason to put disposable diapers in this stream.

He also urged all residents struggling with the capacity of trash cans to contact their local authority for help and advice.

While most items are technically recyclable, products such as diapers contaminate the dry recyclables created at the end of the process, reducing their quality.

This recycled product is then more difficult to sell, making the business model of the recycling process less viable.

“Not only that, let’s be frank, human waste inside a diaper is very, very unpleasant,” added Cllr Buckmaster. “It’s just not something we should be managing through the recycling stream.”

The Herts Waste Partnership operates a reusable diaper program that offers discounts on reusable diapers to families across the county.