You can now download a useful infographic that shows exactly what happens to all of the rubbish and recycling collected by Dorset Council.
We also have videos that explain what happens to our recycling, food waste and garden waste.
After kerbside recycling is collected, it is taken to be sorted and bulked up at various locations across the county.
Any materials that can't be recycled - either because they are too low quality or there isn't a market for them - are sent to an Energy from Waste (EfW) facility in the UK or Europe, where they are incinerated to generate electricity.
The table below shows where different recyclable materials are usually sent after they have been sorted but the destinations may change depending on capacity or most value for money on disposal costs.
| Materials | Where it goes | What happens to it |
|---|---|---|
| Glass | Recresco, South Wales URM (UK) Ltd Sibelco (SGS Glass Recycling) Day Group |
Sorted by colour and washed to remove any impurities. Crushed and melted, then moulded into new products such as bottles and jars. |
| Newspapers and pamphlets | N+P Crayford | Newspaper and paper |
| Mixed paper and cardboard | N+P Crayford |
Recycled and turned into new paper and packaging material |
| Plastics | N+P Crayford | Processed and remoulded into new plastic products or made into fuel to create energy |
| Food waste | Eco Sustainable Solutions, Piddlehinton & Parley Dorset | Anaerobic digestion, where food waste is used to create soil improver, compost and a renewable energy source |
| Garden waste | Eco Sustainable Solutions, Lodmoor Weymouth & Parley |
Composted and used in horticulture |
Aluminium and Ferrous tins, cans and foil |
N+P Crayford | Sorted into different materials and recycled into new products |
| Tetra pak cartons | N+P Crayford | Recycled and turned into new paper and packaging material |
Many items that cannot go in with kerbside collection can still be recycled; they just need to be taken to a household recycling centre (HRC) or a recycling bank at a car park.
The table below shows where materials collected at HRCs and recycling banks usually go but the destinations may change depending on capacity or most value for money on disposal costs.
| Materials | Where it goes | What happens to it |
|---|---|---|
| Batteries (car and pencil) | Envirowales Ltd Ecobat Resources UK Ltd Portable Battery Recycling Ltd |
Batteries are reprocessed with 95% of materials recycled. |
| Brita water cartridges | BRITA WATER FILTER SYSTEMS LIMITED, OX26 4JT | The plastic casing is first shredded on site and then collected by partner companies. They clean and separate the plastic and grind it into granules. The plastics industry can then use this to produce new plastic parts. The activated carbon is returned to activated carbon suppliers. They reprocess it and use it again for various filter processes, for example, in wastewater treatment. In our own plant, the ion exchanger is regenerated and added to new filter cartridges. This means that new BRITA filter cartridges can contain regenerated ion exchangers – with the same quality and performance. That is truly sustainable! |
| Cardboard | Visy Recycling | Cardboard from HRC's in Dorset is recycled used to make packaging. |
| Tetrapak cartons | N+P Crayford | Recycled and turned into new paper and packaging material |
| Clothing and textiles | Usman International (FZC) Salvation Army Trading Company Ltd |
Textiles are graded for reuse and also recycled to make industrial cleaning cloths/rags. |
| Electrical appliances | European Metal Recycling Ltd Sweeep Kuusakoski Ltd |
The appliances are crushed and sorted using magnets and hand sorting. Plastics, metals and glass are separated for recycling. |
| Fluorescent lighting | Recolight | The mercury is used for lab and industrial uses. The aluminium goes back to the metal market. Glass is made into new light tubes. |
| Aluminium and Ferrous tins, cans and foil | N+P Crayford |
Sorted into different materials and recycled into new products |
| Fridges and freezers | European Metal Recycling Ltd |
Metal and plastics are removed for recycling, CFC gases are incinerated and CFC free foam (degassed) is land-filled. |
| Garden waste | ECO Sustainable Solutions Ltd, Hurn, Weymouth | Made into a nutrient rich compost and soil improver. |
| Glass | Recresco URM (UK) Ltd Sibelco (SGS Glass Recycling) |
Glass is re-melted and used to make new bottles and jars. |
| Scrap metal | European Metal Recycling Ltd |
Smelted and turned into cars, aeroplanes, tin cans and other metal products. |
| Plasterboard | New West Gypsum Recycling (UK) |
Gypsum is used for more plasterboard and in the composting process. |
| Rubble (inert hardcore and concrete) | W&S Recycling | Graded, washed, tumbled and re-marketed. |
| Televisions | Recycling Lives Services |
Dismantled and plastic and metal recyclable parts are separated. Glass is treated to remove any hazardous components before being sent to be recycled. |
| Tyres | Fraser Evans & Sons Ltd |
Repurposed for use including carpet underlay, all-weather training areas for horses, playgrounds, rubber matting, sports and recreational surfaces. |
| Engine oil | Slicker Recycling Ltd | Re-processed which produces a high-quality base oil product which is a key component in the production of brand new carbon-efficient lubricating oil. |
| Vegetable oil | Future Industrial Services Ltd |
Filtered and refined into bio diesel which can then be used for fuelling buses, cars and lorries that run on bio-diesel. |
| Wood and timber | Eco Sustainable Solutions, Dorset | Shredded and separated into various grades for chip board, biomass fuels (energy recovery) and equestrian products. |
| Hard plastics | Van Werven UK Ltd | Goes through a 7-step process before it is ultimately turned into almost 100% - pure secondary raw material |
| Vapes | WasteCare Ltd | See the WasteCare Ltd website |
| Coffee pods | WasteCare Ltd | See the WasteCare Ltd website |
| Paper | Newport Recycling | Supply directly to paper mills in the UK, Europe and the Far East. Supply to paper mills in Vietnam through strong partnerships with the local reprocessors. Also sell paper for recycling to companies in the UK who manufacture fibre bed pans, ceiling tiles, loft insulation and animal bedding. |
