In November 2019 Newcastle City Council let residents know they were trialling a new approach to improving the quality of the recycling collected. In particular they wanted to reduce contamination. This is when the wrong items have been placed in the blue recycling bin or black caddy for glass.

In Kenton the recycling bins from 1169 households were monitored and information given to residents as part of the trial. We found 30 households had put bins out for collection with the wrong items in them. These residents received a letter and a tag on their bin explaining what the mistake had been. On subsequent collections this contamination had reduced.  Most residents now understand what should be put in the blue bins and how to use the caddy for glass. This is a great achievement by the residents of Kenton.

We have changed contractors recently so more items can now be recycled. We have
updated our detailed A-Z of recycling online, along with our existing blue bin and caddy
guidance, so residents know what they can and cannot recycle, and where it needs to
go: www.newcastle.gov.uk/bins

Our recycling sorting contractor in Hartlepool has commented on the noticeable
improvement in the quality of recycling collected in this round.  We want to thank everyone who has helped us collect good quality recycling. We will continue to monitor
recycling bins to help us continue to improve recycling.