No composting for carrier bags, District Council tells residents

Date:  25 October 2006

Three Rivers District Council is reminding residents that plastic carrier bags and packaging must not be placed in their brown wheelie bins.

A number of people have contacted the Council recently after hearing that some supermarkets are now providing carrier bags and plastic packaging which can be composted. The problem with these biodegradable plastics is that they take a long time to decompose, and they also need sunlight to degrade, so they don't rot down in the composting process.

Councillor Phil Brading, Public Services and Health portfolio holder, says:

"Biodegradable plastic bags and packaging are a step forward, but they're still difficult to deal with, so please don't put them in your brown bin.  It would be far better if we all took our own shopping bags to the supermarkets, rather than helping ourselves to endless supplies of plastic carrier bags, which just add Hertfordshire's waste mountain."

The District Council's advice on reducing carrier bag waste is:

• Take shopping bags with you whenever you go shopping, or buy the strong reusable plastic bags which some supermarkets sell (so called "bags for life").
• Say no to unnecessary plastic carrier bags - only take them if you really need them, and reuse them as often as possible.
• When you've no further use for them, carrier bags should be placed with your ordinary rubbish in your refuse bin.
• Some supermarkets have collection points for used carrier bags, which they then recycle.

For more information on what can and cannot be collected through the District Council's waste and recycling collections, visit the Rubbish, Waste and Recycling pages or call 01923 776611.

Visit the Recycle Now website for more ideas on how to reduce, reuse and recycle.