Overcoming The Waste Contamination Challenge – What Can Waste Handlers Do?

As the focus on sustainability intensifies, most households are making an effort to live greener lives by reducing waste, recycling more, and avoiding single-use products. However, achieving recycling perfection is nearly impossible, and many of us are guilty of disposing of contaminated waste – whether it’s a crust in a cardboard pizza box or a piece of cheese left over in its plastic wrapper.

Waste contamination levels spike during Christmas, as the UK sends an additional 5,000 tonnes of plastic waste to landfill or incineration in the colder months. This exacerbates an already complex issue and presents a significant challenge for effective recycling programmes. Recent reports highlight this problem, with The Guardian noting an astonishing 40% increase in paper and card contamination between November and March.

This issue occurs when contaminants are mixed with cardboard in recycling bins and soggy wet cardboard wraps around the plastic bottles and trays. This causes havoc at recycling plants.

What’s the impact on waste handlers?

Contamination is a significant issue for the recycling industry because it can render entire batches of recyclables unusable, increase processing costs, and undermine the efficiency of waste sorting and recycling systems. Contaminants like food waste, non-recyclable plastics, or improperly sorted materials can also damage machinery and reduce the quality of recycled products.

Emily Delve, Commercial Director of Devon-based waste management company Coastal Recycling, explains: “Contamination is one of the biggest problems we face because it can ruin entire batches of materials and drive up costs.

“Items like food scraps, greasy pizza boxes, liquid-soaked cardboard or items that don’t belong in the recycling bin can mean a whole container ends up as general waste rather than being recycled. The best way to help is to rinse your recyclables, avoid throwing away items you’re unsure about, and follow your local recycling rules or the guidelines set by your waste management company. A little effort goes a long way.”

While the winter months may be under the media spotlight due to excessive consumption at Christmas, Emily stresses that contamination is actually a year-round problem for those on the front line of waste management – and can also become more troublesome depending on the region.

She continues: “The summer brings tourists to our region, who adopt a holiday mindset regarding their waste. Many of our clients are campsites, holiday parks, and tourist attractions that consistently face issues with contaminated waste. Often, holidaymakers who are diligent recyclers at home may alter their recycling habits during their week away. We’ve collaborated with our tourism clients to implement initiatives like segregation at source and clearer signage to address the issue, but it remains a significant challenge each year.”

So, what can waste handlers do to tackle waste contamination?

One of the most promising approaches to overcoming this challenge is to embrace advanced waste treatment technologies.

Advetec’s unique aerobic digestion solution offers waste handlers a sustainable resolution to waste contamination by breaking down and removing the organic waste, such as liquids and food scraps, that contaminate otherwise recyclable items.

Cutting-edge biotechnology enables waste management companies and local authorities to overcome the contamination challenge and streamline waste processing. As this technology also converts organic material into high-quality floc, which can be used as an alternative fuel, it opens up another revenue stream, lowers disposal costs and has the added benefit of reducing our reliance on fossil fuels. It also protects waste handlers’ operations amidst a turbulent legislative landscape.

With the right systems in place, we can divert waste from landfill and low-level incineration while preserving the integrity of recycling streams, ensuring cleaner and more efficient processing. It’s time to harness better sorting techniques and work to improve public education on waste disposal with investment in smarter waste management technologies. This is how we will address the contamination challenge head-on and make significant strides towards a cleaner, more sustainable future.