In the UK, in specific areas, waste is managed by district and county councils. Collection of waste is primarily the task of the district council, and it ensures diverse types of bins are availed. When you dump your rubbish at the curb, it enters a system of collection and disposal.
What Accrues After Waste Collection?
A little-known fact is that most of your disposed rubbish contains recyclable materials. So what happens when all the stuff we throw away gets collected and sorted by local councils?
Waste must be sorted into different categories to be recycled. Recyclable waste is sent to recycling centres, shredded, cleaned, and baled before being made into something new. Non-recyclable waste, including food waste, landfill gas, and industrial ash, must be removed from normal rubbish tips for disposal. The unsorted rubbish is used to create energy in a waste-to-energy plant.
If nothing can be recycled or burnt at a waste-to-energy plant, it ends up in a landfill. One way councils may source local wase disposal companies to treat waste is by encouraging them to adopt recycling techniques in their production processes. Companies can recycle old broken furniture and use it as a base for new pieces. Recycling helps reduce the burden on landfills and enables companies to sell recycled materials at steep discount rates to individuals and other businesses.
What Is Fly-Tipping, And Who Is Responsible?
Fly-tipping is the illegal practice of dumping household and commercial waste in public places. The place where fly-tipping happens is known as a fly-tipping site, maybe on a street, pathway, or close to a river. Fly-tipping poses serious health and safety risks as it can create an environmental hazard that contaminates soil and water quality.
Often fly tipping takes place in the countryside late at night where the culprits are unlikely to be seen or heard and has been increasingly gradually over the past few years. Some credit the increase in fly-tipping due to the increase in fees for the disposal of waste and the availability of waste disposal sites, which many have reduced their hours in a bid to save on council spending.
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Many local authorities have identified fly-tipping sites that have successfully reduced their numbers, mainly by working closely with communities to educate them about the illegality of this practice and develop proactive strategies for prevention and enforcement. To deal with fly-tippers, local councils can issue fines, and the police can arrest culprits.
What Happens to Waste That Can’t Be Put In a Wheelie Bin?
Waste that cannot be recycled or burnt ends up in the landfill. The council can collect this waste via its a bulky waste collection program or at any local waste disposal site. Usually the county council are responsible for the waste disposal sites, whilst district councils are responsible for waste collection and issuing fines for fly-tipping.
Waste collection and recycling are increasingly challenging for county councils and locals. While collecting and disposing of waste properly is possible, not many companies are doing so. The police and county councils are slowly but progressively seeking ways of managing waste.
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