Wrexham Council say “there’s still plenty of room for us to improve” as images show scale of plastic found in general waste collection

Images of plastic items disposed of in black bins have been released by Wrexham Council in a bid to encourage residents to recycle more.

The local authority says the picture above shows roughly a weeks’ worth of recyclable plastic that was found during a recent general waste collection.

Over the last 12 months Wrexham Council has a drive to try and increase the amount of waste recycled in Wrexham.

Back in October 2018 Wrexham.com reported that recycling rates in Wrexham had dropped down from 68 per cent to 65.4 per cent for 2017/18 – a theme that was was mirrored by other authorities across Wales.

The local authority say that although many residents across the area are recycling, there are still “a large number of items that should be getting recycled are still finding their way into our general waste.”

Green boxes can be used for plastic bottles, plastic pots, plastic trays, plastic tubs, cans, tins, aerosols and clean foil.

Cllr David A Bithell, lead member for environment and transport, said: “Every bit of recycling – no matter how small it seems – makes a difference. The pictures in this article show there’s still plenty of room for us to improve, but we’ll need to work together.

“So before you throw something in the bin, check whether it’s something you can recycle. This is how we can all improve and play our part to hit our 70% recycling target by 2024/25.”

To ensure that your plastics are of a high quality when you recycle them, Wrexham Council are asking residents to remove any food or drink residue from them. They add that “a quick rinse in your used dishwater is usually enough to get rid of any excess, and doing this means your items get recycled into much better quality products.”