Search site
  • Vicarage Lane, Hailsham, BN27 2AX. 01323 443322
  • Pine Grove, Crowborough, TN6 1DH. 01892 653311
Navigation
Navigation
Last Updated : 31.08.2010

What happens to the Materials Collected?

recycle now logo

Green Waste and Cardboard


This is taken directly to a local farm in Isfield for composting. After delivery by the Council a local company, KPS Composting Services Ltd deals with the actual composting. They shred the material and pile it into windrows which are turned regularly. After 12 weeks it is screened to remove any plastic and pieces of wood. It is then ready to be used by the farmer as a soil conditioner.

Composted green waste from CROWN households is also available to the public. We are working hard with our partners KPS Composting to make the material collected on the CROWN service available for the public as a soil conditioner. There are excellent opportunities to buy this product from the following locations:

kps bag

Collection prices start at approximately £3.50 per bag.

bulk delivery

 

 

KPS also offer a highly competitive bulk delivery service for people who need a larger amount of compost, and this covers the whole of the district, and beyond. They can be contacted by email, or by telephone on 01444 831010, or through their website.

 

 

All other recyclable materials (other than corrugated cardboard) are delivered initially to Wealden District Council's Materials Reclamation Facility (MRF) in Uckfield. Here they are sorted, any contaminants are removed, and they are bulked up prior to being transported to the works where they are recycled into new products.

papermill machine

Paper

Paper is taken to Aylesford Newsprint in Kent. Here the paper is pulped, cleaned and screened. The ink is then removed using soap and bubbles of air. The pulp is then ready to be made into 100% recycled newsprint called Renaissance. It is drained, pressed, dried and made into rolls, producing a mile of paper every minute. This is then used by many of the national papers as well as local papers, including the 'Friday-Ad' group.

Cans, Foil, Aerosols

Steel cans go to Jayplas in Birmingham where they are baled and transported on to UK steel producers where they are melted down and made into new products. All steel products contain about 25% recycled material and cans can become all sorts of new products including scissors, paper clips, mountain bikes or fridges.


Aluminium cans are recycled by Novelis, which is a purpose built facility in Warrington, Cheshire. This plant takes used aluminium cans from all over Europe. The cans are melted down and the molten aluminium is poured into giant ingot moulds. The ignots are then rolled into sheets and sold on to companies to make new products, such as a new car, plane parts, or even the can containing your next drink!


Aluminium foil is baled at our Material Reclamation Facility in Uckfield, and taken to Tom Martin & Co in Preston, Lancashire for recycling. The foil is fed directly into a furnace with other scrap aluminium, such as window frames. It is then poured into ignots and then sold on to casting companies to be used in moulds for car components such as cylinder heads.

Plastic Bottles

Plastic bottles are sorted, squashed and baled at our Material Reclamation Facility in Uckfield and taken to various UK reprocessors where passive infrared technology is used to sort the different types of plastic. They are then washed and granulated ready for sale, mainly in the UK, to make into new plastic products such as new bottles, wheelie bins, fleece jackets, sign posts and many more useful items.

Beverage Cartons

Collection and reprocessing of Beverage Cartons are arranged by Tetrapak and taken to a collection centre in Bow, East London where they are further compacted and baled. They are then shipped to a paper mill in Sweden. The baled cartons are dropped into a pulper, similar to a giant domestic food mixer, filled with water, and pulped for around 20 minutes. This breaks down the packaging to produce a grey-brown mixture. The aluminium foil and polyethylene are separated from the fibre, which is recovered to make new paper products, such as high strength paper bags or envelopes. The remaining mix of plastic and aluminium can then be used in furniture, to generate energy or even separated out into pure aluminium and paraffin.


Glass

The separate colours of glass are collected using split compartment vehicles and taken to our Material Reclamation Facility in Uckfield where it is stored ready for collection. It is then taken to OI Glass in Harlow, Essex where the glass is crushed and screened to make 'cullet', which is used as a substitute for the raw materials used to make new glass bottles and jars.

Textiles and Books

Salvation Army collect the textiles and books directly from the recycling points. They are then taken to a central sorting facility to be graded. The clothes and books are then sorted for reuse/resale or recycling. Wearable clothes and shoes and reusable books are resold in the UK and abroad, helping those less fortunate than ourselves.

Unwearable textiles are then recycled in a variety of ways:

There are also a few other charities which have collection facilities for books, shoes and CDs within our recycling points.

Corrugated Cardboard

We have a corrugated cardboard round, collecting cardboard from trade and school premises. Only corrugated cardboard can be collected for recycling on this scheme, flat card such as cereal packets is unsuitable. Once we have a full vehicle, we then take it to SCA Recycling in Newhaven for reprocessing back into cardboard. This can be done up to 7 times before the fibres get too short for processing.


Waste from your landfill bin


Landfill bin waste is taken to one of the two waste transfer stations in East Sussex, which are run by East Sussex County Council's contractors, Veolia Environmental Services. The waste is compacted and then sent on to further landfill sites or in some cases incineration plants. Click for information about East Sussex County Council's current waste disposal strategy.