Kerbside sort vs Co-mingled

What is the difference between kerbside sort and co-mingled collections?

In the UK, recycling collections are either ‘kerbside sort’ or ‘co-mingled’.

Kerbside sort – residents sort items into the right box. Materials are loaded into truck compartments by the collection crews. This is what we do in Mid Devon.

Co-mingled – residents put all their recycling into a single wheeled bin, mixed together. The bin is tipped into a truck and then goes to a material recycling facility and is sorted there.

In both cases, sorted recycling is sent to re-processors who turn it into new products or packaging

What is contamination?

When materials are collected using the co-mingled method they mix together with all the other materials in the collection truck.

If for example nappies or food waste were put out for collection it will mix with the rest of the load. In some cases an entire load can be contaminated in this way. This load would produce no income, have additional carbon footprint and would be sent for incineration

Why have Mid Devon District Council chosen the kerbside sort method?

• It helps us recycle more and recycle closer to home
• It has been shown to produce better sorted recycling with less ‘contamination’, therefore the quality and quantity of materials collected at the kerbside that is sent for recycling is greater. (99.9% of the materials collected in Mid Devon are sent to reprocessors for recycling)
• There is more in demand from UK re-processors and materials are more valuable
• Materials collected using the co-mingled method are sent to a Materials Reclamation Facility for sorting; this incurs additional costs and a heavy carbon footprint
• Glass is not a suitable material to be recycled as part of a co-mingled collection
• Kerbside sort is more efficient, effective, has less contamination, lighter carbon footprint, produces higher recycling rates and is less expensive for Mid Devon residents (waste element of council tax)