The Council has moved to this type of collection as part of the Council's commitment to better value for money and cleaner streets for its residents.

To make sure that the orange bags do not split during the process, the Council has been issuing you with 'survival bags'. These are orange recycling bags made from stronger materials.

All the waste from your orange bags will continue to be recycled and a brand new facility at Jenkins Lane has been built to deal with this type of waste collections.

The facility at uses bio-technology, and an infrared laser is used to sort and separate the black bags from the orange bags.

The orange bags are then taken to a different area of the plant where paper, plastic and food drink cans are processed.

View a diagram of the Co-Collection process

Frequently Asked Questions on Co-Collection

What is co- collection?
Co-collection means that different types of rubbish; orange bags (recycling) and black bags (normal rubbish) can be collected together.

What happens to the rubbish after it is collected?
The rubbish is taken to the new facility at Jenkins Lane where the black and orange bags are sorted and separated.

Will the bags split when they are compressed in the back of the refuse trucks?
The compressor on refuse trucks is a flat compressor, which pushes all the rubbish to the back of the truck, allowing more rubbish to be put in.

The bags do become squashed but very few of the bags rip. However we have also been issuing you with survival bags - which are orange bags made from stronger materials to make sure they do not split during the collection process.

Why do we need co-collection?
Co-collection means there will be fewer vehicles on the roads therefore reducing the amount of harmful emissions and the money saved can be used to improve waste services.

Will the materials from my orange bag still be recycled?
All materials from the orange bags will be recycled. At the plant at Jenkins Lane an infrared light reads the colour of the bags and separates them out into two different piles.

The orange bags are then taken to a different area of the plant and the different materials paper, plastic and food and drink cans are then processed.

What can I recycle in my orange bags?
You can recycle paper and thin card like birthday cards and notebooks but not Yellow Pages. Yellow pages can now be recycled at Jenkins Lane Reuse and Recycling Centre.

Plastics bottles, such as drinks bottles, shampoo bottles and plastic milk bottles can also be recycled but not margarine tubs or plastic meat trays. Cans, food and drink cans made of aluminium or steel can also be put in the orange bags.