‘Wish-cyclers’ asked to check before recycling

Baking trays, frying pans, saucepans, and electrical items, are amongst the items mistakenly placed in recycling sacks in East Devon.

‘Wish-cyclers’, who hope, rather than check, that an item will be recycled from the kerbside, are well-intentioned, however they risk contaminating other items that are put out for recycling. Flammable items, also discovered by East Devon District Council (EDDC) crews, endanger recycling vehicles, recycling plants, and the lives of staff.

Residents are being urged by EDDC to check whether an item is recyclable before putting it in their recycling sack, either on East Devon’s app, website, or by asking Alexa. The East Devon App, available on Apple’s App Store and the Google Play store, has recently been updated with a helpful recycling and disposals A – Z. An A – Z is also available on EDDC’s website. If you have an Alexa device, enable EDDC’s Alexa skill to ask whether an item is recyclable.

If you can’t recycle an item at the kerbside, check whether you can recycle it at your nearest household recycling centre, run by Devon County Council.

Councillor Geoff Jung, EDDC’s portfolio holder for Coast, Country, and Environment, said: "I'm really proud of East Devon achieving some of the best recycling rates in England, ranking sixth in the government's most recent statistics. 

"This is thanks to residents' enthusiasm to do their bit for the environment. Let's keep improving the quality of recycling further, for recycling crews' safety, and so that even more new products can be manufactured using recycled materials."