Message from South Staffordshire Council

In May, residents will receive a new blue bag to recycle their paper and card in, and the blue bin will continue to be used for recycling glass, cans and plastics.

Why are you doing this?

The cost of recycling materials together is now more expensive than separating paper and card from other recycling. This is because mixing paper and card with other materials results in contamination. Paper mills which recycle paper and card need higher quality material to recycle it into new things, as do the recyclers of glass, cans and plastic materials.  Government has recognised the need to change the way we collect recycling, and whilst many councils already collect paper and card in a separate bag, we expect these changes to become the norm across England in the near future.

Will the bag blow away?

The bags have a weight in the base, and are made of a flexible yet sturdy material, and will not blow away in normal weather conditions. A bag full of card and paper will also be weighed down by the material inside, and the bag once emptied will be tucked under the lid of the blue bin.

Won’t paper blow out of the bag?

The bag has a fully closable lid that will stop paper and card from blowing out of the bag.Where do I store the bag?The bag is flexible enough to be stored inside the blue bin, so that it doesn’t take up any additional space. Alternatively, some people choose to store them between their other bins, in a garage, shed or inside the house alongside their in-home bins.For more information and FAQs, please visit www.sstaffs.gov.uk/bluebag