Recycling ambitions in shreds

23 November 2006

With card fraud threatening to escalate out of control, a number of councils could be jeopardising their landfill targets by refusing to accept shredded paper for recycling.
Shredded paper is rejected over fears it could ruin municipal recycling facility machinery and affect the quality of paper for future sell on. However, an increasing numbers of residents are shredding their personal documents as fraud becomes both more common and increasingly publicised.
Latest figures reveal that almost 20% of the population has fallen victim to card fraud, making the UK the card fraud capital of Europe. As such, many residents are taking extra precautions. Last year, Tesco, for example, was selling 10,000 domestic shredders a month – meaning shredded paper could form a higher proportion of household waste in future.
A spokesman for Gloucester City Council, one of the councils which refuses shredded paper, said its recycling policy would not be reviewed, but urged residents to find an alternative use for shredded documents, such as putting them on compost heaps or using them as bedding for pets.
A spokesman for Cheltenham Borough Council, which transfers its recycling to Gloucester, said: ‘The recycling processors will not accept shredded paper as it tends to clog the machinery. In addition, shredded paper becomes windblown when hoisted into the collection vehicle and creates a litter problem in residential streets.’
Exeter City Council rejects shredded paper – together with glass – from residents’ doorsteps but accepts it at bring back sites, which are ‘no more than 1km from all residential areas’.
A spokesman pointed to damage shredded paper causes in an MRF factory – ‘it gets entwined in everything’ – but insisted the council’s policy had not affected recycling rates, which is over 30%.
However, concerns remain that rejecting shredded paper could discourage residents from recycling.

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