Where does your recycling go
Ever wonder what happens to items you put in your black box and green bin?
Residents in Torfaen sort out materials into their black boxes and bins every day.
After boxes are collected every week, items are sorted at the Torfaen Cleanstream Recycling depot in Cwmbran and then taken elsewhere.
Currently, paper from Torfaen, including magazines, newspapers and junk mail, is recycled into newsprint at Aylesford Newsprint in Kent.
Glass such as wine bottles and beer bottles is sent to the Household Waste Recycling Centre in New Inn and then reprocessed into fibre glass insulation at Knauf Insulation in Cwmbran.
Metal like food tins and drink cans is either sent to Novelis in Warrington for reprocessing back into aluminium cans or sent to Sims Metal in Newport where it is reprocessed and reused as steel.
Plastic bottles collected are sent to Jayplas in Leicester for reprocessing back into plastic used to make bottles. This type of recycling is still being developed in the UK.
Finally, clothes and shoes are sent to developing countries where they are re-used and worn.
Garden and kitchen waste from your green wheelie bin is taken to Bryn Compost in Caerphilly and turned into compost.