Recycling rates in Bristol are stagnating amid fears that residents are uncertain about what materials can be put in which containers. Just under half of household waste is sent for recycling or composting, with no improvement in these rates for several years.
A recent rise in online shopping has added to pressures on binmen, as much more cardboard is now thrown away.
The average Bristol resident throws away hundreds of kilos of rubbish into their black bins every year, some of which could be recycled. Last year residents threw away an average of 343 kilograms each of rubbish into their black bins, more than four times the body weight of the average person. The majority of this is burned in an incinerator, with the heat converted into energy and then used to power homes.
Between April and June this year, 46 per cent of household waste in Bristol was sent for recycling or composting. This is two percentage points less than the same period last year. The recycling rate has hovered around the same levels for six years, despite efforts to increase it.
Different materials are sent from Bristol across the country. For example, glass bottles and jars are sent to Harlow in Essex, and cardboard is sent to Sittingbourne in Kent.
By Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporting Service