Norfolk-wide changes to recycling that come into effect from October 1, will mean that materials, including glass bottles and jars, can now be recycled at the kerbside using the recycling bin.
For the first time residents will also be able to put plastic food pots, tubs and trays in their recycling bin, along with juice and soup cartons.
People across the county will keep the bins they currently use – just putting more in them. The only change to the number of bins in use will be in Norwich, whose residents had a glass collection previously. The green box supplied to people in the Norwich City Council area will become redundant.
From October 1, the new materials will be recycled along with card, paper, steel and aluminium cans and plastic bottles.
John Fisher, chairman of the Norfolk Waste Partnership, which is made up of all seven district authorities in the county plus Norfolk County Council, said it would mean fewer materials being sent to landfill and instead, more materials being sorted, processed and turned into useable items.
He said: 'All the districts, along with Norfolk County Council, have worked together to negotiate a new contract which means that materials that people have wanted to be able to recycle for some time, can now be recycled using the kerbside collection service.
'With the new contract in place, investment has been made in the processing facility and the new technology used means that many more items can now be processed for recycling.
'This new service represents a massive change for the majority of our residents. Only residents in Norwich had a glass collection previously, but even for them, being able to put glass bottles and jars in the same bin will make recycling so much easier.
'The upgraded and extended facility has improved technology for sorting and processing the waste.'
A new campaign, letting residents know that big changes are coming was launched on Friday by the Norfolk Waste Partnership at the newly refurbished and extended materials recycling facility at Costessey.
To support the campaign a series of events and activities will take place across the county over the coming months,
Mr Fisher added: 'We want people, from October 1, to start collecting their new recycling along with their existing. All we ask is that food residue is rinsed off any containers, bottles or jars before placing them loose in the bin. Clean recycling has a greater value and helps prevent bins from becoming smelly and by leaving the items loose in the bin, they can be easily sorted. 'Items in bags cannot be sorted effectively by the equipment and may be rejected.'
Dave Newell, operations director for NEWS, a publicly-owned joint venture company which runs the material recycling facility at Costessey, said: 'We have made significant investment in our Costessey Materials Recycling Facility, which has processed over 500,000 tonnes of material in the 10 years since it was first opened.'
The new service is set to increase recycling by between 5pc and 10pc across the county and any profits arising from the operation will be shared between the councils and NORSE – who are all shareholders of NEWS.
It's also good news for Great Yarmouth MP Brandon Lewis who earlier this year said he was 'absolutely sure' yogurt pots could be recycled in his home town, before correcting himself on Twitter after his wife told him he was wrong.
Collection days and dates will not be affected by the introduction of this new service. In addition to household recycling collections, residents can recycle a very wide range of materials at Norfolk's network of 20 recycling centres.
Have you got a story about the environment? Email david.bale2@archant.co.uk
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