Local volunteers see recycling in action
20 March 2006
Last week, volunteers from Recycle Western Riverside's Community Action Project were treated to a trip to see the Materials Recycling Facility (MRF) where all of their recycling is taken to be sorted. The plant receives recycling from all four boroughs in the Western Riverside region; Kensington and Chelsea, Wandsworth, Lambeth and Hammersmith & Fulham as well as many other London boroughs.
Volunteer Helen Bernhardt from Tooting was part of a group which went on the trip to see for themselves how their recycling is separated. Helen commented, "It was staggering the amount of recycling that we saw at the MRF. It was also really exciting to see how mountains of orange sacks filled with recycling are sorted out into all the different materials that can then be turned into something new."
The MRF uses advanced technology including magnets and laser beams to separate all of the different recyclable materials. The MRF runs for 20 hours of every day to process the large amount of recycling that is now being collected from Western Riverside and beyond.
Over 1,000 tonnes of recycling is generated every day by the four boroughs but research has shown that this could still improve and will need to if the boroughs are to meet their recycling targets.