Cardiff Council Recycling November 2015
Cardiff Council owns and operates the following facilities and services:

Waste Transfer Station - Lamby Way, Cardiff.

Materials Reclamation Facility (MRF) - Lamby Way, Cardiff.

Waste Transfer Station - Lamby Way, Cardiff.

Household collections (Refuse, Recycling, Green Waste and Food Waste,
Bulky Waste) – Operated from Lamby Way, Cardiff.

Waste Disposal Landfill - Lamby Way, Cardiff.

3 x Household waste Recycling Centres (HWRC’s)
o Lamby Way, Cardiff
o Wedal Road, Cardiff
o Bessemer Close, Cardiff

Street Cleansing – Operated from Lamby Way & Millicent Street Depots,
Cardiff
From these operations and sites Cardiff handles waste contracts with the following
contractors:
Material: Food
Contractor: New Earth Solutions
Comments: Food Waste is collected from kerbside, and commercial collections.
The Material is bulked at a Waste Transfer Station at Lamby Way depot where it is
then collected and transported to New Earth Solutions where it is turned into
compost.
Material: Green Waste
Contractor: New Earth Solutions,
Comments: Green Waste material is collected from kerbside, Household Waste
recycling Centres (HWRCs), Parks Department, Highways Department and Trade.
The Material is bulked at a Waste Transfer Station at Lamby Way depot where it is
then collected and transported to New Earth Solutions where it is turned into
compost.
Material: Electrical Items (WEEE)
Contractor: ERP UK
Comments: This contract includes the recycling of all electrical items including large
and small domestic appliances, lamps, batteries and monitors. Cardiff Council are
part of a regional contract which is headed by Rhondda Cynon Taff Council. Outlets
include:
Large Domestic appliances: SIMS Metals & Track 2000 (Cardiff)
Small Domestic appliances – EMR (Cardiff)
TV & Screens – Mekatek (Pontyclun)
Bulbs – Mercury Recycling (Manchester)
Material: Sorted Dry Recyclables
Comments: Mixed recyclable materials are collected from the residential and
commercial premises in Cardiff and transported to Cardiff’s Material Reclamation
Facility (MRF) at Lamby way depot where it is sorted into the following materials and
sent to the following destinations:
Paper – The current contractor is Clearpoint Recycling. The majority of paper is
sent to paper and board mills in Holland and Germany. Some higher grade paper is
sent to China but all destinations depend on income values and demand of the
material at the time.
Aluminium - is collected from the kerbside as part of Cardiff Council recycling
collections. This material is segregated through Cardiff’s Material Reclamation
Facility where it is sent to Novelis and smelted back into Aluminium.
Steel Cans – is collected from the kerbside as part of Cardiff Council recycling
collections. This material is segregated through Cardiff’s Material Reclamation
Facility where it is taken by Morris Metals and kept in South Wales to be smelted
back into Steel. This had been the same destination for the past year.
Plastics are collected from the kerbside as part of Cardiff Council recycling
collections. This material is segregated through Cardiff’s Material Reclamation
Facility (MRF) into two types:
HDPE Bottles (Milk Bottles): This material is sent to East Midlands where it is
washed and flaked ready to go back into food grade plastic but has been used in the
passed to go into all types of plastic products.
Mixed Plastics (Contains a mix of PET bottles, HDPE Milk, bleach bottles, yoghurt
pots, and butter tubs, etc). This material is sent to a facility on the east midlands
where a number of infra-red sensors (Ti-Tech equipment) segregate the plastic into
its various polymers and colours. Milk Bottles are turned back into food grade plastic
material as is all PET bottles (Clear and coloured pop bottles). All other material
plastics find its way to different sources throughout the world, depending on business
demand. This material could co into any production of various plastics which could
include furniture, toys & piping/ducting.
All plastics are brought by J&A Young, based in Leicestershire.
Cardboard is collected from the kerbside as part of Cardiff Council recycling
collections, HWRCs collection and Commercial premises collections. This material is
segregated and baled through Cardiff’s Material Reclamation Facility (MRF). Its end
use is Cardboard and has the current same contractor and end destination as the
lower grade paper.
Cardboard is also purchased by Clearpoint Recycling and is currently being
recycled in China.
Glass is collected from the kerbside as part of Cardiff Council recycling collections
and Commercial premises collections. Currently being sent to Glass Tech
Recycling, Swansea, the glass is screened before going to re-melted and aggregate
markets.
Please note, all sorted recyclable materials are tendered on 12 monthly basis with a
3 month review on prices.
Material: Mixed Dry Recyclables
Contractor: Casepak, Leicester
Comments: Due to shortfall in capacity or the unexpected breakdown/maintenance
of Cardiff MRF, there is a necessity to send unsorted mixed dry recyclables
(paper/card/plastics, cans & glass) to another MRF in order to maximise recycling.
Material: Plasterboard
Contractor: Atlantic Waste Management
Comments: Material is collected and bulked by Atlantic Waste prior to it being sent
to Avonmouth for gypsum recycling.
Material: Wood
Contractor: South Wales Wood
Comments: Material is collected and recycled by South Wales Wood Recycling
Material: Rubble
Contractor: Neal Soil
Comments: Rubble is screened and broken down and sold to the construction
industry.
Material: Hard Mix Plastics
Contractor: Atlantic Waste Management
Comments: Material is collected and bulked by Atlantic Waste prior to it being
recycled.
Material: Textiles
Contractor: JMP Wilcox
Comments: Like the WEEE contract, Cardiff is involved in a regional contract for
this service which is headed by Blaenau Gwent Council. Textiles are sent to a
facility near Wolverhampton where it is sorted and distributed throughout the world.
Material: Scrap Metal
Contractor: SIMS Metal
Comments: Collected from our HWRCs, Scrap metal is taken to SIMS Metal in
Cardiff where it is broken down into its various elements prior to it being recycled.
Material: Mineral Oil
Contractor: Eco Oil
Comments: Collected on our HWRC sites the material is sent to Suffolk where it is
reproduced into a low grade fuel.
Material: Cooking Oil
Contractor: Regency Oil
Comments: Collected on our HWRC sites, this material is kept in South Wales
where it is reproduced into a biodiesel fuel.
Material: Recycling of Mechanical Street Sweepings
Contractor: Neal Soil Suppliers Ltd
Comments: Transportation and processing of waste arising from mechanical road
sweepings operations
All council data in regards to waste material is kept in the public domain and can be
read by visiting Waste Date Flow. www.wastedataflow.org
You may find more about the materials we recycle and our services around recycling
by visiting our web pages on Cardiff Council’s website. www.cardiff.gov.uk