NAPPIES and used takeaway pizza boxes are among rubbish wrongly dumped into recycling bins which is causing contamination and costing thousands to sort out across Hambleton.

Up to 11 per cent of recycling bins are being contaminated with the wrong sort of rubbish, acceding to district council recycling officer Tracy Flint.

And she called on Northallerton Town Council to help the authority spread the word about the problems after being asked to give an update on the service.

The authority collects from nearly 40,000 homes across the district including kerbside collection of recycling bins with separate boxes for glass.

Ms Flint told town councillors residents were doing well with a recycling rate of around 50 per cent but there was still confusion with people putting the wrong things into the recycling bins which could cause contamination of the whole load.

Ms Flint said: “We’ve had pogo sticks, pushchairs, used nappies. Takeaway pizza boxes is another problem - we can’t recycle them when they have been used, they have too much grease on them contaminating the cardboard.

“People recycle in the kitchen but often forget about the bathroom, we can take plastic containers, empty aerosols, foil trays and plastic trays as long as they are not black. If anyone is unsure they can look at the website or contact the council. Glass needs to be jars and bottles, not individual glasses.

“If people really aren’t sure it would be better to put it into the black bin, we don’t want the recycling bins contaminated.

“People are doing really well but we want to reinforce this message. We are still getting 11 per cent contamination - we are allowed ten per cent - and an area like ours should have really clean recycling.”

The council has a "four strikes and you’re" out policy on contamination with three warnings sent to residents before bins are withdrawn. The authority has to pay contractors to remove the contamination and at one point was paying £47,000 a year for the clean up.

Ms Flint told councillors refuse from black bins is now being taken to North Yorkshire County Council’s new energy from waste plant at Knaresborough for disposal.

“It is a fantastic facility. Metals and plastics are pulled out and then it goes to be burnt, and it is producing enough energy to provide for the whole of Harrogate so that is a lot better than putting it into a hole in the ground.”