That was a central question we heard answered during a recent visit to the Envirosort recycling facility in Norton, near Worcester. EnviroSort is part of Severn Waste Management Services and receives recycling materials from across Worcester and Herefordshire. Each year, they process 70,000 tons of waste!
A group of people from St Laurence Alvechurch, St Leonards Beoley, Christ Church Matchborough, Feckenham, and Alvechurch Larder, interested in ecological and green issues, were treated to a 90-minute presentation on their work, highlighting how community engagement makes a difference.
The contents of your green wheelie bin are “co-mingled”, a technical term for mixed! The facility can recycle paper, card, glass, plastic, cartons, cans, and aluminium drink cans.
Or at least they can be recycled if they avoid contamination by other materials, showing how individual choices directly impact recycling success.
We were informed that 17% of what they could recycle is unsuitable, as it is often contaminated with food, dirt, and non-recyclable materials. We had our eyes opened to the nuances of how some of the materials mentioned can be recycled, but often very similar materials can’t; e.g., glass can be recycled, but drinking glasses and Pyrex can’t.
The presenter is used to working with visiting school-age children, so the session was very interactive. You can see a variety of ways in which we, as an audience, interacted with the themes!
The items go on quite a journey from arrival to later packaging before being sent off for further processing. There are a variety of ingenious ways to sort them, including inclined conveyor belts where lighter items go up and heavier items go downwards. Magnets trap metal cans, air blowers blow plastic off the conveyor, and grinders for glass. Apparently, recycling a glass bottle saves enough energy to power a TV for an hour! There are also staff who remove contaminated materials -especially nappies, which are not recyclable!
Once separated, the materials are baled and sent to other companies for further processing and sale. For example, 97% of aluminium currently in use is recycled because it’s very easy to do so. Glass and plastic can be recycled, but only a limited number of times-this detail helps clarify the actual recycling process and its limitations.
We were also told some myth busters – e.g., that black plastic can be recycled -it can’t, that they recycle wood -they don’t. Some true “myths” also included the fact that they have had a sword in recycling and a dead python. We saw evidence of both, and neither can be recycled….
Another theme running through the visit was that, where recycling isn’t possible, consider repairing or reusing items.
We had a chance to see the entire recycling floor from a high walkway and the factory at work, which added to the presentation’s impact.
I think we all learned things we didn’t know and were surprised by some simple things, e.g., cardboard over A2 size is too big for them.
The care for God’s creation was clearly close to everyone’s hearts, whether people of faith or not.
The Diocese of Worcester’s Growing as Kingdom people vision statement has a section about justice. By playing our part and recycling as much as we can in our homes and churches, we demonstrate our commitment to justice. This is the justice that ensures our world survives, and there are resources now for all communities. By recycling, reusing, and not having more than we need, we also commit to there being resources for all and future generations.
The visit was well worthwhile, and if anyone else would like to visit, do get in touch.
Revd Martin
March 2026
P.S. We also heard that everything that can’t be recycled or goes in your black bin gets burned, and the heat generated powers about 30,000 homes!