Bucks Council becomes first local authority to introduce new recycling measure

Bucks Council announced today (January 21), that it has become the first local authority to accept BRITA water filters at recycling centres.

The council hopes this move will create, "another way to help residents recycle more".

The move comes as Bucks Council notes that more and more residents are using filtered water, rather than purchasing bottled water.

Now, new collections points for BRITA water filters have been added at five Household Recycling Centres in the county.

A council spokesperson said: "The used cartridges will be returned to the BRITA regeneration plant in Germany on the same trucks that deliver the filters to the UK.

"The filters will be dismantled, and the ion exchange resin and activated carbon inside the filter are separated.

"The activated carbon will be returned to the original suppliers, who reprocess it and use it again for various filter processes, such as wastewater treatment. The ion exchange resin is regenerated by BRITA in-house and used to make new cartridges."

"The plastic housing is recycled for use in other plastic products. The mesh attached to the plastic housing is the only part which cannot be recycled and accounts for just 1% of the entire filter cartridge. This mesh material is sorted out from the plastic housing and disposed of responsibly at an energy from waste facility."

The scheme was designed by the council in partnership with FCC Environment and BRITA.

Councillor Peter Strachan said: “We always strive to help residents recycle more and this joint work with BRITA and FCC Environment is a great example.

"We already accept more than 25 different waste streams at the recycling centres, which recycled 67% of waste last year. Adding BRITA filters to that list is another way to help residents recycle more.”

Bucks Council advises that one bottle of water has 25 times the carbon footprint that one litre of BRITA filtered water produces.

Bucks Council has produced a video explaining how the Brita recycling process works, which can be viewed online on the Recycling for Buckinghamshire website here.

James Reseigh, FFC contract manager, said: “We always strive to help residents recycle more and this joint work with BRITA and FCC Environment is a great example.

"We already accept more than 25 different waste streams at the recycling centres, which recycled 67% of waste last year. Adding BRITA filters to that list is another way to help residents recycle more.”