Where does our waste go?
You might wonder what happens to the waste and recycling that is collected from the kerbside and taken to Bickenhill Household Waste Recycling Centre.
Non-recyclable household waste collected in the black wheelie bin is not landfilled. Instead, value is recovered from the waste as it’s incinerated to generate electricity and heat for buildings. By diverting waste from landfill, we were able to prevent 26,900 tonnes of carbon emissions being released in 2020/21.
In terms of recycling, we aim to use UK-based recycling contractors wherever practical. Alongside seven other local authorities in the West Midlands, Solihull Council also jointly owns the new Material Recycling Facility (MRF) in Coventry which launched in summer 2023. The state-of-the-art plant uses specialist AI technology to process dry mixed recycling into high-quality products in the most sustainable and efficient way possible. Find out more about the Material Recycling Facility.
We’ve created two interactive maps which shows exactly where our waste and recycling goes.