A WEEK'S worth of waste might not look like much for one family, but binmen in South Gloucestershire have to collect a whole load of rubbish.

Around 12 arctic lorry loads of rubbish is taken away by waste contractors SITA every day in the region.

The firm transports 500 tonnes a day to its two Sort It centres in Yate and Mangotsfield to start sifting through the piles of rubbish for anything that can be recycled.

Reporter Ali Dent went on the first in a series of tours of the Yate centre to find out what happens to our waste.

FROM the moment a load of rubbish is dumped at waste firm SITA's depot in Yate, staff are looking at what can be recycled.

The team of 70 who work at both the Yate and Mangotsfield Sort It centres care passionately about stopping waste from going to landfill sites.

Recycling manager David Robertson said: "We have a limited amount of funds and an unlimited amount of things to do.

"Four years ago there was no plastic recycling in South Gloucestershire, but now we have 22 plastic bottle banks in the area.

"We hope we will be able to do much more in the future."

The centre takes everything people throw out, from televisions and computers to rubble and old doors.

On one half of the split site, in Dean Road, is an open yard where mountains of glass bottles, cans and tins and plastic is separated.

On the other half is a public depot where residents can take their old electrical equipment, garden waste, cardboard, wood and scrap metal. A new Tetrapak recycling bank stands next to glass recycling bins and clothes banks.

More than half the rubbish still goes to a landfill site near Chippenham but recyclable waste is separated and sent off to be turned into compost, new glass bottles, paper and even emergency aid packages to be distributed in disaster zones.

"The biggest growing category of waste is textiles, electronics and food," said Mr Robertson.

"Clothes are so cheap these days that people just buy new. We recycle what they put in the banks and turn them into stuffing for emergency blankets for charities to use when a disaster happens.

"But I would urge people to take any reusable clothing to charity shops."

He said old TVs or computer monitors should never be thrown in the bin.

"Since we started taking electrical items it has been very successful," said Mr Robertson.

"We take apart every television and dismantle all the different compartments for recycling but it costs about £200 each time.

"We get through so many electricals these days and it is very energy intensive. We really have to stop buying and using junk we do not need."

He said people should sell unwanted items or give them away through schemes like Freecycle or Bristol-based The Sofa Project before throwing them out.

Mr Robertson said people in South Gloucestershire were throwing away more food than ever.

"Food waste is a priority for SITA at the moment," he said.

"There are so many buy one get one free offers out there we end up throwing so much away.

"We need to produce less food waste and with the cost of food going up £800 per household this year, people need to start taking practical steps according to their habits."

He said SITA was hoping to start composting food waste in the region if planning permission for an indoor plant near Tormarton is granted, but said residents need to take action as well.

"Everyone should be avoiding things that go off quickly, compost your own food and grown your own vegetables.

"Get stroppy with supermarkets about their packaging because we are all in this together. More has to be done to increase recycling."

* Free guided tours of the SITA Sort It centre take place every Wednesday (5.30pm) in July. Call 01454 333300 to book a place.