Chelmsford City Council's Recycling and Waste Depot opened its doors, providing a rare opportunity for residents to see how the recycling process works.

360 members of the public attended the event, some even dressed in costume, to tour Freighter House: home to Chelmsford’s recycling, waste and street care services.

Guests were able to sit in different collection vehicles and speak to staff.

The Material Sorting Facility was in full working action, using state-of-the-art technology to sort certain materials such as aluminum from steel cans and bottles from other plastics after they have been collected from Chelmsford homes.

In Chelmsford, materials are separated to ensure the highest quality so that they can be recycled locally where possible and become quality products.

In 2014 the staff at Freighter House collected over 32,000 tonnes of material for recycling, including 4,300 tonnes of recycled paper, 3.700 tonnes of food waste, and a staggering 17,000 tonnes of garden waste. In comparison, a polar bear can weigh up to 1 tonne.

43,000 tonnes of waste in 2014 could not be recycled. This amount can be lowered by using the correct bins and checking packaging to see if it can be recycled before throwing it away.

Chelmsford City Council's Recycling and Waste Operations Manager, Peter Masson, said: “Another very successful and well attended open day, where we again had the opportunity to showcase all the services offered by Freighter House.

"Well done to all our residents that contributed towards recycling over 32,000 tonnes of material last year – this is excellent!

"However, with landfill space rapidly depleting and the financial and enviromental costs of burying waste rising each year, we all need to recycle even more for a sustainable future.”

Congratulations to Louise Watson from Great Baddow, who successfully completed our recycling quiz on the day and was randomly drawn to win a locally sourced food hamper from Lathcoats Farm.

If you were not able to come along to our Open Day on this occasion but would like to know more about the journey of what happens to your recycling, please check out the short films at www.chelmsford.gov.uk/recyclingfilms

For updates on the next recycling and waste open day in Chelmsford please ‘like’ www.facebook.com/Recycle4Chelmsford or visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk/recyclingopenday