SOME of the disturbing items  which have been thrown out with  residents’s recycling in Exeter  have been revealed.

Recycling contamination is improving in the city, but waste  workers are still finding medical  waste and dead animals in recycling boxes at the Materials  Reclamation Facility (MRF).

A Government grant is funding  a  campaign to tell Exeter residents  what can and cannot be  put in green recycle-from-home  bins.

The city council has been  awarded £40,000 from the Waste  Resources Action Programme  (WRAP) to help it reduce the  amount of contaminated waste  being sent to its recycling plant.

Recycling bosses estimate  that  over a 12-month period, dealing  with contamination  costs £20,000  in lost production and down  time.

The grant will pay towards the  cost of sending a  letter about   what should and should not be  put in recycling bins to every  home in Exeter.

The aim is to reduce contamination at the MRF while increasing the city’s recycling rates.

Officials from the programme   will also carry out door-to-door  visits in the areas of Exeter where  contamination is highest. This  will involve 2,000 visits in  areas of  Wonford and Cowick.

Recycling collected in these areas will be specially monitored by  the city council for the next three  months to see whether the campaign has been successful.

Mike Trim, head of the city’s  cleansing services, said: “Exeter  is being used to pilot this scheme.  If it is successful  it could   spread  to other areas of the country.”

Dealing with contaminated recycling is unpleasant, and in the  case of loose hypodermics, could  be dangerous for those working  in the MRF on Marsh Barton.

Mr Trim said: “In the past  three months we have found two  dead cats and a dead squirrel at  the MRF.

“We are having problems with  a large amount of clinical waste  — there are 20 to 30 hypodermic  needles found every week plus a  further 20 lots of medical waste  that comes in. In the last month  we found three full boxes of  sharps.

“Our main concern is the  health and safety of our staff, who  have to sort through the recycling  by hand.

“But there is also the cost involved as the MRF has to be shut  down while medical waste is  dealt with.”

Mr Trim said that there were  also problems with  food waste  and other contaminants, such as  dirty nappies.

The new campaign will run  from now until March next year.