Rich
I believe they now have machines that will break the glass into the optimum size and then sort it by colour using (iirc) laser or light transmission devices.
Plastics I believe have to be sorted by hand.
Tins can be separated between ferrous and aluminium by using magnetic conveyors.
Paper I thought was soiled and put beyond recycling by being in contact with foodstuffs but there may be other ways of using it (such as biomass)
Arch can probably correct any errors on my part.
No errors there that I can see...
Although our service sorts by hand - more time consuming, but better end products - our products get a better price because we make the effort not to include non-recyclable plastics*, or the windows in envelopes. The odd one might get through, but not many, and in a 10 tonne skip of paper, a few plastic windows don't make much difference. We don't bother with magnets for the steel/ali separation, we work on the look and feel of it.
Coloured glass is a problem at the moment, as the bottom has dropped out of the market, and we're currently paying to have it removed rather than getting money for it. Probably due to the market being swamped thanks to councils meeting targets for providing recycling servies by the end of last year. Contaminated clear glass would also be valuless at the moment.
reuse would of course be better. They manage it in many continental countries.....
