RESIDENTS were given the opportunity to learn more about what happens to their rubbish during a visit to a composting facility near Potters Bar.

Members of Hertsmere’s Street Scene Forum were given a tour of Agrivert’s In-Vessel composting operation at Redwell Wood Farm in South Mimms to see how the borough’s green waste is recycled.

The group also visited the Waterdale transfer station near Watford, where waste that cannot be reused is compacted before being sent to landfill.

The visits, organised by Hertsmere Borough Council, were then discussed at a meeting of the forum held last Monday.

Cllr Jean Heywood, environment portfolio holder, said: “It’s great to show people what happens to their waste and recycling after they put it out for collection.

“The processes are fascinating and help explain why we have to collect the different items in the way we do.

“I’m sure the group found the visits interesting.”

Before Agrivert opened its plant in South Mimms, Hertsmere’s green waste, which includes garden waste, food waste and cardboard, went to Woodhurst in Cambridgeshire.

At this new facility, the waste is shredded and composted by a process known as aerobic digestion.

The compost produced is then used on farmland across Hertfordshire.

For more information about recycling or the Street Scene Forum, call 020 8207 7480 or email street.scene@hertsmere.gov.uk