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Recycling has always posed significant challenges, especially when it comes to materials deemed “unrecyclable.” Enter TerraCycle, a company with a mission to shake up traditional recycling norms.
By aiming to eliminate waste entirely, TerraCycle is tackling these challenges head-on.
Some boxes are free (sponsored by business), others cost around £100 to £200 for a one-off way to get hard-to-recycle trash out of your community (neighbours, schools, offices or councils can sponsor a box or pool between you, for around £2 each).
Everything is then recycled, usually into industrial items like packaging or piping.
TerraCycle Zero Waste Bag was recently launched, to recycle most things that you can’t recycle from home (27 categories including flexible plastic packaging, fabrics and Styrofoam™).
Just choose a subscription then seal the full bag and scan the QR code (or log into your account) to schedule doorstep pick-up. If many of you do this together, the new items made (like park benches) are donated back to your community!
Free Terracycle Boxes
The free programmes are sponsored by industry, so it won’t cost you anything to order a box for your office or community. You then spend days, weeks or months filling the box up, send it off. Obviously some of these items are best avoided in the first place.
But if you have a big office or government building filled with them (because they are no longer used or you can’t recycle them), now you can! And you can even earn rewards for each valid shipment, to earn stuff for your community or school.
Some people have earned thousands of pounds/dollars for their local area. Shops and other places can also sign up to become public drop-off points, to help quickly fill the boxes for collection:
- Contact lenses & plastic toothbrushes
- Water filter cartridges
- Sweet, crisps & cheese wrappers
- Pringles containers & bread bags
- Hand soap packaging
- Foil balloons
- ‘Flash’ floor wipes & rubber gloves
- Plastic shampoo bottles & toothbrushes
- Disposable plastic razors & make-up pots
- Plastic pens
Paid Terracycle Boxes
The paid boxes cost a few hundred pounds/dollars and are intended as one-off community recycling initiatives.
For example, if everyone in a town or village paid a pound or dollar for a box, you can then collectively gather together all the waste for that box, it’s collected and sent off to be recycled, then hopefully you never have to buy one again, as your town will be litter-free! Example boxes are for:
- Office & e-waste
- Plastic cups & straws
- Hair & beauty salon waste
- Alkaline batteries & small car parts
- Aluminium cans, pots & pans
- Art supplies & paintbrushes
- Baby gear & food pouches
- Plastic bath accessories
- Cigarette waste & chewing gum
- Nappy waste
- Garage products & glue waste
- Holiday & party decorations
- Hotel bottles & waste
- Incandescent light bulbs
- Luggage & travel tags
- Pet food packaging
- Safety equipment & PPE
- Plant pots & garden waste
- Shoes & flip-flops
- Sporting goods
- Styrofoam & office waste
- Cassette tapes
Does TerraCycle Encourage Consumerism?
Some people are critics of Terracycle, saying that by making money from communities purchasing big boxes to recycle cigarette butts and crisp packets and sweet wrappers, it’s just encouraging consumerism. That would be true if everyone tomorrow is suddenly gong to become eco-minimalists.
But let’s face it, we’re a long way off. And most of the goods they can recycle cannot be recycled anywhere else. So they will just clutter up homes, offices and garages – or languish in landfills giving off toxic gases. Or worse, get littered on the streets or thrown in the oceans.
The reason why some boxes are paid-for is because the company does need to pay to get the items recycled, if industry is not sponsoring it. It’s true that Colgate and Bic are probably ‘greenwashing’ themselves to be eco-friendly by sponsoring the free boxes.
But at end of the day, they are sponsoring them. So you can now deposit your plastic toothbrushes and ballpoint pens in boxes without cost to you, instead of them throwing them in the bin.
Co-founder Tom Szaky does seem genuine in his aim to reduce trash and pollution worldwide. The son of medical doctors, he and his family fled to Canada from their Hungarian home after the Chernobyl disaster, and grew up amid a strong conservation and environmentalist movement.
He astounded coming from a poorer background how people around him were just ‘throwing everything away’.
He actively encourages everyone to campaign for tougher laws on waste in their communities.
We need to eliminate the idea of waste. And that’s why recycling (and I say this as as recycling company) is only a temporary solution. Tom Szaky
Where to Recycled Unwanted Quality Books
Although it’s good to have a bookcase full of books, often you may end up with way too many books that you have already read, don’t want to read or perhaps don’t think they are relevant (many old books have outdated information on health or nutrition).
Some people prefer to just pulp books say that have lifestyles no longer in line with current trends (say you may have books with pate de foie gras recipes or fashion books with real fur models). So how do you recycle them – either to pass on or to safely pulp?
- Although most libraries these days buy in new books, if you have some unwanted fairly new books, your local library may well wish to take them off your hands, to put them into circulation for others to read.
- You could also donate them to local small charity shops, which can raise money from selling them, to fund animal and homeless shelters etc.
- Children’s Book Project has 300 donation points, where you can donate read children’s books, so that parents without much money have nice educational and fun books for their children to read.
- Simply Text Book is a site where you can donate unwanted and used academic books, so students don’t have to buy new. If the information is still in-date, this is a great way for students on budgets to benefit.
- Books for First Nighters is a project where you can offer comforting and uplifting books for people who are new to prison. Stuffing people away in cells for 23 hours a day is (mostly) not conducive to producing law-abiding citizens on release, so these books can help create a safer society for all.
- Bookcrossing is a nice idea. Leave a book you love in a cafe, and post online where you’ve left it. Someone else picks it up and reads it, then passes it on. Your well-thumbed novel could end up across the world, and you get to read how different people have enjoyed the book you first found in the indie bookshop!
If the books you own are too tattered to recycle (or you don’t want to pass them on due to previous politics or lifestyles etc), you can simply rip out the pages and recycle the paper, and then just bin the glued spines.
Live simply, choose reusable over disposable. This way you have less stuff to recycle!
If it’s safe, donate unwanted goods to local charity shops (not ones that test on animals). If it’s of any value, you could sell it on.
Look up your local council, to see what their policy is, as each one differs on what it recycles. Some will send you a leaflet each year, to tell you what can go in your bin or recycling bin.
Do not give your household waste to someone who cannot legally take it, as they could be fined.
Household waste includes your usual household ‘rubbish’, along with other goods like old mattresses and furniture items, oils and paints, old car parts and scrap metal, DIY waste (rubble, timber, bricks) and septic tank sludge.
You can also use your council to order a new dustbin, and find out bin collection days.
Most councils can collect old mattresses (though most companies will collect if you buy a new one), sofas and fridges, though you may have to pay a small amount and order this service a few weeks in advance.
You can also take waste to your local tip, where there will be items for recycling, or businesses can use a private waste collection company or skip or even a household clearance service.
When you buy a new electrical item, the store has to by law collect the old item for recycling.
You can report illegal disposal of waste to Crimestoppers (anonymous if wished), especially if it’s hazardous waste that could harm the planet and wildlife.
Recycle Now is a good website. Just enter what you want to recycle and your postcode to find information. Plus you’ll find a simple A to Z list of how to recycle everything. A few points of note:
Black plastic bags cannot be recycled, as machines don’t recognise the colours. Instead, choose biodegradable white bin bags.
Ensure plastic pots and soup tins are rinsed, before recycling. Caps and lids under 40mm in diameter are too small to not fall through holes at recycling. So always put the lids on, before recycling so they are caught.
You can recycle window envelopes (the machines can sort the plastic from the paper).
Remove greasy parts of pizza boxes before recycling.
You can’t recycle porridge microwave sachets, as they have plastic lining.
Some councils now recycle soft plastics (if not, supermarket bag bins take them, though a recent AirTag investigation found that most went to incineration plants, due to different types of plastics being difficult to sort. But at least that’s better than littering them.
You still can’t recycle clingfilm, nor some plastic sleeves on ready-meals. So remove and bin (or better yet, don’t buy them!)
Don’t recycle ‘compostable plastic’ as it will contaminate the other items. These need to be recycled in your garden waste bin.
Empty bottles of cleaners and bleach can be recycled (with lids on). If there is any item left inside, you have to recycle at the tip, as hazardous waste. Same with aerosols deodorants and hairsprays. Again, use eco-friendly replacements.
Trigger sprays can be recycled if fixed to the bottles, pump dispensers usually have to be binned. You can now put toothpaste tubes in most plastic recycling bins.
Toilet rolls and toothpaste boxes should be flattened before recycling.
Things that must go in household rubbish bins include:
- Animal waste (poo!)
- COVID-19 tests and PPE (always ‘snip the strips’ of blue disposable face masks if used, to avoid them tangling birds and wildlife at landfills).
- Disposable nappies
- Glass cookware (including Pyrex), drinking glasses and ceramics
- Plastic sticky tape
- Disposable tissues and wet wipes
- Disposable cotton wool and cotton buds
- Old pots and pans
Don’t be a ‘Wishcycler’
This is something perhaps all of us have been guilty of in the past. We try to recycle, then get confused – so throw it in the recycling bin anyway, hoping that ‘someone nice who knows what they are doing sorts it out for us’.
The truth is not so simple! It’s usually machines these days that recycle, and they usually can’t understand your good intentions!
So it’s best to read your council website policy, do your best. Then if in doubt, throw it out. This is because adding something to the recycling bin that should not be there, usually contaminates the other items, so nothing gets recycled.
For instance, you can recycle glass bottles (with lids and labels on). But you put Pyrex dishes, mirrors or disposable old-style lightbulbs into recycling bins, as they will contaminate the rest of the glass. New LED-style lightbulbs can be recycled).
Tetrapak containers usually can’t be recycled locally either. Nor can jars with sticky jam inside, or cardboard with sticky tape attached (a good reason to use paper-based tape). Also remove any plastic peanuts before recycling cardboard boxes.
Food waste makes up a good portion of recycling bins. If your council supplies a food waste caddy, you can place in here:
All uneaten food and scraps
Breads and pastries
Cooked/raw meat and fish/bones
Mouldy or out-of-date food (removed from packaging)
Non-liquid dairy products, eggs and eggshells
Fruit and vegetable peelings
Rice, pasta and beans
Tea bags and coffee grounds (don’t use home composting bins, as the caffeine can harm compost creatures – same with rhubarb and citrus fruits due to acids – just bin if you don’t have a food caddy).
Do not put liquids in your food caddy (milk or cooking oil – use an oil recycling container or for small amounts, wrap in paper towels and bin). Same with liqueurs that are creamy like Bailey’s, as these clog drains and cause fatbergs.
You can recycle foil (just clean off food residue and scrunch into a ball).
Most councils now accept fruit and punnet and meat punnets and trays for recycling. Just be sure to rinse before placing them in your recycling bin.
Electrical items cannot go in your bin. These include any items with plugs, batteries or that need charging. These include:
- Garden tools (lawnmowers, shredders)
- Personal grooming (hairdryers, shavers, electric toothbrushes)
- Small kitchen appliances (kettles, toasters, blenders)
- Technology (cameras, phones, TVs, printers, CD/DVD players, electronic toys and games)
- Lamps, torches, Christmas tree lights
- Vacuum cleaners
- Smoke alarms
Enter your postcode at Recycle Your Electricals to find the nearest point.
Batteries are choking hazards and should not be binned. These can be found in watches (jewellery stores can take these for recycling) and again any shop that sells batteries has to recycle them (mechanics can take back car batteries).
Batterie are found in many items from thermometers to car keyrings to toys. Enter your postcode to find battery recycling locations (some councils and shops have bins). They are a fire risk, if placed in bins.
Some councils accept pet bedding (straw, hay, sawdust) in green wheelie bins. Textile recycling bins can accept fabric beds and blankets, as well as human clothing.
Most crisp packets can now be recycled at supermarket bag bins.
Wood can be recycled at local community wood stations. Your council can usually take unwanted bulky furniture. They can also take old carpets, but most shops can do this for you, if replacing.
Over 8 million vapes are now binned each week in the UK, when they could be recycled. Over 1200 fires were caused last year due to fires at landfill and recycling sites and in lorries transporting waste. They contain lithium (a material to make electric car batteries).
Some councils offer recycling bins. But again all stores that sell them have to legally take back old ones for recycling.
Quality Recycling Bins (for business)
Red Gorilla Recycling Bins are the quality bin of choice now for small businesses, with new legislation (from 31 March 2025) making firms employing 10 or more staff, responsible for separating waste, for recycling.
Business with 10 or more staff now need to separate their waste into:
- Paper & Card
- Glass & Metals (including foil)
- Food waste
The same law now applies to non-domestic premises like:
- Schools
- Hospitals
- Nursing Homes
- Places of Worship
- Hotels
Sold in 5 colours, these bins feature clip lids to secure, and are in 3 sizes:
- 30 L
- 50 L
- 80 L
You can also download free recycling labels, to attach. Trade orders are welcome, just open an account.
Businesses are now looking to invest in better recycling bins, and these tick all the boxes:
- Colour codes makes for easy sorting
- They have clip-lids to keep contents secure
- They are weatherproof
- They are easy to clean and rinse with soapy water.
- They are easy to carry (2 simple handles)
- They are resistant to UV rays and frost (made from high-density polyethyelene)
- They are easy to store (the cylindrical design lets them be pushed into corners, or under desks or worktops).
- Can be stacked when not in use (ideal for large businesses that have a lot of bins).
If recycled materials are not sorted properly, they often end up mixed on landfills, and some waste (food scraps etc) end up decomposing and running off into surrounding soil.
Decaying waste also releases toxic gases, the whole point of avoiding landfills in the first place.
