How to Recycle (nearly) Absolutely Everything!
Most councils are now pretty good at recycling everyday items (paper, cardboard, glass and even most soft plastics. But it can get very confusing.
- The best two things to do are:
- Live simply, so you have less items and packaging to recycle.
Email or call your council to get a copy of the updated leaflet, so you know exactly what to put in rubbish and recycling bins (and food waste bins if you have them).
To learn how and where to recycle anything by product, just enter your postcode at Recycle Now.
Avoid ‘wishcycling’ (just putting things in bins, and hoping for the best). Machines mostly sort waste, and if you mix up materials, nothing gets recycled.
What most councils collect for recycling
- Paper, cards, cardboard and magazines (not glitter). Remove greasy parts of pizza boxes (you CAN recycle window envelopes).
- Glass (lids can stay on, give a quick rinse).
- Cans and foil (remove lids and pop inside, or pop rings-pulls back over holes and pinch tops closed to avoid wildlife getting trapped). Non-empty aerosols should go to aerosols to hazardous waste.
What other places collect for recycling
- Boots the Chemist has bins for beauty packaging.
- Read how to recycle mobile phones and printer cartridges.
- Bin small amounts of cooking oil in kitchen towel. Or use an oil recycling bin.
- Community Repaint accepts paint from households & businesses.
- Recycle medicines and supplements at pharmacies.
- Recycle spectacles and contact lenses at opticians.
- Stores that sell batteries (including watch batteries) and electronic goods must take items back by law (even if you don’t buy new). Most companies selling mattresses and carpets offer take-back schemes.
Donate clean good condition clothes to charity shops (that don’t test on animals, use smaller ones). Stained and damaged clothes (including synthetic materials) can be deposited at textile banks, where they are recycled into industrial goods (even old knickers and socks!)
For hard-to-recycle items, your office/community/school can order TerraCycle boxes (some are free paid by sponsors, others pool small amounts). Then when full, you can send off for recycling. You can also order a personal Zero Waste Bag holds 7 litres of waste (14 items). When full, just take it to InPost for pre-paid send-off. The categories include:
- Coffee capsules & pods
- Medicine blister packs (recycle medicines at pharmacies)
- Plastic packaging, crisp packets & wrappers
- Beauty, dental and contact lens packaging
- Office supplies and storage media
- PPE (disposable face masks etc – snip strips beforehand)
- Fabrics & clothing
- Food & drink pouches (and pet food packaging)
- Water filters
- Non-electronic toys
Things that you have to bin:
- Dirty nappies and feminine care
- Black bin bags (machines don’t recognise the colour, use eco bin bags)
- Disposable coffee cups & porridge sachets (plastic linings)
- Half-empty cleaning bottles (take to hazardous waste).
- Pump dispensers (trigger sprays can be recycled)
- Plastic sticky tape (use paper packing tape).
- Christmas crackers (due to plastic and glitter)
- Disposable cotton wool & cotton buds
- Old pots and pans & Pyrex dishes
- Batteries, vapes and gas canisters (recycle in shops)
- Animal poop and anything soiled with food, oil or paint
- Mirrors & drinking glasses)
- Old lightbulbs (wrap in thick paper and bin, stores take LED bulbs for recycling)
- COVID-19 tests and PPE (‘snip strips’ of disposable face masks, to avoid tangling wildlife at landfills). Do the same if you see any littered (place in a covered bin).
- Bin old toys, baby mattresses and car seats (these could contain mould and be dangerous if passed on).
Grey areas for recycling (depends on council)
Most councils now accept mixed plastics (not clingfilm usually). If not, save it up and recycle at supermarket bag bins, when next visiting. Reports say that due to mixed materials, some end up burned as biogas, but it’s better than littering our streets.
Most councils have garden waste bins, and some have food waste caddies (items are made into biogas). You can place most foods in here, if you don’t have a compost bin (including acidic ones not to compost, see below):
If you make compost (keep fresh compost away from pets), still bin allium scraps (onion, garlic, shallots, leeks, chives) and tomato/citrus/rhubarb scraps, as acids could harm compost creatures. Same for tea leaves and coffee grounds due to caffeine (use a sink protector to stop clogged sinks).
