Glass Litter To Recycle (and what to wrap and bin)
ReRooted organic oat drink is sold in returnable glass bottles
A study by Keep Britain Tidy found that 80% of littered bottles and nearly 5% of littered cans, contain remains of tiny mammals (shrews, bank voles, wood mice).
Most glass bottles and jars can be recycled, give them a rinse to avoid tempting wildlife and leave on metal tops and labels, but remove and recycle plastic tops. For wine bottles, corks are too dense to compost and choking hazards, so recycle at off licenses, or send off in bulk to Recorked).
- Recycle medicine bottles at pharmacies, never flush medicines down the loo.
- Not-empty scent bottles (and nail polish) needs to go to hazardous waste.
Glass items that must be (like broken glass) wrapped in several layers of thick newspaper or cardboard (then binned) include:
- Drinking glasses, glass straws and Pyrex jugs/ovenware
- Mirrors, window panes and architectural glass
- Old lightbulbs (modern LED ones can be recycled in stores).
If an LED bulb smashes, evacuate the room and leave windows open for at least 15 minutes, and turn off central heating (or air conditioning) to stop vapour from spreading. Do not use a vacuum cleaner, as this scatters mercury dust into the air.
Wear gloves to scoop shards with stiff cardboard, then use sticky tape to pick up fragments, wipe area with damp paper towel.
