What Can Go In Your Blue Bin
What can and cannot go in at a glance
Make sure materials are clean and free of food residues.Please wash & squash plastic & cans. Wash glass.Below is a diagram showing at a glance what can and cannot be placed in your blue bin for recycling. For more detailed information on these materials please use the links above.
Paper & Cardboard
All these items can go in:
- Newspapers
- Magazines no need to remove staples
- Wrapping paper
- Writing paper
- Computer paper
- Envelopes including ones with windows
- Telephone Directories and Yellow Pages
- Catalogues - Argos, Littlewoods
- Books Hardbacks and paper backs
- Non food packaging cardboard from electrical equipment / soap boxes
- Cardboard Boxes cereal
- Greeting Cards Birthday & Christmas Cards
- Junk Mail (please remove envelopes and put in your blue bin separately and dispose of any associated plastic wrapping)
- Shredded Paper
Please do not put in:
- Wet paper
- Waxed Paper and Card
- Foil Lined Cartons and Multilayered Tetra Paks such as Juice Cartons
- Plastic Coated Paper laminated paper
- Paper Towels
- Tissues and Serviettes
Paper recycling fact: One tonne of paper from recycled pulp saves 17 trees!
Plastic Recycling
Look at the base of the plastic drinks bottle containers, if you can't see one of these numbers in a triangle, don't put it in the recycling bin! The bottles that can be recycled are made from one of only three polymer types:
- 1 PET (e.g. fizzy drink bottles and squash bottles)
- 2 HDPE (e.g. milk bottles and detergent bottles)
- 3 PVC (e.g. large squash bottles)
Please wash and squash plastic bottles for recycling.
CAPS OFF…..Please remove the caps from bottles (they are easier to squash if you do!) The caps can be recycled as well.
RINSE…..
SQUASH…..Containers to save space in your bin.
Please do not put in:
- Yoghurt pots
- Ice cream tubs
- Margarine tubs
- Flower pots
- Carrier bags
- Polystyrene
Why we don't recycle some plastics
Items such as margarine tubs and rigid food containers are made from a very wide range of polymers, many of which are blends. These are much more difficult to identify and separate efficently. Mixed plastics are not in high demand so are difficult to re-sell.
We cannot accept yoghurt pots among our plastics as they are in fact made from polystyrene. This has an entirely different make-up to the polymers used in bottles and there are currently limited outlets for the material.
The majority of flower pots are made from polypropylene, (PP), although some are made from polystyrene. As in the case of rigid food containers and yoghurt pots, there are few outlets for collected material.
Carrier bag recycling facilities are now available in some supermarkets locally.
Plastic recycling facts:
80% of plastic used ends up in landfill
- tonne = 20,000 bottles
11% of household waste is plastic. 40% of which is plastic bottles which are disposed of at a cost of £45 million
25 recycled PET bottles can be used to make an adults fleece jacket.
Aluminium and Steel Cans
We can take:
- Aluminium Drink Cans
- Steel Drinks Cans
- Household Aerosols deodorant, hairspray
- Steel Food Cans Tomato Tins, Pet Food Cans
- Steel lids from Glass Jars/Bottles
Please do not put in:
- Industrial Aerosols Paint, Lubricant spray, Car spray
- Any other metals
- Appliances, Kitchen items
- Aluminium Foil and Foil trays - Please wash and squash all food and drink cans.
Aluminium and Steel Recycling facts:
Every UK citizen uses the equivalent of 240 steel cans a year.
Everday 80 million food and drink cans end up in landfill.
If all the aluminium drinks cans recycled in the UK last year were laid end to end they would stretch from John O'Groats to Lands End 140 times!
Glass
We can take:
Any colour (Brown, Green, Clear, Blue) Glass Bottles and Jars
Please do not put in.
- Ceramics
- Light bulbs
- Window Glass
- Mirror Glass
- Pyrex
Glass recycling facts:
In the UK the average bottle contains over 25% of recycled glass In Britain almost 200 glass bottles and jars are thrown away every second
8% of our household rubbish is glass
On average, every family in the UK uses around 500 glass bottles and jars a year
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