Common Recycling Questions

If the box is clean or only lightly greasy, it goes in your recycling bin. If it’s soaked with grease and melted cheese, it goes in general waste. A good trick: tear off the clean lid and recycle that, bin the greasy base.

⚠️ Common mistake: People assume all pizza boxes are recyclable. Grease and food residue contaminate paper recycling — one greasy box can ruin a whole batch.

Most disposable coffee cups have a plastic lining that makes them non-recyclable in standard kerbside collections. The cardboard sleeve is recyclable. The plastic lid is usually recyclable (check for OPRL label). Some coffee shops take cups back — ask.

⚠️ Common mistake: They look like cardboard, so people assume they’re recyclable. The invisible plastic lining is the problem.

More UK councils now accept drink cartons (juice, oat milk, soup), but not all. Rinse them, flatten them, and check your council's page. If your council doesn't take them, they go in general waste.

⚠️ Common mistake: People either assume all cartons are recyclable (they’re not everywhere) or that none are (increasingly they are). Check your council.

Black plastic is hard for sorting machines to detect using optical sensors. Most UK councils don’t accept it in kerbside recycling. General waste in most cases. Some retailers are switching to clear or coloured trays to fix this.

⚠️ Common mistake: It looks like plastic, and other plastic trays are recyclable, so people put black trays in too. The colour is the problem, not the material.

Never put batteries in any home bin — recycling OR general waste. Batteries cause fires in bin lorries and at recycling plants. Take them to battery collection points at supermarkets, retailers, or your local recycling centre.

⚠️ Common mistake: People toss them in the bin without thinking. Battery fires in waste trucks are a serious and growing problem in the UK.

Empty aerosol cans are widely accepted in recycling across the UK. Don’t puncture or crush them. Remove the plastic cap (that goes in general waste) and put the can in your recycling bin. Must be completely empty.

⚠️ Common mistake: People think aerosols are dangerous to recycle because they’re pressurised. Once empty, they’re just metal.

Clean kitchen foil is recyclable. Scrunch it into a ball — aim for at least golf-ball size so it doesn’t fall through sorting screens. Must be clean — foil with baked-on food goes in general waste.

⚠️ Common mistake: People either bin all foil (waste) or recycle dirty foil (contamination). The key is: clean it, then scrunch it.

Most councils don't collect soft plastics at kerbside. Take carrier bags, bread bags, cereal liners, and other soft plastics to the supermarket collection points. Quick test: scrunch it. If it stays scrunched, it's soft plastic (supermarket return). If it springs back, it's rigid (might be kerbside recyclable).

⚠️ Common mistake: People put carrier bags in the recycling bin. They jam sorting machinery and contaminate other recyclables.

Small amounts in a paper envelope or bag can go in recycling. Loose shredded paper falls through sorting screens and jams machines. Some councils say no to shredded paper entirely. Check your council, and if accepted, always contain it in a paper bag.

⚠️ Common mistake: It's paper, so it must be recyclable, right? The small strips are the problem — they can’t be sorted.

Crisp packets are composite material — metallised plastic film. They can’t go in kerbside recycling. General waste. Some specialist schemes (like Terracycle drop-off points) accept them, but these aren’t mainstream.

⚠️ Common mistake: The shiny inside looks like metal/foil, so people think they’re recyclable. They’re a plastic-metal composite.

Cling film is too thin and too contaminated with food residue to process in standard recycling. General waste. Even clean cling film isn’t accepted by most councils.

⚠️ Common mistake: It's plastic, so people put it in recycling. It tangles in sorting machines.

Bubble wrap is a soft plastic. Don’t put it in your kerbside recycling. Take it to supermarket collection points along with carrier bags and other soft plastics.

⚠️ Common mistake: People put it in the recycling bin or just bin it. It’s actually recyclable — just not at home.

Drinking glasses, Pyrex, oven dishes, and window glass are made from a different type of glass with a higher melting point than bottles and jars. They contaminate glass recycling. General waste, or donate if intact.

⚠️ Common mistake: Glass is glass, right? Wrong. Different types melt at different temperatures. Mixing them ruins the recycling batch.

Standard incandescent bulbs go in general waste. Energy-saving bulbs (CFLs) and LED bulbs contain small amounts of mercury or electronics — take them to your local recycling centre or return to a retailer. Never put any bulb in your glass recycling.

⚠️ Common mistake: People put bulbs in the glass recycling bin. Bulb glass is different from bottle glass and contaminates it.

Neither expanded polystyrene (white foam packaging) nor solid polystyrene (takeaway containers, disposable cutlery) is accepted in most UK kerbside collections. General waste. Some types have a resin code (6/PS) which people interpret as “recyclable.” The code identifies the material, not whether your council takes it.

⚠️ Common mistake: Some types of polystyrene have a resin code (6/PS) which people interpret as “recyclable.” The code identifies the material, not whether your council takes it.

General waste. Some specialist nappy recycling services exist in certain areas but they’re not mainstream. Never put nappies in recycling — they contaminate the entire load.

⚠️ Common mistake: With “eco” nappies becoming common, people assume they’re recyclable or compostable at home. They’re not.

Never put clothes or textiles in your recycling bin — they jam sorting machinery. Donate wearable items to charity shops. Unwearable items go to textile banks (often at recycling centres or supermarket car parks). Worn-out textiles can be recycled into insulation and industrial rags.

⚠️ Common mistake: People bag up old clothes and put them in the recycling bin. This causes major problems at sorting facilities.

Most modern toothpaste tubes are now made from recyclable plastic (HDPE). Squeeze out as much toothpaste as possible, replace the cap, and put in your recycling bin. Check the tube — if it has an OPRL “Recycle” label, you're good.

⚠️ Common mistake: People still think all toothpaste tubes are non-recyclable. Most major brands switched to recyclable tubes in recent years, but it’s worth checking.

Blister packs are a composite of plastic and aluminium foil — they can’t be separated for recycling. General waste. Return unused medicines to a pharmacy for safe disposal.

⚠️ Common mistake: The foil looks like aluminium (recyclable) and the plastic looks like it should be too. But the composite bonding makes them non-recyclable.

Plates, mugs, bowls, and other ceramics contaminate glass recycling because they don’t melt at the same temperature. Wrap in newspaper to protect bin collectors and put in general waste. Large quantities should go to your recycling centre.

⚠️ Common mistake: People put broken mugs in the glass recycling. Ceramics and glass are completely different materials despite looking similar.