Become a recycling hero

Here are some simple tips to improve your recycling habits, and better the way you manage your waste in general:

Recycling Rules  

• Clean/empty any can/bottles and jars you want to recycle. If you don’t do it, you could end up contaminating the entire contents of the bin, which will end up in the landfill. 
• Food should never go in your recycling bin
• Polystyrene cups and trays can’t be recycled  
• Crisp bags can’t be recycled at home, though there are recycling schemes to collect crisp bags that have been set up in London – see if there are any collection points near you!
• Toothpaste packaging can’t be recycled  
• Plastic bottles (shampoo, shower gel, cleaning products, etc.) are recyclable, but they need to be rinsed 
• Glitter cards can’t be recycled 
• You can recycle bottles of bleach; you just need to rinse them out.  

Did you know?   

• Black plastic is hardest to recycle - try to stay away from it and use clear plastic
• Glass and aluminum are very easily recyclable and they can be recycled infinitely, without decreasing in quality - this isn’t the case for plastic  
• A lot of the bottled water that is sold in supermarkets is actually just filtered tap water 
• The majority of London boroughs collect food waste, and you can request special food waste bins from your council 
• Recycling just one drink can save enough energy to charge a phone up to 65 times (source: London Recycle UK) 
• Unworn clothes can be donated to your local charity shop, or dropped off in clothes banks for recycling