Recycling is a confusing business. A recent Recycle Now poll found that many Brits are puzzled as to which items exactly can be recycled, with 84% of households throwing one or more items in the trash that could have been reused.
Overall, one third (34%) of the 3,000 households surveyed incorrectly dispose of five or more items and nearly one fifth (17%) incorrectly dispose of 10 or more items. Items that most confuse Brits include glass aftershaves and perfume bottles, aluminum foil, aerosol cans, plastic trays, and plastic toiletries (e.g. shampoo / conditioner).
But flexible plastics are also creating some confusion with a further survey by Abel & Cole which found that, although 95% of Brits make a conscious effort to recycle regularly, more than half (55%) are completely at home. obscure of flexible plastics, such as beverage bags and wrappers. - cannot be recycled from home. This is leading to flexible plastic pollution across the country, as these hard-to-recycle items often end up in landfills instead of being properly processed.
The problem is further complicated by the inconsistency between the councils, which set their own rules on money laundering. But all this confusion comes at a cost, as it was recently revealed that the government has missed the goal of recycling 50% of all household waste by 2020, with recycling levels stagnating in recent years.
"Recycling has become so common that people too often assume that all standard household products are designed to be reused at a later time," he continues. The truth, he says, is that, despite great advances in our country's recycling capabilities, we still have a long way to go to have a truly circular economy.
"Greasy pizza boxes, plastic-lined wrapping paper and standard pet food packaging are currently not suitable for recycling, yet people continue to contaminate their recycling containers with these products because they mistakenly believe they are."
Another problem, according to Juliet McDonald of Recycling Challenge for Act For Ealing, is the lack of concise and understandable labeling of recyclable products. "It is unacceptable that in the UK we do not have a coherent and easy to understand system for assessing whether an item can be recycled," he says. "Many people think that the Green Dot logo, for example, suggests that an object can be recycled, but it just means that it is recyclable."
He believes that what is needed is a legal obligation for manufacturers to adopt the triangular system (already an international standard used in other countries) by assigning a number from 1 to 7 indicating which of the seven types of plastic it is. You can't always tell just by looking at the plastic. "
There should be a second symbol, she suggests, with more precise instructions like "Do not recycle at home." "Without a clear labeling system, items are disposed of improperly and thrown in recycling when they really shouldn't be included," she adds. But, while we wait for the system to improve, here's a rough guide to some of the things you can and can't put in recycling.
Items that you can and cannot recycle
Pizza Boxes
Gift box
Frustrated
It's not plastic, so not everyone thinks aluminum foil is recyclable, but it is. It must be cleaned and crushed into a ball before being placed in the separate collection. If you're sticky with food waste, it should end up in the general trash.
paper cups
There is some confusion as to whether paper cups can be recycled, but according to Mike Turner of the Paper Cup Alliance, they are 100% recyclable. "We have more than enough capacity here in the UK to recycle all the mugs sold on our main roads," he explains.
Bottles of shampoo and shower gel.
Most of us don't have a recycling bin in the bathroom, so our bathroom bottles are often thrown away with general waste, but we should recycle them.
Rinse them quickly and put them in the plastic recycling, but be sure to remove the bombs first, as they will have to go with the general waste.
mattresses
If the answer is "no" then you are not alone because according to Reduce Reuse Recycle only 16% of mattresses are recycled in the UK, "says a spokesperson for Room to Grow. Read More: The mother-daughter foraging team prepares free meals with food found in the local forest
Aerosol spray
If you avoid recycling spray cans for fear of exploding, it's time to stop because spray cans are truly recyclable. They are made of aluminum and steel, both of which are recyclable. As long as the can is completely empty, the can and lids are extensively recycled, but check the Recycle Now website to make sure your local authority collection makes it easier.
Light bulbs
Although new energy-saving light bulbs can be recycled, old incandescent light bulbs should be thrown in the general trash. But you know you should still upgrade to the newer bulbs, right? Better for the environment and everything in between.
Bags for food and pets
In general, baby and pet food bags should be placed in the regular trash container. "Pet food bags often have a non-recyclable aluminum coating to keep the food fresh," Williams explains. TerraCycle and Ella's Kitchen have collaborated to create EllaCycle, a free recycling program for any brand of baby food bags.
wine stoppers
Who doesn't love a glass of red wine on a cozy winter afternoon? "Unfortunately, however, corks don't break in landfills," warns Rachel McClelland, founder of Planet Shine, a channel that aims to help people make more ethical decisions.
"But there is a way to have (almost) guilt-free fun because you can recycle them with Recorked UK," she continues. batteries
Recent research by VARTA Batteries revealed that 39% of us dispose of batteries directly in the trash, but this can cause potential problems with the erosion of chemicals in the soil.
Battery recycling points can be found all over the UK, at dedicated recycling centers and in many different supermarkets.
crunchy packages
Another source of recycling confusion is the fact that some packaging items appear to be recyclable but are actually made from a different material. "Crunchy packs, for example, may look like they are made of aluminum foil, but are actually made of a metallic plastic that is not curb recyclable," explains Chris Latham-Warde, program manager for Every Can Counts UK. . A good test for this type of packaging, he says, is the "scrunch test". "Squeeze the aluminum wrap with your hand and if it stays in a ball, then the sheet is aluminum and is recyclable. However, if the packaging returns to your hands, the packaging is not pure aluminum and is not recyclable on the pavement. "
Other items that are commonly mistaken for aluminum foil but are actually metallized plastics include candy wrappers, pet food bags, beverage bags, and drug blisters.
beverage cans
"It doesn't even matter if the can is crushed or not. The soda cans are made from aluminum, which is infinitely recyclable and thanks to the high value of aluminum, empty soda cans are extensively recycled across the UK. In fact, beverage cans are the most recycled beverage containers in the world! "