Recycling is important and brings many benefits. It Reduces how much waste is sent to landfill, Saves energy and other resources, Protects the environment, Conserves natural resources such as timber, water, and minerals, and Supports a circular economy. Below we will provide our top 10 recycling tips to help you avoid making mistakes in recycling.
With so many different rules for recycling, it’s easy for us to get confused. Different councils and local authorities all have different rules for what can and can’t be recycled in your curbside bin. So why can’t the rules all be the same, you ask?
The rules vary in each location because each local authority has different circumstances to work with. For each local area, there can be different government regulations and a distinct mix of recycling facilities they have access to. They must adapt to these conditions while making decisions based on their constituents and local situations.
So how can you understand what belongs in your recycling bin and what does not?
The first step is to ensure you have the best information, so always check what the rules are with your local authority. Many of them have loads of information on their websites, including recycling tips. Plus, they are usually happy to help if you have any questions.
The second step is to keep learning. We are here to help you do that by providing information that helps you understand what you can and cannot recycle. Take a look around our site and check out our recycling guides here.
Below you will find our top 10 tips for recycling to help you be a better recycler.
Top 10 Tips For Recycling
Recycling Tip 1 – Stop wish cycling
When it comes to recycling, wish cycling is one of the worst things you can do. Wish cycling refers to the well-intentioned action of throwing anything and everything into the recycling bin in the hope that it can be recycled.
It’s easy to do. Sometimes it’s hard to work out if something is recyclable or if it should go to landfill. You’re not sure, and of course, you don’t want to send it to landfill by mistake. That would be really wasteful. So just in case, you place the item in your curbside recycling bin in the hope that someone else will be able to work it out.
The problem is that these items that don’t belong in the recycling bin can have some pretty dire consequences. They can make the recycling process much more difficult by getting stuck in the machines and causing shutdowns, or contaminating the recycling material outputs lowering the quality, and sometimes even leading to the entire batch of recycling being sent to landfill. All of these issues cost money for the processing plants and make recycling less economical.
So, your good intentions might be contributing to the demise of the recycling industry.
The best way to break your wish cycling habit is to go back to basics and consider the four types of materials that are generally accepted in your curbside recycling bin. They are paper and cardboard, rigid plastic, metal tins and cans, and glass jars and bottles. And always check with your local authority to see what they accept.
Find some more great ways to break your wish cycling habit in our recycling tips below and or read more in Are you wish cycling? 5 ways to help you break your habit.
Recycling Tip 2 – No plastic bags
Plastic bags and other soft plastic packaging are the number one contaminant in recycling loads. These “tanglers,” as they are referred to, can get caught in machinery and shut down equipment, resulting in a loss of revenue or even an environmental disaster if not taken care of quickly enough. So it’s important not to place any soft plastics or tangler-like objects in your recyclables bin. Recycling items should be placed loosely in your bin, there is no need to put them inside a plastic bag.
Other examples of soft plastics that do not belong in your curbside recycling bin are Ziploc bags, bubble wrap, bread bags, cereal box liners, candy wrappers, frozen food bags, or cling film.
What to do with all the plastic bags and soft plastics?
A lot of the plastic that we handle daily is soft plastic or plastic bags. These materials can be recycled. However, they must be taken to a specific drop-off location. They cannot go in your curbside bin. For more information, take a look at our post on Recycling plastic bags and soft plastics. In the article, you will find a list of websites where you can locate your nearest soft plastic recycling drop-off center.
Recycling Tip 3 – Check the size of things
Even if something is made from a material that is recyclable, it cannot always be recycled. This is because the recycling equipment cannot always capture and sort the items. A good rule of thumb is not to recycle anything smaller than a credit card. That includes straws, bottle caps, coffee pods, plastic cutlery, paperclips, and a million other tiny things that creep into our daily lives. These objects are too small to be sorted and can jam the recycling equipment. Note rules about plastic bottle caps are changing and many locations now request that you put the cap back on the bottle. Be sure to check your local rules or learn more in Can You Recycle Bottle Caps?
There are some available recycling options for some small items like bottle caps or the free toys that supermarkets give away. Terracycle is a company working to recycle the unrecyclable. They have many different programs where you can collect items and post them to TerraCycle to be recycled. Check out what programs they have available in your country.
Recycling Tip 4 – Know your plastics
Not all plastics are treated equally. One good distinction to make is the difference between rigid plastics like drink bottles, shampoo bottles, or food containers and soft plastics like plastic bags and packaging. Rigid plastics can usually go into your curbside recycling bin. Soft plastics like plastic bags do not belong in your recycling bin. Learn more in our post on Recycling plastic bags and soft plastics.
Rigid plastics may or may not be recyclable, depending on which type of plastic they are made from. One of the easiest ways to tell is to use the plastic resin codes 1 through 7. Generally, the higher the number, the less recyclable it is. Most recycling centers will recycle plastics 1 and 2 without a problem. Numbers 4 and 5 are also often accepted, while numbers 3, 6, and 7 are rarely accepted. Refer to our quick guide below. We always recommend you check with your local authority.
What do the symbols mean on the bottom of plastic bottles and containers?
Initially developed for industrial use, the plastic identification numbers have become a convenient way for consumers to identify the type of plastic an object is made of. But it’s worth noting that the coding system has some flaws. The main problem is that it uses the symbol with the chasing arrow around a number. This symbol is commonly understood to show that something can be recycled. As a result, many people assume that you can recycle any item displaying one of these symbols, but that’s not the case for all the plastic numbers. Another issue is that because the code is voluntary, the symbol is not always displayed on an object.
Despite these issues with the resin codes, in many cases, it’s still the best way to work out if an item is recyclable or not.
If you want to learn more about recycling plastic, why not download our Plastic Recycling Guide?
Recycling Tip 5 – Combined materials stay out
Recycling only works when like materials are recycled together. Unfortunately, items like plastic-coated coffee cups, laminated paper, and paper-bubble wrap mailing envelopes can’t be separated, which means they’re rubbish. These items belong in your trash can.
Tetra Pak containers, used for milk or juice, are a common example of multilayer packaging. Tetra Paks use six different layers of material, generally 75% paperboard combined with layers of plastic and aluminum. These are tricky to recycle because of all these different layers. It is possible to recycle these containers; however, it is not easy, and so there are not many companies that will do it. Be sure to check your local authority to see if Tetra Paks are recycled in your local area. You can find more information and links to find recycling near you in our article How to Recycle Milk Cartons and Juice Boxes.
The best tip for recycling went it comes to combined materials is to avoid them if you can. It’s a good idea to keep a list of these items as you put them in your trash can so you can consider alternatives. Check the list from time to time so you can remember what not to buy next time.
Recycling Tip 6 – Caps, Lids, and bottle tops
Lids, caps, screw tops, and bottle tops can be quite confusing when it comes to recycling.
The problem is it depends on what the lid is made from.
- Large metal lids from glass jars can generally go in your recycling bin, but they must be removed from the glass jar.
- Plastic lids and caps are a little bit more tricky. It used to be that in most locations, plastic lids could not be recycled in your curbside recycling bin. That was because plastic lids are made from a different type of plastic than the bottle or jar they come with and need to be separated from the bottles. And when placed separately in the recycling bin, the caps are too small and often drop through the machinery, ending up being sent to a landfill. Fortunately, there is now a method for separating the different plastic from the caps and bottles during processing. Many locations now request that we place the cap back on the bottle before placing it in our curbside recycling bin. It’s important that you check your local rules to see what your area accepts.
- Note plastic lids that are larger than a credit card, like those from a yogurt container or tub, can go into your recycling, depending on what type of plastic is accepted.
Be sure to check your local rules or learn more in Can You Recycle Bottle Caps?
Recycling Tip 7 – Aluminum Foil can go in
Aluminum is one of the easiest materials to recycle, and it can be recycled infinitely. However, the amount of aluminum in the world is finite, so it’s a good idea to make sure it gets recycled whenever possible. Plus, aluminum is made from bauxite ore, taking a good deal of energy to mine and process. The market for recycled aluminum metal is strong because recycled aluminum is identical to virgin products, so when it is re-melted, it can be used to make all the same objects. You might even be drinking from a can that has recycled content already.
To recycle your aluminum foil, make sure the foil is free from food scraps, especially the sticky sauces or cheesy messes that often cover foil. You can’t recycle it if it’s encrusted with food scraps, greasy, or burned. Roll the aluminum foil into a ball. Keep adding foil until you have a ball the size of a baseball or cricket ball. If there’s too much food on the foil, then it has to go into the general waste bin.
Recycling Tip 8 – Pizza Boxes
There was a lot of media claiming that you could not recycle your pizza boxes a few years ago. If your pizza box is a greasy and cheesy mess, then no you cannot recycle it, but if it is clean, of course, you can recycle it along with your cardboard recycling. If only the base of your pizza box is greasy, then you simply tear off the top of the box and put it into your recycling bin, then toss the greasy base into the rubbish bin.
Be sure to check with your local authority to see if they accept pizza boxes because some do not.
Recycling Tip 9 – How clean do materials have to be?
Your recyclables don’t need to be squeaky clean. Make sure they are empty of food or liquid, give them a rinse, and shake off any excess water. It’s a good idea to put them in your dishwasher if you have room since you are running it anyway, but it is not essential.
Cardboard and paper that are soiled or covered in grease, like a pizza box, as mentioned above, cannot be recycled with your paper cardboard. Similarly, any paper or cardboard products that are wet can be very difficult to recycle. Paper that has been shredded can no longer be recycled and should go into your general waste bin. Find more tips on recycling your paper and cardboard here.
Recycling Tip 10 – Keep Learning
The best way to understand more about recycling is to keep learning. You can learn more in our articles on our blog, We have listed a few to get you started below. You’ll find plenty of easy recycling tips and helpful links to find local recycling drop-off locations.
