10 common recycling mistakes you’re probably making

We all like to think we’re doing our bit by separating our everyday household rubbish from the recyclables, but in reality, a surprising number of UK households still are making some common recycling mistakes that lead to a lot of it just ending up in landfill anyway.

A recent study found that 20% of Suffolk’s recycling – more than 10,000 tonnes – is rejected due to contamination or not being put into the right recycling bin.

To be fair, properly sorting the recyclables from the non-recyclables is no simple task. And to make things even more complex, each local authority in the UK has a different policy for what can and can’t be collected from residents’ homes.

Being expected to operate a small-scale waste management business from your own kitchen can feel overwhelming – and it’s even worse when you’re told that all the work you’re putting in isn’t good enough.

So to make sure you’re not wasting your efforts to protect the planet, here are some of the most common recycling mistakes people make in the UK and what you should be doing instead…

Putting soft plastics in the recycling (the most common recycling mistake)

If it’s packaging made of plastic, it goes in the plastic recycling, right?

You’d be forgiven for thinking this was the case, as many food bags feature confusing symbols that at first glance might look like they’re suitable for the usual plastic recycling bin.

But soft plastics like crisp packets and salad bags actually can’t be recycled with the rest of the plastic and need to be disposed of in special recycling schemes outside of the local authority collections.

To make things even more confusing, Cambridge City Council actually does collect some plastic bags in its recycling collection, whereas the Suffolk Recycles website specifically forbids them. To find out your own specific situation, you’ll have to consult your local authority’s guidelines.

MORE: Plastics that can be recycled: a guide to sorting plastics in the UK

Fortunately, many supermarket chains are now offering collections of soft plastics, making it easier to just return them to where you bought them from, or there’s the TerraCycle program run by Walkers, which offers incentives in the form of charitable donations.

It’s another container you’re going to need to separate all these soft plastics, and finding the space in the kitchen can be a challenge for those living in smaller flats, but chucking them in with the rest of the plastic is a much bigger waste of your time (and it’s one of the worst items polluting our oceans).

As technology moves on, hopefully we’ll find new methods for recycling these plastics (or alternatives that do away with them altogether).

SunSkips makes the most of soft plastics like this by sending them to be used as solid recovered fuel (SRF), which is useful for powering industrial kilns; a far better alternative than sending them to landfill.

Assuming all plastic packaging is recyclable

It’s not just soft plastics that aren’t suitable for the plastic bin, there are actually several types of plastic that a lot of people incorrectly assume are recyclable.

Again, it does depend on what your local authority accepts in the kerbside collection, but some of the plastic packaging that typically can’t be collected include:

• Polystyrene
• Medicine packets
• Black plastic packaging
• Paper coffee cups
• Drinks cartons
• Plastic pouches (like the ones used for baby or pet food)
• Toothpaste tubes

So what should you do with these things? Well, it goes without saying that you’re probably not going to find a good use for an old toothpaste tube, but you can make better purchasing decisions like opting for a toothpaste bar instead of the typical tube (they’re more expensive, but they do last longer).

In fact, there are greener alternatives to all these things, so it’s really best to just stop buying them in the first place and eliminate the need to recycle them altogether.

Not rinsing things out properly

While it’s already a hassle to separate glass jars from their plastic lids, having to rinse them out as well can put a lot of people off the proper process for recycling.

But sending jars with food residue to the recycling facility is a sure-fire way to get them rejected.

We’re not looking for a brilliant shine here, just get all the food residue out so it doesn’t contaminate the rest of the recycling.

Dishwashers are a handy solution for this (you should still give them a good rinse out before so you don’t clog up your machine).

Recycling dirty paper and cardboard

Similarly to not cleaning out jars, paper and card that’s been contaminated with food or used for cleaning can’t be recycled.

• Greasy pizza box? No. ❌
• Used kitchen roll? Nope. ❌
• Snotty tissue? Absolutely not!❌

Only clean cardboard (like Amazon delivery boxes, for example) and paper (junk mail with the plastic part of the envelope removed) can actually be recycled into useful materials.

Also, watch out for cardboard that’s been laminated with a plastic film, like disposable coffee cups. Packaging that mixes two materials can’t be recycled. It’s best to just avoid buying this kind of product where possible.

Wishcycling

Pretty much everything on this list falls under the category of “wishcycling”, but the term is typically reserved for exceptionally hopeful attempts at recycling non-recyclable things.

A broken umbrella might not seem like it should go into the general rubbish (“can’t they reuse bits and pieces of it for other products?”), but it belongs in the general rubbish.

And just because disposable nappies are made of plastic does not mean they’re recyclable (3,000 of them are removed from Suffolk’s recycling by hand every day. It’s such a huge problem, the council had to do a big marketing campaign specifically about the issue).

#TedSays nappies never go in your recycling. Whether wet, dry or dirty, disposable nappies cannot be recycled. Sadly around 3,000 nappies a day wrongly end up in Suffolk’s recycling bins. Not nice!😧
https://t.co/Uy4a9xFopa pic.twitter.com/9tVAEG7KcW

— Suffolk Recycling (@suffolkrecycle) January 19, 2022

If it doesn’t meet the criteria of your local authority’s recycling scheme (visit Recycle Now to find out exactly what you can and can’t recycle in your area) it needs to go in the general bin.

Of course, there are several other steps you can take before resorting to putting something in the bin.

MORE: The five Rs of waste management: Refuse, reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle

Leaving the tape on

Cardboard boxes go into the paper recycling all day long. But the plastic tape that holds it all together needs to come off.

The same goes for things like Christmas wrapping paper (maybe just set this aside until Boxing Day, no one wants to be peeling the plastic tape off wrapping paper on December 25) and paper envelopes with plastic windows. In fact, not only can tape not go in with the paper, it can’t be recycled with the plastic either because it’s usually too small to make it through the screening line.

Consider alternatives to wrapping paper if you can’t be bothered to take all the tape off before putting the paper in the recycling.

Not reusing jars

This is less of a recycling mistake and more of a missed opportunity, but tossing away large jars and then buying plastic ones from IKEA to store food is not only a terrible idea for the environment, but it’s also a waste of money.

You’ll find quirky cafes now use old jars to serve smoothies in, and they’re not afraid to charge you silly money for the pleasure either. So why not give your own kitchen the same trendy upgrade?

And didn’t your nan use to keep spices and stuff in old coffee jars? Yes, she did. Be like nan.

Recycling batteries

These are some of the more dangerous things that work their way into recycling facilities.

Some batteries like lithium-ion (Li-ion) and nickel-metal Hydride (NiMH) can actually explode in the recycling process, forcing many facilities to employ sophisticated scanners to weed them out.

Even your everyday AA battery contains hazardous chemicals that are best kept separated even from the general rubbish. Batteries need to be taken to a recycling centre, or you might find a convenient bin to collect them at your local supermarket (in fact, a lot of shops offer similar services for difficult-to-recycle items, like opticians collecting old contact lenses and mobile phone shops taking in broken phones).

Or to sidestep this extra recycling altogether, consider upgrading to rechargeable batteries.

Throwing in loose bottle tops

While you do need to remove plastic lids from glass jars, it’s actually best to leave the lids on plastic bottles as they’re too small to pass through the recycling mechanisms on their own.

The best way to do it is to flatten the bottle to force the air out, then screw the lid back on.

However, soap dispenser pumps should be removed altogether and put in the bin before rinsing out the bottle itself and putting it in the recycling.

Taking out the recycling in plastic bags

Unfortunately, plastic bags full of recycling tend to get skipped over and sent straight to landfill. It’s not ideal, because they may be full of perfectly recyclable plastic – and what a horrible waste of your time because of one plastic bag.

The best thing to do is simply empty the recycling directly into the box for kerbside collections, and say no to plastic bags in the first place (pick up a reusable one; who’s got the space in the kitchen for all those plastic ones?)

Discover how SunSkips uses a recycling screening line to sort through the mixed waste that comes through our sites in Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. And get in touch if you’re ready to leave your company’s waste in the hands of a company that will properly separate and recycle it all for you.