New statistics released by the government show that the amount of household rubbish which was rejected for recycling in England has increased by 84% over the past four years. In total, 338,000 tons of waste was rejected during 2014/15 – an increase from around 184,000 tons in 2011/12.
Much of the waste is thought to stem from confusion surrounding what can and cannot be placed in a recycling bin. With around 300 different recycling schemes in operation across the country, waste reduction charity WRAP are calling for a consistent set of national guidelines to be introduced. Speaking to the BBC, a Local Government Association spokesman said:
“The problem is there is widespread confusion over what can and cannot be recycled. If just one non-recyclable item is included with recyclable items, the whole bin is effectively contaminated. Councils then have to re-sort it, which is time consuming and very expensive. There is no one-size-fits-all solution to waste collection. What works in an inner city suburb won’t necessarily work in the countryside. The types of which would suit a large detached house in the country would be complete unsustainable for a high-rise block of flats in inner-city London and vice-versa.â€
So what waste can be recycled and what should go be disposed of in your general waste? Here is a brief guide:
Recyclable:
- Paper – including cardboard, newspapers, magazines, office paper, phonebooks junk mail and food and drinks cartons
- Plastic – including margarine tubs, yoghurt pots, fruit punnets and ready meal trays
- Bottles – including drinks bottles, shampoo and conditioner bottles and detergent bottles
- Tins & Cans – including both steel and aluminium containers and aerosol cans
- Foil – including kitchen foil and foil trays
- Glass – including all colours of glass bottles and food containers, but NOT broken glass, ovenware, light bulbs or mirror glass
General Waste:
- Tissues – including hand tissues, paper towels, napkins and kitchen roll
- Plastic Wrapping – including plastic film, bubble wrap and plastic bags
- Coffee Cups – including disposable coffee cups
- Contaminated Plastic & Paper – including any grease-stained pizza boxes and paper food plates
- Crisps & Sweet Wrappers
- Polystyrene
- Nappies
- Soft Plastic/Metallic Packaging – including baby and pet food pouches
You can find out if your council collects recycling and how to recycle your household waste by visiting www.gov.uk/recycling-collections.