What to do with “non-recyclable” items
More information on what to do with these items.
Household Plastic Packaging
| Item | Reason | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|
|
Black plastic
|
Optical sorting equipment at MRF cannot recognise the colour |
Please dispose of in black/grey bin
|
|
Crisp wrappers & sweet packets
|
Composite materials that can’t be separated |
|
|
Cling film & film lids from pots or trays
|
Often made from a type of plastic that cannot be recycled and causes issues with sorting process |
Use local supermarket collection points.
|
|
Laminated pouches (i.e. cat/dog food)
|
Composite materials that can’t be separated |
|
|
Medicine blister packs
|
Composite materials that can’t be separated |
Please dispose of in black/grey bin
|
|
Plastic toys
|
Often made of a type of plastic that cannot be recycled and causes issues with sorting process | Take to Household Recycling Centre, charity shop or offer for reuse online |
|
Toothpaste tubes
|
Cannot clean out tubes sufficiently | Please dispose of in black/grey bin. Cardboard outers can be recycled |
|
Expanded polystyrene
|
No viable recycling method |
Please dispose of in black/grey bin
|
|
Plastic bottles containing chemicals
|
Potentially dangerous | Check manufacturer’s instructions |
|
Compostable bags/liners
|
Not designed to be recycled | Home composting |
|
Carrier bags/plastic wrapping from bread etc
|
Difficult for hand sorting staff to identify contents & binds up recycling process | Use local supermarket collection points |
|
Bubble wrap
|
Difficult to recycle | Offer for reuse or put in black/grey bin |
Household Metal Packaging
| Item | Reason | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|
| Metal items (i.e. pans, cutlery & pipes) | Sorting equipment not set up to deal with these materials | Take to Household Recycling Centre, charity shop or offer for reuse online |
| Electrical items (i.e. kettles, irons) | Must be dealt with separately due to various materials | Take to Household Recycling Centre, charity shop or offer for reuse if still working. Electrical shops offer take back scheme. |
| Batteries | Must be dealt with separately due to hazardous materials |
Take to Household Recycling Centre or shops for recycling. Do not put in your black or green bin
|
| Coffee pods | Composite materials & can’t be separated |
There are also recycling points in part of Wychavon |
| Laminated pouches (i.e. cat/dog food) | Composite materials & can’t be separated |
|
| Crisp packets & sweet wrappers | Composite materials & can’t be separated |
|
Mixed glass bottles and jars
| Item | Reason | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|
|
Glass cookware Drinking glasses Glass vases Ceramics Mirrors Window glass
|
Need a different temperature to melt glass down |
Take to reuse container at the Household Recycling Centre, charity shop or offer for reuse online.
If broken please put in black/grey bin, but wrapped in newspaper or dispose of in waste to landfill skip at the Household Recycling Centre |
| Light bulbs & fluorescent tubes | Contain metal and need different temperature to melt glass. May also contain hazardous materials | Take to Household Recycling Centre for recycling |
|
Nail varnish bottles
|
Difficult to remove contents | Please dispose of in black/grey bin |
Mixed paper and card
| Items | Reason | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|
| Shiny or glittery paper & cards | The glitter & foil can cause issues with the recycling process – to check if the paper is recyclable or not do the “scrunch test”. If the paper springs back when you scrunch it, it cannot be recycled |
Avoid buying these types of products. Otherwise please dispose of in black/grey bin. Backs of cards with glitter on can be ripped off & recycled or used as note paper
|
| Tissues & kitchen roll | Generally contain bodily fluids or food. Tissue paper is at the end of its life and fibres are too short to knit back together to make paper. Also, they tend to disintegrate prior to the recycling process |
Please dispose of in black/grey bin Kitchen roll that has not been contaminated with meat/diary i.e. used to wipe up water, can be put into a compost bin
|
| Wet wipes | Not designed to be recycled, although some are now being marketed as “biodegradable”, but still not able to recycle/compost |
Please dispose of in black/grey bin. Do not flush down the toilet. Try using reusable fabric wipes
|
| Sanitary products & nappies | Not designed to be recycled as have many layers of plastics/paper |
Please dispose of in black/grey bin. Consider alternatives such as Mooncups, Reusable Menstrual Products or reusable nappies
|
| Sticky notes/labels |
The sticky stuff prevents the paper from being recycled as it binds the fibres
|
Please dispose of in black/grey bin |
| Shredded paper | Messy and fibres are cut short so cannot be put back together to make paper. |
Put any shredded paper into an envelope or cardboard box. Use as pet bedding or put into compost bin to add “browns”
|
Cartons
| Items | Reason | What to do with it |
|---|---|---|
| Laminated plastic food/drink pouches (baby food, cat/dog food) | Composite materials that can’t be separated |
|
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