Do you know what you CAN recycle? Do you feel good when you take your coffee cup to a recycling point? What other things are you mistakenly recycling? Camden Council report that large loads are being rejected because some of the items in them aren’t recyclable.
The amount of household rubbish being rejected for recycling in England has increased by 84% over the past four years, government figures show.
A BBC Freedom of Information request found councils were unable to recycle 338,000 tonnes of waste in 2014-15 – up from about 184,000 tonnes in 2011-12.
But Department for Environment data shows recycled waste in the period rose from 10.7m to 11m tonnes a year.
Councils say they are working to stop people putting the wrong items in bins. The cost to local authorities of re-sorting so-called contaminated recycle bins is said to be the primary reason the vast majority of the waste is being rejected.
The Freedom of Information Request by BBC Breakfast found 97% of the rejected rubbish was incinerated or sent to landfill in 2013-14 – the most recent year for which such figures were available.
Just over 173,000 tonnes of rejected waste was incinerated or sent to landfill in 2011-12, with the figure rising to 270,000 tonnes two years later.
There is a mandatory requirement on local authorities to provide information on recycling to the government.
Statistics show about 45% of household waste is currently recycled. There is an EU target for the UK to recycle at least 50% by 2020 – let’s hope after Brexit we don’t lose sight of that target.
So, what can be recycled?
Yes: (but check your individual council’s policy as they vary)
Paper: cardboard boxes, newspapers, magazines, envelopes, junk mail, food and drink cartons including Tetra Pak
Plastic: margarine and ice cream tubs, yogurt pots, fruit punnets and ready meal trays
Bottles: drink, shampoo and detergent bottles
Tins and cans: both steel and aluminium, as well as aerosols
Kitchen foil and foil trays
Glass: all colours but no broken glass or ovenware
No:
Tissue and kitchen roll
Plastic wrap, cling film, bubble wrap and plastic bags
Coffee cups
Plastic and paper contaminated with food – including grease-stained pizza boxes and paper food plates
Crisp packets and sweet wrappers
Polystyrene
Nappies
Soft plastic / metallic packaging like pet food pouches
What can be collected from households varies between councils.
Many other items including textiles, electronics, plastic bags and batteries can also be recycled at designated centres and some supermarkets.
Taken from the London Diocesan Environment and Sustainability Newsletter
No, you CAN’T………. ………recycle your coffee cup!