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What
Thanks to a rubbish combo of limited landfill space, a lack of infrastructure and changing relationships with Europe and the rest of the world, Britain is facing a big deficit between the waste we create and our capacity to deal with it.
The good news is, recycling rates are on the up. In 2017, 70.2% of the UK’s packaging waste was either recycled or recovered (compared to 64.7% in 2015!).1
Although there’s still a fair bit of confusion about what can and can’t be recycled, and even whether our recycling ends up where it’s meant to, it’s still absolutely imperative that we stick to our good recycling habits.
Check out what waste your council recycles and get going. You’ll help prevent the need for new landfills and make sure recycling behaviour becomes the norm across the land!
Why
With landfill taxes on the up and council budgets in tight demand, recycling your waste is a great way to help your council save money for the things that really need it - like libraries and local transport.
A word to the wise: do a bit of research to check what you can and can’t put in the recycling. Otherwise, there’s a small risk you might actually end up costing your council more!
How
When it comes to doing your recycling, a little bit of knowledge goes a long way. Here are a few tips to help you perform at the top of your recycling game:
1 - Check RecycleNow to find out what kind of recycling your council collects. Their handy postcode search tool provides all the waste-sorting info you could ever dream of.
2 - It’s important to give all those empty jars of peanut butter and tinned tomatoes a quick wash before you put them in the recycling. This helps reduce the workload at a recycling plant, and lowers the risk of contaminating a batch of recycling.
3 - Black? Clear? Bags? Recycling different types of plastics can be a bit confusing. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way. This helpful ‘at a glance’ guide to packaging and plastic symbols will take your recycling to the next level.
4 - Don’t forget the bathroom! Shampoos, conditioners, shower gels, deodorants… if everyone in the UK recycled one bathroom cleaner bottle, it’d save enough energy to vacuum 82,460 homes.4 Here’s how to get your bathroom recycling up to scratch.
5 - Is everyone in your house doing their bit to recycle? Statistics show that women recycle more than men6… so here are a few more hints and tips to make sure everyone feels up to the job.
