What must I recycle from home?

The following items must be put in your orange recycling sack or shared recycling bin.

Paper and cardboard

All paper, cardboard, catalogues, directories and Yellow Pages. We now also accept food and drink cartons including Tetra Pak.
(please flatten all boxes)

Glass bottles and jars

All glass bottles and jars (please rinse). No broken glass please.

Cans and tins

All drinks and food cans and aerosols (please rinse tins and ensure aerosols are empty)

Plastic bottles and plastic pots, tubs and trays

Plastic bottles, pots tubs and trays including margarine tubs, yoghurt pots and any other types of plastic food containers (please rinse and remove film).

Cartons (Tetra Pak) 

All food and drink cartons (Please rinse and flatten).

What can't I recycle from home?

The following items must not be put in your orange recycling sack or green recycling bin.

• Plastic bags - these can cause problems at the Materials recovery Facility (MRF), as they become tangled in the sorting machinery. The orange sacks we deliver are very thin and are designed to be torn open and removed in the bag-splitter at the first stage of the sorting process.
• Pyrex, or window glass - at present all glass is recycled as aggregate; however our aim is to recycle it back into new bottles and jars as this is more carbon friendly. Unfortunately, pyrex and window glass are not suitable for this purpose as they only melt at much higher temperatures.
• Foil, bottle tops or yoghurt pot lids - bottle tops and foil cause problems by falling through the machinery during the sorting process at the MRF. This can result in the contamination of other materials.
• Shredded paper - becomes tangled in the sorting machinery at the MRF. Please only shred personal information. Shredded paper can be used as pet bedding or placed into compost bins. Otherwise place it into your refuse bin from where it will be used to generate electricity.
• Chemical containers or batteries - these are classed as hazardous waste and can pose a risk to human health and the environment. They need to be disposed of separately (see also reuse and recycling centres)
• Soil or rubble - cannot be separated from other recyclables at the MRF and consequently contaminates the other materials. Rubble can cause expensive damage to the machinery.
• Paint - spilt paint will contaminate paper waste.
• Polystyrene - as it passes through the sorting machinery it smashes into thousands of seperate beads and causes a litter problem as well as potentially clogging up equipment.
• Textiles - clothing and textiles end up getting covered in food residues from packaging which makes them unusable (see Reuse and recycling centres and On-street recycling banks)
• Electrical items - the plant is not designed to handle electricals and they can damage machinery. When cables get entwined in the equipment they can cause an emergency shutdown.
• Light bulbs - Energy efficient lightbulbs contain small amounts of mercury which will build up at the MRF (Materials Recovery Facility) as they smash. You can recycle then safely at our Reuse and Recycling Centres.
• Plastic film - Unfortunately, film is often contaminated with dirt and grease and can clog up the machinery at the MRF.
• Small plastic lids - Due to their size, they fall through the sorting machinery and potentially contaminate other materials.
• Food soiled boxes - Greasy paper cannot be successfully recycled.