One Bag a Week only refers to non-recyclable rubbish - you can put out as many clear recycling sacks as you like.
Many of the everyday things households throw away tend to be food or food-related. We’ll come to food itself in a moment, but first, let’s think about food packaging. The first bit of good news is that almost all of it’s recyclable from home:
- Glass bottles and jars
- Cardboard boxes, cartons and egg trays
- Plastic pots, bottles, tubs and trays
- Metal cans and tins
- Food and drink cartons (Tetrapaks)
The second bit of good news is that many of the non-recyclable materials, such as plastic film and foil sheets or trays, can be scrunched up so they take up less space in your one bag a week!
Tips to take your recycling to the next level
Keep your recycling separate
By far the easiest way to recycle effectively is to have separate containers in your kitchen for recyclable and non-recyclable waste. You could put recycling straight into your clear recycling sack, or if space is an issue, a smaller bag hung on a door could work, before transferring to your clear sack for collection. Either way, having separate containers will get you into the habit of recycling much more easily than trying to separate out different items from the same container.
Rinse out food and drink packaging
Clean recycling means your clear sacks won’t smell of food, so foxes and other wildlife won’t be tempted to tear the bags open and make a mess. It also reduces the risk of food and drink leftovers spoiling other recycling. It’s not necessary to make sure everything’s absolutely spotless (no need to put recycling in the dishwasher!), but a good rinse will go a long way.
Lids can also be recycled
Please squeeze plastic bottles to get rid of as much air as possible and then put the lid back on. Metal lids from glass bottles and jars should go in your clear sack separately.
Recycle all around the home
It’s not just food and drink packaging that’s recyclable. Many bathroom and cleaning products come in recyclable plastic bottles, and of course newspapers, magazines, envelopes, and the dreaded junk mail are also easily recycled.