To recycle, or not to recycle (and how) - an A-Z guide

Examples: Cereal boxes, delivery boxes, egg boxes, cardboard sleeves, corrugated cardboard, and cardboard tubes.

Please remember: Please flatten before recycling. and remove plastic inserts, polystyrene and tape. If cardboard in contaminated with food or liquid, please put in in your refuse bin.

Hints and tips: Flatten them before putting them in your bin to save space.

Cardboard egg boxes belong with your RECYCLING.

Examples: Cereal boxes, delivery boxes, egg boxes, cardboard sleeves, corrugated cardboard, and cardboard tubes.

Please remember: Please flatten before recycling. and remove plastic inserts, polystyrene and tape. If cardboard in contaminated with food or liquid, please put in in your refuse bin.

Hints and tips: Flatten them before putting them in your bin to save space.

Cardboard sandwich boxes belong in your REFUSE bin.

Examples: Meal Deal sandwich box

Please Remember: Leftover food can make other recyclables dirty, so please empty them before recycling.

Hints and Tips: Why not make your sandwiches at home and use a reusable lunch box? It will save you money and reduce your waste!!

Fact: ‘Lunch on the go’ habit generates 11 billion items of packaging waste every year.

Cardboard sandwich boxes belong in your REFUSE bin.

Examples: Meal Deal sandwich box

Please Remember: Leftover food can make other recyclables dirty, so please empty them before recycling.

Hints and Tips: Why not make your sandwiches at home and use a reusable lunch box? It will save you money and reduce your waste!!

Fact: ‘Lunch on the go’ habit generates 11 billion items of packaging waste every year.

Cardboard tubes belong with your RECYCLING.

Examples: Inner tubes from toilet rolls and wrapping paper

Hits and Tips: Keep a recycling bin or bag in the bathroom to remind you to recycle your bottles and toilet roll tubes

Cat litter belongs in your REFUSE bin.

Please remember: Cat litter and other pet waste must always go in your refuse bin, and must be bagged. There are some which claim to be 'biodegradable' or 'compostable' so may be able to go in your home compost, however please check their labelling for information on home composting, and do not put the waste in food pods, garden waste bins or recycling.

Ceramics belong in your REFUSE bin.

Examples: China plates, bowls, and dishes.

Please Remember: If they are in good condition, please donate them.

Fake Christmas trees belong in your REFUSE bin or at your local RECYCLING CENTRE.

Please Remember: Please remember to check recycling centre opening times before going, and remember to remove all decorations before disposal.  Don’t forget broken lights can be recycled at the centre too!!

Hints and Tips: Click Here to see a comparison of real and fake Christmas trees. Don’t forget broken lights can be recycled at your local Recycling Centre.

Fact: It’s said that they would need to be kept for over 10 years to be more environmentally friendly than a real tree. They are non-recyclable and will therefore end up in landfill or being incinerated. So if you won’t use it for 10 years, consider buying a real tree, making your own, or use a growing one.

Real Christmas trees should be left out for the COUNCIL TO COLLECT.

Real Christmas Trees should be left out next to your bins for collection on a week B.  Real trees will be collected regardless of subscription to the garden waste service.

Please Remember: Please remove all lights, decorations, and stands before leaving it out, otherwise it will not be collected.

Hints and Tips: Click Here to see a comparison of real and fake Christmas trees.

Fact: When one is cut down, 3 are generally grown in its place. They are biodegradable and if disposed of correctly, they can be recycled into mulch. If they are not disposed of correctly, it could rot in landfill, releasing methane gas, releasing the emissions they have absorbed over their lifetime.

Cleaner and detergent bottles belong with your RECYCLING.

Examples: Washing up liquid bottles, cleaning sprays, and bleach bottles.

Please Remember: Please rinse them out before recycling as left-over liquid can make other recyclables dirty. Lids and labels can be left on.

Facts:

• Plastic rubbish in the British countryside kills thousands of land animals every year.
• Enough plastic bottles are tossed each year to circle the planet five times.
• Recycling a single plastic bottle will save enough energy to power a lightbulb for three hours or more.
• More than 15% of the money we spend on products pays for packaging – most of which goes straight in the bin.
• 8 million tonnes of the world’s plastics end up in our oceans each year, creating a waste patch three times the size of France.

Coffee pods and capsules - refer to label

Examples: Nespresso coffee capsules

Please remember:

• Nespresso, Nescafé Dolce Gusto and Tassimo machines - check Podback to see if you can use their recycling collection service.
• Aluminium pods from Hotel Chocolat or Nespresso - the Podcycler can help you clean them so you can put them in your home recycling bin.
• Other brands - check the TerraCycle recycling scheme.
• Coffee pods cannot go in your home food waste or garden waste bins (find out why). If the label suggests they can, report it to us.

Check the label: If it's compostable plastic, you can put the pods in your home composting.

Hints and Tips: Why not switch to refillable pods or instant coffee? If you are sticking with your pods, please find out how and where you can recycle them.

Fact: Around 39,000 are produced EVERY MINUTE globally, with 29,000 of these going to landfill.