Understanding Symbols for a Better Future
Recycled
Recycled
Recycling, recovery and reprocessing of waste materials for use in new products. The basic phases in recycling are the collection of waste materials, their processing or manufacture into new products, and the purchase of those products, which may then themselves be recycled
What can be recycled?
Glass:
- Bottles such as wine bottles, jam jars, sauce and spice bottles and plain drinking glasses
- Jars must be clean inside, replace lids, if possible. It does not matter if they have labels on them.
The following cannot be recycled
- Cups and saucers, oven ware, ceramic ware, mirror glass, fluorescent tubes, light bulbs, windscreens, car lights, window panes, laboratory glass and wire reinforced glass
- Light bulbs etc can be deposited in bins outside various supermarkets/hardware stores.
Cans:
- Beverage cans, such as cool drink and beer cans.
- Food cans but they need to be clean. Labels do not need to be removed.
- Aerosol cans.
- Paint cans
Paper & cardboard:
- Office paper: Includes printer paper, writing paper, schoolbooks, envelopes.
- Cardboard: Includes cardboard boxes, cereal boxes, cardboard dividers, egg boxes, toilet roll inners, any other cardboard packaging
- Newspapers
- Magazines & flyers
- Books: reading books, phone books, old school books, etc.
(Books that are still in good condition can be donated) - Long Life Cartons: drain or rinse if used for milk and juice
The following cannot be recycled
- Plasticized paper, laminated paper
- Photographs and overheads
- Waxed and grease proof paper
- Carbon paper
- Adhesive Tape
- Tissues and serviettes for hygienic reasons
Plastic:
Most kinds of plastic. Here are some examples:
- Most plastic containers such as cool drink and water bottles, cleaning product bottles, milk bottles, yoghurt pots, margarine and ice cream tubs (usually numbers 1, 2, or 5)
- Soft plastic bags and packaging
- Cling wrap, pallet wrap and bubble wrap
- Crackly shopping bags
- Chunky, white polystyrene (such as used to package electronic items)
- Plastic items such as garden chairs, buckets, flower pots.
- Some trays used to package fruit and vegetables (but not if made of PET or black polystyrene)
The following cannot be recycled
- Black soft plastic
- Black rigid trays
- Black polystyrene trays
- White polystyrene trays, containers, cups
- Plastic trays made from PET (marked with ‘1’ in the triangle)
- Plastic contaminated with oil, paint or glue, or plastic bonded with paper such as laminated paper
- Plastic items containing metal parts (like screws) which cannot easily be removed
- Chip packets, tea bag wrap and many biscuit wrappers
Other items that can be recycled:
- Clothing
- Used printer cartridges
- Large batteries, e.g. those from gate motors, alarm systems
- Electronic Waste: Any broken electrical equipment such as irons, microwaves, washing machines or computer equipment
- Aluminium foil, e.g. Pie plates, some yoghurt seals, foil food wrap
- Any craft materials such as wool, cotton, material scraps, beads, greeting cards, etc.
- Used cooking oil for manufacturing bio fuel. (Please put in a screw top, plastic bottle any size and ensure it is closed tightly as a leak will contaminate the rest of your recycling)
- Old X-Rays
- Any office stationery that can be reused, e.g. lever arch files, file dividers, storage containers
The following cannot be recycled
- Cassette and video tapes
- Domestic batteries such as torch batteries (these can be deposited to safe disposal at some shopping centres)
- Rubber
- Vinyl
- Items made from mixed plastics and/or other materials, e.g. toothbrushes, pens, some toys
- Wooden items (unless in the form of office shelving ☺)