New bins are coming to homes across teh Uk and there are restrictions on what goes in them
New recycling rules for England by the end of March mean every home will have four bins in a bid to increase recycling rates – but there is a list of 37 items you won’t be able to throw away. Anyone breaking the rules faces fines of £400 as the Government tries to increase recycling rates to 65 per cent and reduce the amount of rubbish going to landfill.
Under the Simpler Recycling initiative, officials from the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs say: “We will make recycling easier: citizens will be able to recycle the same materials across England, whether at home, work or school, and will no longer need to check what is accepted for recycling in their local area. A universal standard will ensure that everything that can be collected for household recycling is collected in every region.
“Simpler Recycling will also end the ‘postcode lottery’ of bin collections in England, whereby councils collect different materials for recycling, causing confusion for households.”
There are six categories of things which must not be put into recycling, making up 37 types of waste – but you will still be able to recycle most of them if you know how, experts say.
The ‘bin banned’ items are:
Glass
- candles
- drinking glasses
- flat glass
- glass cookware (such as Pyrex)
- light bulbs and tubes
- microwave plates
- mirrors
- vases
- window glass
- ceramics, such as crockery or earthenware
Metal
- laminated foil, like pet food pouches and coffee pouches
- electrical items and batteries
- general kitchenware like cutlery, pots and pans
- kettles
- irons
- pipes
- metal packaging that has contained white spirits, paints, engine oils or antifreeze
Plastic
- any plastic packaging or non-packaging items labelled as ‘compostable’ or ‘biodegradable’, including coffee pods
- plastic bottles that have contained white spirits, paints, engine oils or antifreeze
- bulky rigid plastics such as garden furniture, bins and plastic toys
- polystyrene (expanded and high impact) packaging such as packing beads
- polyvinyl chloride (PVC) packaging
Paper and card
- food and drinks cartons made of a fibre-based composite (these should be collected in the plastic stream)
- absorbent hygiene products (AHPs) including nappies, period products and incontinence products
- cotton wool or makeup pads
- tissue or toilet paper
- wet wipes
Food waste
Any plastic packaging or non-packaging items labelled as ‘compostable’ or ‘biodegradable’, including some coffee pods.
Garden waste
- animal bedding
- bulky waste (including garden furniture and fencing)
- garden tools or other gardening equipment
- plant pots
- plastic
- sand
- sawdust
- stone, gravel or bricks
- tea bags or coffee grounds
- branches and trees over a certain size may have to be cut into smaller pieces
Matthew Derry at Aston University said: ” New rules will ask people to stop ‘over-recycling’ and to be more careful about what they put in their recycling bins. This is to reduce the amount of dirty waste that goes to processing centres and landfills. Many commonly recycled items either need specialist recycling treatment or are so contaminated that they cannot be processed properly. Think toothpaste tubes, takeaway packaging and juice cartons. So if you’re sticking these items in the recycling bin or box, you might want to rethink how you’re disposing of them.”
But Matthew said there are ways of recycling items that can’t go in the new bins, he said: ” Crisp packets, for example, cannot typically be recycled via household collections. This is because they require complex processes to break them down because they are made of multiple layers of plastic and metallic. Instead, you’re advised to take them to your local supermarket as most chains now allow customers to recycle crisp packets and soft plastics at larger superstores.
“As with crisp packets and soft plastics, things such as pet food pouches can be recycled too but again not typically via your household collections – instead, these can often go to larger supermarkets for recycling.
“Most greasy plastic takeaway packaging can be recycled, too. But it’s a good idea to rinse them to avoid contamination during the recycling process (and to stop your bin smelling in between collections).
“Perhaps the biggest problem is with greasy pizza boxes. Due to the way that paper and cardboard are recycled, it’s much more difficult to remove contamination from food, so it’s often best to throw contaminated pizza boxes in the general waste bin. You could always cut off the lid of the pizza box and recycle that.”
He told The Conversation ” Although it definitely isn’t a case of the more the merrier when it comes to recycling, the better we are as a society at dealing with our waste and not just sending it to landfill, the better our air and environment will be for us and future generations.”
Looking at the list, much of it can be recycled if you take it to the correct place. All glass, metal and plastic as well as small electrical items like kettles can be taken to your local tip and placed into the correct containers even if it is on the ‘bin banned’ list. Many large shops now have collection points for soft plastics like bags, clean food pouches and packaging, as well as bins for used batteries and used coffee pods.
In terms of garden waste – food waste can go into your food waste bin or compost, many authoritiies collect garden waste like grass cuttings and branches and other waste can be taken to your tip – although some have limited and charges on things like sand, bricks and gravel which may qualify as ‘DIY waste’ – so you may be asked to pay.
The rest of the list – nappies, wet wipes, period products, cotton wool and tissues – will have to go in your general non-recyclable waste bin.
