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

Disposable nappies belong in your REFUSE bin.

Please Remember: If they do not fit in your refuse bin, you can purchase nappy sacks from Council offices and selected Libraries to be put out next to your refuse bin. Please note that only these sacks with the council logo will be collected.

Hints and Tips: Why not try 'real' nappies? Three Rivers Council along with WasteAware have lots of information about where to get them, how to use them, and support groups.

Facts:

• Did you know 14% of landfill is disposable nappies and they take around 500 years to break down.
• Babies go through 8,000 disposable nappies on average, alternatively people could use just 20 reusable ones.
• Most single-use nappies are about 50% plastic and 50% wood pulp.
• In the UK alone, we throw away around 400,000 tonnes of single-use nappies. And coffee cups? Just 25,000 tonnes.

Drink cans belong with your RECYCLING.

Examples: Fizzy drink and beer cans.

Please Remember: Lids can be left on, but any left-over liquid or food can make other recyclables dirty. Please empty your containers before recycling. It does not need to be spotless, a quick rinse will do.

Facts:

• Recycling an aluminium can saves 95% of the energy needed to make a new one.
• Recycling a single aluminium can will save enough energy to power a TV for up to three hours.
• Cans are easy to recycle, each recycled can, could be back on shelves within 60 days.
• Recycling just one tonne of aluminium saves up to 9 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Drinking glasses and vases belong in your REFUSE bin.

Examples: Wine glasses or pint glasses.

Please Remember: Put broken glasses in a bag, box or wrap them up to prevent possible injury as a result of broken glass. Please also donate drinking glasses in good condition.

Electrical items belong at your local RECYCLING CENTRE or in a SMALL DOMESTIC APPLIANCE BANK.

Examples: Phones, portable chargers, game consoles, TVs, laptops, irons, kettles, hair straighteners, christmas tree lights, and handheld electronic devices.

Please Remember: Please repair, reuse, and donate these items where possible instead of discarding them, your old devices could even make you some money if you sell them on. Please find more information about repairing your electronic devices here. These items can be disposed of at a recycling centre or in a small domestic appliance bank.

Facts:

• According to the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), 25% of our WEEE waste could be repaired and re-used.
• Most of the 2 million TV sets discarded each year end up in UK landfill sites, despite being accepted at many recycling centres across the country.
• We generate around 40 million tons of electronic waste every year, worldwide. That’s like throwing 800 laptops every second.
• E-waste comprises 70% of our overall toxic waste, and 85% of our E-Waste are sent to landfills and incinerators are mostly burned, and release harmful toxins in the air!

Watch the link below to find out what happens when you put your electrical items in the recycling containers at HWRCs

https://youtu.be/EeFKlKPV5Ls

Envelopes (including windows) belong with your RECYCLING.

Examples: Brown or white paper envelopes.

Please Remember: Windows can be left in the envelope. Envelopes with padding must go in your refuse bin.

Hints and Tips: Try to reduce their use, and reuse them where possible.

Flower pots belong with your RECYCLING.

Examples: Plastic plant pots. ceramic ones should be put in your refuse bin.

Please Remember: Please remove plants before recycling, the plants belong in the garden waste bin.

Foil trays belong with your RECYCLING.

Examples: Pie trays, take-away trays, and disposable BBQ trays.

Please Remember: Left-over liquid or food residue can contaminate other recyclables so please empty your containers. It does not need to be spotless, a quick rinse will do. Any disposable BBQ trays must be completely cool with any coal/ash removed before adding to your recycling container. Douse with cold water then leave overnight to cool completely.

Hints and Tips: Why not ask if your local take-away will put your food in your own reusable container?

Food and drink cartons belong with your RECYCLING.

Examples: Soup, milk, or juice cartons.

Please Remember: Leftover liquid or food residue can contaminate other recyclables so please empty and rinse your containers. It does not need to be spotless, a quick rinse will do.

Hints and Tips: Why not try a local milkman to deliver your milk in reusable glass bottles?

Food tins belong with your RECYCLING.

Examples: Baked bean, rice pudding, and tinned fruit cans.

Please Remember: Lids and labels can be left on, but leftover liquid or food residue can make other recyclables dirty, so please empty and rinse your containers before recycling. It does not need to be spotless, a quick rinse will do.

Facts:

• Recycling an aluminium can saves 95% of the energy needed to make a new one.
• Recycling a single aluminium can will save enough energy to power a TV for up to three hours.
• Cans are easy to recycle, each recycled can, could be back on shelves within 60 days.
• Recycling just one tonne of aluminium saves up to 9 tonnes of CO2 emissions.

Food waste belong in your FOOD WASTE POD.

Examples: Vegetable and fruit peelings, bones, meat, out of date produce, tea bags, or egg shells.

Please Remember: Food waste contaminates your recycling, and therefore will not be emptied if it contains food.

Hints and Tips: https://www.lovefoodhatewaste.com/

Facts:

• Recycling everything you could in your kitchen, could power a TV for six months, plenty of time to watch GOT!
• UK households create 7million tonnes of food waste each year, that’s a kilo of food for every person on the plant. This equates to £7.5billion worth of food waste.
• It is believed that 50% of all food waste is still edible, and could be ‘recycled’ through food banks, charities, and making animal feed.

Garden Waste belongs in your GARDEN WASTE bin.

https://www.threerivers.gov.uk/egcl-page/brown-bins

Examples: Grass cuttings, wood prunings, dead flowers. Please do not put any garden toys, soil, carrier bags, food waste, or cardboard in this bin.

Please Remember: This is a chargeable service.

Hints and Tips: Why not try home composting instead, this will take care of your food and garden waste, and you will benefit from nutritious fertiliser for your garden.

Order a garden waste bin