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October 2022 - Food

More than eight in 10 households are contaminating their recycling unintentionally: A survey by Recycle Now has found that despite their best intentions, over 84% of households are making mistakes when recycling, causing their recycling to become contaminated with one or more prohibited items.

Not being fully in the know about which packaging can be collected for recycling, the research which polled 3,000 people in the UK, found that over a third of respondents believe that drinking glasses can be recycled, while other items included plastic film lids (off ready meals), foil pouches and empty tubes of toothpaste.

Also revealed by the research was that eight in 10 people (80%) are throwing items away in their general waste that could in fact be recycled, including glass perfume and aftershave bottles -- the top item being missed with 52% missing the opportunity.  Other items people were failing to recycle included tin foil (27%), aerosols (22%) and plastic food trays.

Wrap has now launched an online recycling tracker which allows UK residents to find out what can be recycled in their area. All people have to do is put in their postcode to get the information they need.

Wrap recycling expert, Helen Bird, said:

“We save 18 million tonnes of CO2 every year by recycling – the same environmental impact as taking 12 million cars off the road.

“Contaminants affect the quality of the recycling, its value and in extreme cases mean that the recycling has to be disposed of rather than recycled.”

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