We can now recycle more at home than ever before in Surrey. But with lots of contradicting information online, on the news and printed on product packaging, keeping track of recycling do’s and don’ts can be confusing.
The good news is that we’re here to help you get the most out of your recycling bin! The Surrey Environment Partnership (SEP) is proud to support this year’s Recycle Week campaign, created by WRAP.
From familiar everyday items to those you might not realise can be recycled, there are more opportunities than ever to rescue items from the rubbish and give them a new lease of life.
Make a start this Recycle Week by recycling these everyday items:
- Aluminium foil: ensure your foil is clean and free from any food or grease, then scrunch it into a ball no smaller than a tennis ball and pop it in your mixed recycling bin.
- Shampoo bottles: empty and rinse before placing in your mixed recycling bin. Pumps should always be removed and disposed of separately in your rubbish bin. Did you know, we get through over 35 million plastic bottles a day in the UK?
- Yoghurt pots: all plastic pots, tubs and trays can be recycled in Surrey. Empty and clean them and remember to remove any film lids and dispose of them separately in your rubbish bin or take them to your local supermarket recycling point.
- Plastic trigger sprays: simply rinse the bottle and reattach the trigger before placing in your recycling bin.
- Aerosol cans: always make sure your aerosol cans are completely empty and never pierce, crush or flatten them before putting them in your recycling bin. Full or partially full aerosols can be recycled at your local community recycling centre. Recycling just one deodorant can could save enough energy to charge your phone over forty times!
- Perfume bottles: if your bottle is made entirely of glass, just empty and rinse it and pop it straight into your mixed recycling bin (or separate glass bin if you live in Epsom and Ewell). If it contains metal or plastic parts (like pumps or springs), please put it in your rubbish bin.
- Toothpaste tubes: empty as much of the product as possible, pop the lid back on and place the tube into your mixed recycling bin, alongside everything you already recycle.
- Toilet roll tubes: you can dispose of toilet roll and kitchen roll tubes in your mixed recycling bin alongside your other paper and cardboard. They can also be composted at home! Recycled toilet tubes can become egg cartons, tissue boxes, and even notebooks. Don’t let them end up in the bin!
- Inedible food waste: fruit and vegetable peelings, tea bags, coffee grounds, meat bones and eggshells are all considered inedible food waste. Pop them directly in your food waste bin, ready for recycling.
Catherine David, CEO, WRAP: “Recycling is one of the easiest ways we can all help to divert millions of tonnes of waste from landfill and incineration, conserve scarce natural resources and cut carbon emissions. Each year millions of shampoo bottles, aluminium foil, toothpaste tubes and other recycling are binned when they could be recycled, so this Recycle Week we’re asking people to be a hero at home and rescue more recycling. Together with local authorities and communities, we’re making it easier to keep these valuable materials in use and give our recycling a second life.”
To find how to dispose of an item correctly where you live, visit our online search tool and for more hints and tips throughout Recycle Week, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.