What happens to your waste
You can find out more about what happens to your waste by selecting the material types below.
Mixed recycling
Glass
After being collected from your recycling bin, your glass is transported to a sorting facility, where it is separated from other recyclable materials like paper, cardboard, tins, cans and plastic.
The glass is then taken to a reprocessing facility where it is sorted by colour and crushed into small pieces called cullet. The cullet is then melted at 1500°C and other ingredients are added. This liquid is then divided and can be blown or pressed into new bottles or jars. Other types of glass such as Pyrex, glass ovenware or wine glasses, flutes, tumblers, window panes and mirror glass melt at a different temperature to glass bottles and jars, so can’t be recycled in the same way.
Paper and card
After being collected from your recycling bin, your paper and card is transported to a sorting facility, where it is separated from other recyclable materials like tins, cans, plastic and glass.
Your paper and card is then taken to a paper mill where it is turned into pulp with water and chemicals, to separate the fibres. Only clean paper and card can be recycled as grease from food, such as pizza boxes, makes it difficult to separate the fibres when they are pulped. Each time paper fibres are recycled they get shorter making lower quality paper, which is why tissues and paper towels, which have short fibres, can’t be recycled again.
The pulp is sprayed onto a fast moving mesh to form sheets. The sheets are flattened and passed through heated rollers to make them the right thickness. The paper is then wound onto large rolls.
Paper mills make a variety of papers from different recycled materials including; newspapers, cardboard boxes, writing paper, toilet rolls and tissue paper. In only seven days your newspaper could be recycled and made into next week’s newspaper.
Plastics
Once your plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays have been recycled they could become a picnic bench, football shirt or children’s toy. After being collected from your recycling bin, your plastics are transported to a sorting facility, where they are separated from other recyclable materials like paper, cardboard, tins, cans and glass.
The plastics are then taken to a reprocessing facility where they are cleaned and sorted by plastic type and colour. They are then either melted down directly and moulded into a new shape, or shredded into flakes first and then melted down before being processed into granulates, ready to be used again.
Not all things made from plastic can be recycled, even if they are made from the same type of plastic as recyclable items (shown by the recycling numbers on plastics). You can check if an item is recyclable where you live by using the search tool. Non recyclable plastics can contaminate recycling, so should be disposed of as rubbish.
Tins and cans
Food tins and drinks cans are made from steel or aluminium. Both of these items can be turned into new tins and cans again and again without any loss of quality. After being collected from your recycling bin, your tins and cans are transported to a sorting facility, where they are separated from other recyclable materials like paper, cardboard, plastic and glass. The metal types are then separated by magnets.
Aluminium items are then taken to a reprocessing facility where they are shredded into small pieces and heated to over 750°C. The molten metal is poured into moulds, cooled with water and rolled into very thin sheets, ready to be made into new items.
Steel items are put into a furnace where molten iron is added. Oxygen is then blasted into the furnace which heats up to around 1700°C. The liquid metal is poured into a mould forming slabs which are then rolled into coils. These coils are used to make steel products such as bikes, cars, bridges, paperclips as well as new food and drink cans.
Food waste
After it is collected food waste is taken to an anaerobic digestion (AD) facility. Here the liners are removed and sent to an energy from waste plant and turned into electricity.
Through AD, micro-organisms break down the food waste producing biogas, which is collected and used to generate electricity, heat and transport fuel. The leftover material also creates biofertiliser that can be used in farming and land regeneration.
Garden waste
After being collected, anything that can’t be composted is removed from your garden waste, which is then shredded and laid out in a long line. It decomposes and, once it has broken down, is used as compost, which helps plants grow or soil conditioner, which improves soil.
Clothes and home textiles
After being collected, clothes that can be worn again are separated from the rest of the material and are passed on to be re-worn in the UK or across the world. What’s left is then turned into products like insulation, felt and stuffing.
Electricals
After being collected, electricals are taken to a reprocessing plant where they are shredded into small pieces. Using various processes, different types of metal and plastic are separated. Each individual type of material is then sent to help make something new.
Once your electricals have been recycled they could be used for things like shipbuilding, galvanising railings and lampposts, in jewellery or musical instruments.
Household Batteries
Alkaline batteries are broken down by machine with the different types of metal separated. Lithium-ion batteries are shredded and treated with a water-based treatment before being broken down into their separate parts. The remaining materials from both types of battery are used again to make new metal or plastic products and batteries.