Whether you know it as Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday, the day of the year when we all embrace the art of tossing the pancake falls on 4th March this year. Perhaps you’re already looking forward to enjoying yours with a generous dollop of chocolate spread, or maybe you’ll stick with the traditional lemon and sugar? Either way, you’ll probably be ending up with a few extra bits of food packaging to get rid of, so read on for some tips to help you recycle your way through Pancake Day!
Food waste
First things first, food waste. If you’ve had eyes bigger than your stomach and have made too many pancakes (haven’t we all!), head over to our friends at Love Food Hate Waste for their top tips on using up your leftover pancakes. Eggshells can go in your food waste caddy, or on your compost heap. Ditto lemon rind, banana skins and anything else you can’t eat.
Plastic pots and tubs
Plastic packaging, such as yogurt pots and butter tubs, can all be recycled (remember to rinse them out first!), as can plastic fruit punnets for things like strawberries and blueberries. If there’s a foil lid, this can be cleaned, scrunched into a ball and recycled as well. If there’s a plastic film lid, check the packaging to see whether it can be recycled, and see whether your local council will accept it using our Recycling Locator. If not, you can take it to your nearest participating supermarket to recycle it with your plastic bags and wrapping.
Bottles and jars
Milk being a key ingredient of pancake batter, there might be an extra carton or two to dispose of this week. Of course, if you get your milk delivered in glass bottles then you’re already winning at recycling! If you get your milk in a plastic bottle, these can be rinsed out and recycled. If you get long-life milk in a carton, check our Recycling Locator to find out whether your council will recycle it.
Plastic milk bottles are one of recycling’s greatest success stories, and a large percentage will end up back as milk bottles. Just one thing to be aware of: the small plastic covers from the top of milk bottles need to go in the bin, as they’re too small to be picked up by the machines and are made from mixed materials.
Jam and chocolate spread jars can also be recycled, of course. Simply clean them out before putting them in with your glass recycling – soaking them in water for a bit will make them easier to rinse. The foil film that you have to pierce in order to access your chocolate spread can be scrunched up and popped in with the general recycling.
Sugar packets
Most sugar comes in paper packaging, which is great, as it’s easily recyclable! If you’ve ended up with a plastic sugar packet, don’t despair – this can be recycled along with plastic bags and wrapping, which we’ve talked about more in this article.
Frying pans and pots
Finally, if you’re using your frying pan for the first time in a while and realising it’s time for a change, you might be wondering how best to dispose of it when your new one arrives. The best thing to do with old pots and pans is to donate them to charity or list them on a site such as Freecycle, if they’re still in good condition. If not, take them to your nearest Recycling Centre, which you can find by putting your postcode into the box here.
May your Pancake Day be fun-filled and waste-free!
