88% of UK citizens regularly recycle with over half of us recycling more in the past year than before. Whilst many of us have a recycling routine that works for us our annual recycling survey revealed that there are some common items that are not being recycled when they could be. Making sure we recycle items from all around the home every time can make a big difference.
Recycling from the bathroom
There are lots of items in the bathroom waiting to be recycled.
Why not have a separate recycling bin in the bathroom or reuse a basket or box for all your aerosols, toilet roll tubes and cleaning bottles. You could even hang a recycling bag on the back of the bathroom door.
Most of us recycle shampoo and conditioner bottles, but don’t forget to recycle items such as:
Bathroom cleaners - rinse and replace the trigger spray
Bleach bottles - empty and replace the lid
Liquid soap bottles - empty, rinse and remove the pump dispenser (throw pump into the rubbish bin)
Shower gel containers - empty, rinse items and replace the lid or top
Toilet roll tubes - flatten
Toothpaste boxes – flatten
Recycling from the bedroom
Did you know that if everyone in the UK recycled an empty aerosol, enough energy would be saved to run a TV in 273,000 homes for a year?
Items you might want to look out for in the bedroom include:
Empty deodorant and hairspray aerosols - ensure cans are empty and remove plastic caps (recycle with plastics)
Empty tissue boxes - remove any plastic insert and flatten
Make up packaging
Moisturiser pots, tubes and jars
Old magazines
Recycling from the living room
Most of us recycle newspapers and magazines. Did you know that in less than seven days you could be reading your favourite magazine on paper that you have recycled?
Other items that you might find for recycling in the living room include:
Aerosol air fresheners
Cardboard packaging from online shopping - remove packaging tape and flatten to save space in your recycling bin
Envelopes, including window envelopes
Recycling from the kitchen
Most of us remember to recycle in the kitchen where we often have an established routine for separating our recyclables. However, below are some items that can be recycled that are often forgotten:
Aerosols of furniture polish and air fresheners - ensure they are empty and remove any plastic caps (recycle with plastics)
Bleach bottles - empty and replace the lid
Empty dishwasher tablet and kitchen wrap boxes - flatten to save space in your recycling bin
Foil
Kitchen foil and foil pie cases and takeaway trays – rinsed
Kitchen roll tubes
Surface cleaner bottles - rinse and replace the trigger spray
Washing-up liquid bottles - empty and rinse
Empty pizza boxes
Plastic pots, tubs and trays (remember to check locally if your council collect these)
