Recycling hints and advice

Did you know

• food waste is recycled to make energy
• there is a separate collection for textiles, small electrical items and household batteries
• Runnymede residents are currently recycling just under 50% of their household waste

Be a better recycler

• only put acceptable items in your recycling bin
• use the Recycling Search Tool if you are unsure
• make sure items are clean, dry and loose in your recycling bin
• empty containers
• rinse bottles, tins and jars all helps the recycling process
• flatten cardboard boxes and squash plastic bottles where possible – this will help you to make the most of the space in your recycling bin

Some items are made from several different materials which can sometimes make it a bit more difficult. The following quick tests should give you a good guide.

• Paper/thin card
  if you can rip it, you can recycle it. This is a useful test to do on a take-away coffee cup. If there is a plastic layer inside, you should not be able to tear it.
• Foil/looks like foil
  Do the ‘spring’ test! If you crunch it up and is springs back it contains some plastic. A good example is a crisp packet. Items like this cannot be recycled so please put in your black refuse bin.
• Expanded polystyrene (EPS)
  EPS will snap like a prawn cracker, so this is an easy test to do! Meat trays can sometimes be made of EPS. This cannot be recycled so please put in your black refuse bin.