What to recycle
You’re holding some weird piece of plastic packaging and wondering if it is recyclable. Which bin do you put it in?
If your first instinct is to put it into recycling you may be falling into the trap that the Waste Management industry calls WISHFUL RECYCLING (aka ASPIRATIONAL RECYCLING). Wishful recycling can contaminate material and result in trucks being diverted to landfill or incineration. If you’re not sure if something can be recycled, put it into the general waste bin.
Compostable plastic bags should NOT be posted in a supermarket bag-recycle bin, but cut up
very small (it takes ages to disintegrate) and put in the compost heap (for more on this, see Bioplastics).
Don't recycle your old pizza box or used kitchen towels: paper can’t be recycled if it has been contaminated with oils and fats.
In other recycling news, robots are increasingly being introduced into the Materials Recycling Facility. When the robots revolt, it will be because we made them pick used nappies out of our rubbish.