How to recycle correctly (and avoid common mistakes)

Recycling rules vary enormously by country, region and even street. What's collected in one postcode may be landfill in the next. This guide gives you the principles — but always verify the specifics with your local authority or waste service.

Why it matters — and why "wishcycling" hurts

When recycling works well, it saves energy and raw materials: making aluminium from recycled metal uses a fraction of the energy of making it from ore; recycled paper reduces demand for virgin wood pulp; recovered glass and plastics displace new material.

But the system depends on clean, uncontaminated material. A single bag of general rubbish or a heavily soiled item mixed into a batch of clean recyclables can cause the entire batch to be rejected and sent to landfill or incineration instead. This is the problem with "wishcycling" — putting something in the recycling bin in the hope that it might be recyclable, without checking. The intention is good, but the result can undo the effort of everyone else in your collection round.

When in doubt, check — don't guess. Your local council or waste authority website is the definitive source. Many now have searchable A–Z guides for specific materials.

The golden rules

1. Check your local rules. Recycling infrastructure varies enormously. The only reliable answer to "can I recycle this?" is the service that collects your bin. Find their website or postcode lookup tool and bookmark it.
2. Empty and rinse containers. You don't need to wash them spotless — a quick rinse to remove food residue is enough. Don't run a fresh hot sink just for rinsing; use water left over from washing up.
3. Keep materials dry. Wet paper and cardboard becomes pulp and can't be sorted properly. Keep your recycling bin dry and don't leave damp items in it.
4. Don't bag recyclables unless your service specifically asks you to. Bagged recycling usually can't be sorted at the processing plant and goes straight to landfill. Loose items in the bin are the norm in most kerbside collections.
5. If you can't check, put it in the general bin. An uncertain item in the general waste causes less harm than an uncertain item contaminating a batch of good recyclables.

Common mistakes to stop making

These are the items that most frequently end up in recycling bins when they shouldn't — and the most common reasons good material gets rejected.

• Greasy pizza boxes. Light grease is usually fine — tear off and bin a heavily soiled base, and recycle the clean lid. Very greasy cardboard is not recyclable because oil interferes with the pulping process.
• Plastic bags and film packaging in kerbside recycling. Stretchy plastic film — carrier bags, cling film, bread bags, zip-lock bags — jams the sorting machinery at most recycling centres and causes significant disruption. Many supermarkets have dedicated soft plastics drop-off points; use those instead.
• Very small items. Items smaller than about 5 cm (2 inches) — bottle tops, small lids, staples, toothpaste tube caps — often fall through sorting machinery and contaminate other streams. Some services accept them inside a larger container; check locally.
• Lids on bottles and jars. Rules vary. Some services want lids left on; others ask you to remove them. Check your local guide — don't assume either way.
• Tanglers: cables, wires, hoses and clothes. These wrap around sorting machinery and cause breakdowns. Keep them out of kerbside bins. Electronics recycling points handle cables; textiles have their own collection routes.
• "Compostable" and "biodegradable" plastics. These look like plastic and behave like plastic in a recycling stream — they contaminate it. They also don't break down in standard home compost or in the conditions of most landfill. Unless your local industrial composting facility specifically accepts them (check first), treat them as general waste.
• Shredded paper. Most kerbside services don't accept shredded paper because the small pieces cause problems in sorting. Some accept it sealed in a paper envelope. Compost it instead if you can — it's a good brown material.

Tricky items and where they go

These materials rarely belong in a standard kerbside recycling bin but do have proper disposal routes. The specifics vary by country and region — use this as a starting point, then confirm locally.

• Batteries. Don't bin them — they can cause fires in collection vehicles and landfill. Most supermarkets, DIY stores and electronics shops have battery collection bins near the entrance. In many countries this is a legal requirement for retailers.
• Electronics (e-waste). Phones, laptops, chargers, small appliances: these need separate e-waste recycling, not the general bin. Retailer take-back schemes, local authority collection points, and manufacturer return programmes are the main routes. See our waste and resources guide for more.
• Textiles and clothes. Wearable clothes and paired shoes can go to charity shops, clothing banks or textile collection bags where offered. Worn-out textiles (too damaged for reuse) go to textile recycling banks — not the general bin and not kerbside recycling.
• Soft plastics and film. Many major supermarkets now accept soft plastics (carrier bags, bread bags, cling film wrappers, cereal bag liners) at in-store collection points. Availability varies by country and retailer — look for a dedicated soft plastics drop-off point.
• Glass. In many areas, glass is not collected in mixed kerbside recycling but goes to a separate glass bank. Some services do collect it kerbside — check yours. Remove lids (metal or plastic) before depositing glass.
• Tetra Pak / cartons. Juice cartons, soup cartons and similar multi-layer packaging (cardboard, plastic, aluminium layers) are increasingly recyclable but not universally collected. Check your local service — some have dedicated carton collections or drop-off points.
• Medicines. Return unused medicines to a pharmacy, not the bin or the toilet. Pharmacies are equipped to dispose of them safely.
• Paint and household chemicals. These go to your local household hazardous waste facility — not the bin. Many councils run periodic collection events or have a permanent drop-off point. Dried-out water-based paint in small amounts can sometimes go in general waste; check locally.

Reduce first: recycling is the last R

The "three Rs" go in order: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Recycling is valuable, but it costs energy and produces some waste — it's better than landfill, but not as good as not creating the waste in the first place.

• Buy in larger quantities to reduce packaging per unit.
• Choose products in packaging that's easier to recycle (glass, aluminium, cardboard) when you have a real choice.
• Use reusable bags, bottles and containers so single-use packaging is less of an issue.
• Repair and reuse items before deciding they're waste.

When something does reach end of life, recycling it correctly — clean, dry, sorted — makes the system work for everyone.

Your recycling checklist

• Look up your local authority's recycling guide and bookmark it.
• Rinse food containers before putting them in the recycling bin.
• Keep soft plastics and film out of the kerbside bin — find a supermarket drop-off.
• Find your nearest battery collection point and use it.
• Check whether your service wants lids on or off.
• Keep recycling dry — line the bin and protect from rain.
• Don't bag recyclables unless your service specifically says to.