We can all help to make London a cleaner and greener city by considering a few simple steps to recycle our rubbish. Here we share our favourite tips for more efficient recycling and rubbish removal in London.
Recycling Preparation
Check the label before recycling. Currently, everything from bread bags to toiletry bags, to soft drink cans include labels. The symbols on these inform you whether the packaging can be placed in the recycling bin or taken to your local recycling centre.
Squash plastic bottles and cans to create more room in your recycling bin and make the items easier to transport. You can also crush foil items together to make the sorting process easier.
Recycling Plastic
Plastic is having a devastating effect on our planet and constitutes a significant problem for rubbish removal in London. In the UK alone, the number of non-recycled plastic bottles is estimated at 16 million. To reduce this alarming statistic, make sure you empty your plastic bottles and compress them before replacing the lid and placing in your recycling bin. Make sure you recycle your household detergent bottles too and even the trigger sprays on household bottles can be recycled.
Check your bathroom for plastic items to be recycled. Shampoo and conditioner bottles and shower gel containers can be recycled along with liquid soap bottles, but remove the pump dispenser first. Other items such as loo roll tubes and toothpaste boxes can go in the recycling too. However, toothpaste tubes are not currently recyclable and must go in the normal waste bin.
Give plastic food containers a quick wash before placing them in the recycling bin. Don’t worry about making them sparkling clean, a quick rinse will do. Ensure you remove the film lid and place them in the normal waste bin as they can’t be recycled.
Recycling Glass
Glass jars and bottles can be recycled together with their metal lids and bottle caps. When these items get to the reprocessing plant, glass processors separate them, so leave the metal lids and bottle tops on when you place them in the bin. However, please don’t place Pyrex cookware items in the recycling bin as they are not recyclable.
Recycling Paper and Cardboard
Not all paper and cardboard can be recycled. A reliable test is to scrunch it up by hand. If it doesn’t spring back then it can go in the recycling bin. Remove any glitter from greetings cards before recycling.
Takeaway items such as pizza boxes or paper covered in food can’t be recycled. It is impossible to remove the grease and causes defects in recycled cardboard.
Strictly Forbidden
Cloth can wrap around machinery at recycling plants and cause serious problems so never mix textiles with other recyclable items.
Rubbish removal in London tends to view black bin bags as non-recyclable waste. Therefore, don’t leave recycling in a black bag as it will probably be taken away as rubbish and not recycled.
Never put dirty nappies or medical items such as syringes in the recycling. Nappies can comprise half the contents of the bin in homes with young children.
Professional Services for Rubbish Removal in London
To make sure your rubbish is collected properly in an ethical and professional manner you may consider a specialist rubbish removal service in London. Junk London will fulfil your waste removal needs and guarantee that your rubbish is recycled where possible and won’t end up in a landfill site.
Junk London is London’s largest rubbish removal company and has polite staff, an online booking system and flexible collection times.