Recycling contamination

When a recyclable item is contaminated with something that isn’t recyclable, it often means it can’t be recycled.

Small amounts of the contaminated material are usually fine, but if there’s too much then it renders the whole item unrecyclable. This means it will end up being disposed of rather than being made into something else.

This is why you should make sure bottles and other food and drinks packaging are completely empty and rinse them before recycling.

Plastic containers and bottles

Left over foods or liquids can contaminate other recyclables. They also cause problems at our sorting facility. If plastic is dirty or is hidden by a plastic bag our optical sorters can't recognise it, and so it is not sorted correctly. If bottles contain liquid they may be too heavy be sorted properly. Liquid can also damage the machinery.

Empty and rinse plastic bottles before recycling. You can leave labels on - these will be removed in the process. You can put the lids back on too - if they stay on the container they will get recycled too.

Paper and carboard

Only clean paper and cardboard can be recycled as grease from food, such as pizza boxes, makes it difficult to separate the fibres when they are pulped.

Damage to machinery

There are some items that you should not put in your recycling bin at home, because they can damage the machinery when they get to our sorting facility:

• pots and pans

• electronic equipment

• scrap metal

• plastic sheeting

These items should be taken to the recycling centre instead. See the A to Z of recycling to find out what to do with items you may be unsure about.