Recycling challenge: can you double yours?

Shameful but true: the Dutch recycle twice as much as we do! Follow our tips on what can be recycled.

What will your local council recycle?

The simplest way to recycle more is with your local council’s collection service. To find out what you can leave out for collection, type in your postcode on the Recycle Now website. These are some of the things they might take:

Plastic

Including cling film, washing-up bottles, milk bottles, shampoo bottles and fizzy drink bottles. If in doubt, look for the triangle stamp on the bottom – if the number inside it is 1, 2 or 3, it’s good for recycling!

Metal

This covers empty aerosols, food and drink cans and aluminium foil.

Paper

Including cardboard (flattened), magazines, newspapers, cards, envelopes (and no, you needn’t take out the plastic windows) and cartons. If your council doesn’t take Tetra Paks, go to Tetra Pak Recycling to find your nearest carton collection scheme. 

Glass

You can include glass jars and bottles (look for the glass recycling symbol on the base), but not mirrors, ceramics or light bulbs. Remember to throw away corks and lids.

Green waste

This includes flowers, plants, twigs, leaves, grass cuttings and prunings. And remember, if your council won’t take it, look and see what you can recycle at your local Tesco store.

Helping your council recycle

To make things easy for you and your council, get organised.

Separate your waste

Most councils prefer recycling to be separated into different materials. To make life easier, you can buy recycling bins that do this. Have a look at the range at Tesco direct.

Wash and squash

Cans and plastic should be rinsed and squashed flat before collection. A good tip is to use the washing up water when you’ve finished with it.

Buy a Tesco can crusher or bottle crusher to help with the squashing.

Recycle with Tesco

Our state-of-the-art recycling machines enable you to recycle your cans, glass and plastic bottles easily, and you can collect green Clubcard points too!

You can find more information on our recycling machines and how to use them, here.