Aluminium foil

Foil can be used for many things, mostly though, it’s used in cooking and especially with the use of oil, it can end up with baked on residues of food and grease. So, how do we recycle it?

With foil if you can scrape off as much food waste as possible either by crinkling it or scrapping it with your fingernail. Small amounts will be okay. If there are large amounts, just cut them out and pop the really damaged foil into your black top rubbish bin.

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Like aluminium cans, aluminium foil is made from bauxite, a natural mineral found in the planet in great abundance. And like aluminium cans, aluminium foil is 100% recyclable - and a valuable recyclable material as it doesn’t lose any quality during the recycling process.

Do scrunch all your foil, big and small, into a ball until it is the size of a tennis ball, but the bigger the better.

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Our dependency on oil and bauxite is reduced since recycling one ton of aluminium saves 40 barrels of oil. As you know we ask for all your recycling to be Clean Dry and Loose. Regarding clean, the main issue is that if a soiled item is put into your recycling bin it will contaminate other items in your bin or the bin lorry. If you put a half full tin of baked beans in your recycling bin (it does happen!!) then the beans will contaminate the paper, cardboard and plastics in your bin, and the rest of the bin lorry when it is collected. So as long as when you run your fingers over the foil there is no grease that will contaminate the rest of your recycling bin then it will be OK.

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Biodegradable and compostable materials

Many organisations have changed their packaging to show a label, as illustrated.

If it has this label, then it is suitable for home composting. However this is the only way to recycle this product as it cannot be recycled with your blue top recycling bin. If you put it into your recycling bin then it will get mixed up with the plastics. In West Sussex, we are able to recycle plastic bottles and containers (pots tubs and trays) but if compostable products find their way into kerbside recycling they end up at our Material Recycling Facility (MRF) as they contaminate the plastics material stream.

And do not put them into your green garden waste bin, if you have one, as this will contaminate the garden waste. The contents of your green top garden waste bin, if you have one, in West Sussex go to produce compost to strict standards set by the British Standards Association, which ensure that the soil produced is certified BSI Standard PAS100 as safe to use and be put back into the land.

Please do not place bioplastic material or food waste into your garden waste bin as this will contaminate the quality of the compost produced and then it cannot be returned to the land and used to produce food.

So if you cannot compost it yourself, or give it to someone with a compost heap, then just place it into your black top rubbish bin.

If the packaging simply says it is compostable, then the same rules apply, apart from the fact that it cannot be composted in a ‘home’ compost heap. This is because your domestic compost heap cannot reach the high temperature required to break it down. It can be composted, but only in an industrial compost process – one that you do not have access to! So they should also be placed in your black top rubbish bin.

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Metal foil milk bottle tops

The foil milk bottle tops from good old fashioned milk bottles can be recycled. This is foil and can go into your blue top kerbside recycling bin.

As they are small, I would suggest you do as I do: As you use them pop them, clean and dry, into a small pot and then with all your other small bits of foil, roll them up into a ball. When the ball gets to the size of a tennis ball pop it into your recycling bin. At this size it will not get mixed up with other recycling and will not block up the mechanical sorting machinery at our recycling plant.

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General bin etiquette

Whilst many of us have been in lockdown, we have had an opportunity to declutter rooms, garages, or sheds. Under normal circumstances we would take the clutter to charity shops or to the HWRS (Household Waste Recycling Site), the TIP.

I would ask you not to simply dump all your declutter into your black top kerbside rubbish bin. Declutter is not household waste.

The Household Waste Recycling Site (the Tip)
Did you know that 80% of what you take to the Tip is recycled?

First organise all the rubbish at home for the Tip into different waste streams into boxes, so disposing is easy when he gets there!

Also remember to take your ID to show you are a West Sussex resident.

Your general waste bin

- Try to put as little as possible in this bin – can anything be reused?

- Bag or double bag all food waste.

- Check what can be recycled and put this clean, dry and loose into your recycling bin. Check this site for what can be recycled – more than you think - www.recycleforwestsussex.org

Your recycling bin

We want you to keep recycling, and you will need to get as much as possible in your bin.

- Cut up or rip up cardboard to cereal box size – great stress relief

- Plastics, squash or open out

- Do not leave recycling next to bin. They will not take it as there is a handling risk.

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Till receipts

Up to about four or so years ago, till receipts were printed on special paper and were not able to be recycled. Remember when till receipts were on shiny paper?

Thanks to the pressure to recycle, supermarkets and other retailers changed to printing on ordinary paper so now all till receipts can be recycled. Also, the smallest supermarket till receipt has been designed so that it is large enough to be recycled, in case you ever wondered why you get such a big piece of paper when buying one item!

This has now become a good approximate measure. If a piece of paper or cardboard is smaller than a supermarket till receipt for one item, then it is too small to be recycled and should be treated like shredded paper and put into your black top rubbish kerbside bin. Use this as a size guide to what paper and cardboard can go into your blue top kerbside recycling bin.

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Reducing black bin waste

Recycling as many products and items in our blue top bins isn’t the only solution to waste management. Keeping the amount we throw in our black top bins to a minimum can go a long way too.

• Rather than wipes, you can use small, washable face cloths

• When shopping, pay attention to use by dates - keeping food waste to a minimum

• Replace cling film and invest in a pack of reusable plastic covers

• Face masks are now a part of our lives, so washable masks are a great investment

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Small electrical recycling service

Everything with a plug, battery or cable has the potential to be recycled. If you have an individual kerbside rubbish collection, you can recycle old or broken small electrical items at the kerbside.

Currently this service is not available if your bins are located in a communal bin store. You can find alternative electrical recycling options using the following link: https://bit.ly/2LcKBO3

How does the kerbside collection work? Most unwanted or broken small electrical appliances, those items powered by batteries or with a plug, cable or lead can be recycled at the kerbside. Small electrical appliance recycling is collected every two weeks with your normal scheduled rubbish collection.

• Little and Often - Please recycle “little and often” as space is limited on our collection vehicles for the storage of electrical items

• Bag It - Simply place the item(s) into a standard carrier size plastic bag (no larger than 35 x 40cm and not in black bin bags)

• Tie It – Securely tie the bag so the items do not fall out

• Recycle It - Place next to your black lidded rubbish bin on your scheduled collection day

For any items not on our kerbside collections checklist, please visit www.recycleyourelectricals.org.uk to find your nearest reuse or recycling point.

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Large household waste

Large items such as furniture and white goods can be tricky to dispose of, especially if you don’t have access to a van.
Did you know that Mid Sussex District Council provides a collection and disposal service? It is a chargeable service. For details see: MSDC Waste Removal.

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Cans, tins & packs

All of the following can be recycled in your blue topped kerbside recycling bin.

Aerosol cans – Deodorants, hair spray and air fresheners.

• Biscuit tins – Metal and plastic biscuit tins and lids.

• Blister packs – Plastic blister packs. Remember to check all the tablets are removed.

• Cartons (including Tetra Pak cartons) – Fruit juice, long life milk, soup and smoothie cartons.

• Envelopes – We can recycle window envelopes.

• Plastic cups – If you do buy a takeaway coffee, remember that your plastic cup and the lid can be recycled in your blue top recycling bin.

• Plastic bottles – Remove tops first, then recycle.

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The exception to this list is the Jiffy bag. Please place any Jiffy bags in the rubbish bin please, or reuse.

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