How to Recycle

Recycling is essential to the preservation of our resources, energy and our environment. When you know how to recycle it becomes a part of your daily routine because recycling household packaging and containers is such a simple activity.

Simple Steps to Recycling

The first step in being environmentally responsible is to think carefully about what you buy. Remember, packaging costs money for the supermarket to produce and they pass these costs on to you, the consumer. So instead of buying pre-packaged fruit and vegetables, look at buying loose fruit and veg instead. If you do buy pre-packaged goods, choose packaging made from recycled paper, glass jars and tin cans as these can be easily recycled again and again. Remember to look at the label, as it will tell you if they are made from recycled or eco-friendly material. You will soon remember what to buy and what not to buy.

When it comes to buying cleaning products, try and buy the natural alternatives. Many of the cleaning prodcuts available today are very toxic, and these chemicals end up in our water. It’s also much safer to have more natural cleaning products in the home if you have young children.

Talk to your local council office to make sure you have the correct recycling bins for food, paper, glass, aluminium and plastic. Find out which days the collections take place, and how often. Plastics, aluminium and glass are usually collected every two to four weeks, and general waste is collected every two weeks. This way you can plan ahead and make sure that you put your recycle bins out the night before the collection day. Keep your bins in an obvious place so that you don’t forget to use them, and keep a food waste bin in your kitchen. You will find that as you learn to recycle properly and put food waste in a dedicated food bin, your general waste bin will become smaller and smaller.

Household packaging and food waste aren’t the only things you can recycle. You can also recycle outside in your garden. Not only is it a great way to recycle, children can also get involved as they will learn about how food degrades and can be used to help vegetables, plants and trees grow. There are some very simple ways to set up a compost heap and you can buy kits from many DIY stores. In addition, when you cut the grass, most people collect the cuttings and throw them away, but you can leave them on the ground as the nutrients act as a fertiliser or put them on your compost heap.

The following items can be recycled and collected by your council:

• Empty aerosol cans
• Aluminium foil
• Tins and cans
• Card and cardboard
• Glass
• Plastic and metal lids
• Paper
• Plastic bottles
• Plastic food packaging
  

Do not put the following in your recycle bins:

• Batteries
• Plastic film, crips bags or bubble wrap
• Hard plastic
• Electrical items
• Metallic or waxed paper
• Mirrors
• Broken glass
• Paint tins
• Polystyrene
• Food covered items such as pizza boxes
• Textiles
• Shredded paper
• Wooden items

If you have batteries, electrical items, mirrors, clothes or textiles or hard plastic toys visit your local recycling centre as you will be able to dispose of these items safely, and be confident that they will be recycled wherever possible. Alternatively you can put these in your general waste bin but we recommend trying to recycle these products

Recycling Specialists

GLJ Recycling is one of Newport, Caerphilly and Cardiff’s leading waste management and recycling specialists. If you want to find out more about how to recycle or our waste management and recycling services, please take a look through our site or call us. Tel: 01495 272 988