Not sure what goes in which bin? Here’s a quick and simple overview to help make sure you put your waste in the right place.
Waste Sorting Guide
In today’s environmentally conscious world, understanding how to correctly sort your waste has never been more important. With the help of Panda’s detailed guide on what can go into each bin, I want to share some insights and tips to make recycling and waste disposal at home as effortless as possible.
Non-Recyclable Waste Tips
Even in the most eco-friendly households, some waste cannot be recycled or composted. This includes items like Styrofoam, contaminated plastics, nappies, and sanitary waste. It’s crucial to avoid disposing of recyclable and compostable items in your general waste bin, as well as hazardous materials like batteries and paint cans, to prevent contamination and ensure the safe processing of waste.
Recycling Guidelines
Recycling plays a pivotal role in reducing our environmental footprint. Items that should find their way into your recycling bin include clean, dry, and loose paper, cardboard, plastics, aluminium, and Tetra Pak containers. Importantly, ensure these items are free from food residue and other contaminants to prevent the spoilage of recyclable materials. There is now the acceptance of soft plastics for recycling, expanding the types of materials that can be repurposed.
Composting Advice
Composting is a fantastic way to get rid of food & garden waste. Your compost bin can accommodate a wide range of organic waste, from kitchen scraps like fruits and vegetables to garden waste and even certain types of wet paper. However, avoid adding inorganic materials, treated wood, or anything that could introduce toxins into the compost.
By being mindful of what we dispose of and how we do it, we can make a significant impact on the environment. Remember, the key to effective waste management is keeping items clean, dry, and sorted correctly. Together, let’s work towards a more sustainable future, one bin at a time.
Let’s all contribute to a greener planet by being more conscious of our waste sorting habits.
Sort It Right: Your Ultimate Bin Guide
Get savvy with your sorting! Make eco-friendly living a breeze.
General Waste Bin
- Acceptable: Aeroboards/Styrofoam, butter containers, coffee cups (paper & polystyrene), dirty plastic and tin foil, food-contaminated materials, general refuse, nappies, sanitary waste, wallpaper, wax-paper wrappings, wooden materials.
- Not Acceptable: Items suitable for the compost or waste bin, asbestos, batteries, ceramics or Pyrex glass, energy-saving bulbs, fluorescent bulbs, glass or sharps, hazardous waste, metal bars, oil cans, paint cans, rubble, syringes.
Recycling Bin
- Acceptable: Clean, dry, and loose (not in bags) recyclables such as aluminium cans, foil, tetra paks (rinsed out), paper (catalogues, envelopes, junk mail, magazines, newspapers, office paper), plastics (clean yoghurt tubs, detergent bottles, drink bottles, fruit and vegetable trays, milk bottles, shampoo bottles, washing up liquid bottles, window cleaning containers, and now accepting soft plastics like bread and pasta bags, bubble wrap, cling film, crisp and sweet packets, plastic bags, salad bags, sandwich containers, toilet roll and kitchen roll packaging), cardboard, and steel packaging.
- Not Acceptable: Items suitable for the compost or waste bin, asbestos, batteries, ceramics or Pyrex glass, clothes, dirty pizza boxes, energy-saving bulbs, fluorescent bulbs, general refuse, glass or sharps, hazardous waste, herbicides, lead acid batteries, mercury dry cells, metal bars, nappies, oil cans, paint cans, rubble, styrofoam, syringes, televisions, wet waste.
Compost Bin
- Acceptable: Food waste (all cooked & raw foods, bones, breads, cereals, pasta, coffee grounds, filters, teabags, dairy products, eggs, egg shells, egg boxes, fruits & vegetables, shellfish & bones), garden waste (cut flowers & plants, grass cuttings, hedge clippings, leaves, moss, table & plate scraps, up to finger size plant trimmings, weeds), other compostable waste (wet cardboard & paper, paper towels/napkins).
- Not Acceptable: Items suitable for the recycle or waste bin, asbestos, ashes, batteries, ceramics or Pyrex glass, clay, clothes, dry cardboard, energy-saving bulbs, fluorescent bulbs, furniture, general waste, hazardous waste, juice cartons, large branches, nappies, oil cans, paint cans, pesticide or pesticide containers, plastic, rocks or gravel, rubble, sanitary items, shoes, styrofoam, weed killer or weeds sprayed with weed killer.
