Why recycle more?
Recycling takes things that are old and unwanted and makes them into something new. Some thngs can be made back into the same item and others into something totally different. For instance, glass bottles can be recycled and made into new bottles, whereas plastic drink cups can now be made into pencils and plastic bottles into fleece jackets.
Why we should all be doing more
Londoners produce 3.4 million tonnes of rubbish a year, this is enough to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool every hour. The problem is getting worse as we buy more packaged and disposable goods. Most of London's rubbish is buried in landfill sites or burnt. Both of these have negative effects on our environment and space is fast running out to bury London's rubbish.
The amount that Londoners recycle has risen steadily in recent years - from 8 per cent of our rubbish in 2000 to a brilliant 20 per cent today. But given the fact that 60 per cent of what we throw away can be recycled, there's room for improvement. And with better services now available in every London borough, recycling has never been easier.
What happens to your recycling?
Once you have put your recyclables out for collection, or taken them to the recycling site, they will be picked up and taken for sorting into the different materials or bulked into large quantities ready for transporting to the reprocessors. They are then turned into another material e.g. crushed glass and chipped plastic. This material is then used by manufacturers to make new products. These new products can then be found on shop shelves for you to buy.
How to recycle
There are lots of different ways to recycle your rubbish depending on where you live in London and the type of material to be recycled. They are:
- Collections from your home - approximately 80 per cent of Londoners now have services collecting recyclable goods from their home in a bag, box or wheelie bin. If this service is available to you, read the instructions provided to make sure you are recycling as many things as possible. You may be surprised at what you can recycle. If you live in a block of flats where collection from outside your door is difficult, you may have recycling bins alongside your rubbish bins, or close to the entrance to your flats.
- Collections from recycling sites - these are your local recycling banks for materials such as bottles, paper and textiles. Some also collect plastic bottles, books and toner cartridges. You can find them in places like your local supermarket car park, on housing estates and on London's streets. You might have one just round the corner.
- Reuse and Recycling Centres - Most boroughs have a larger site where you can take your recyclables and, usually, any household waste that can't be reused or recycled. These sites can often recycle much more than your local recycling sites, and collections from home, for example some collect green garden waste for composting.
Some boroughs also collect other materials for recycling from your home, such as green garden waste, cookers and fridges. You may have to make an appointment for these services and a charge may be made. Please use the facility locator to find out the type of services available in your local area.
What if services aren't available in your area?
Unfortunately, collection services from homes may not available to everyone at the moment. This may be because you:
- live in a purpose-built flat or on an estate
- live in a converted property where there are a number of flats
- do not have a front doorstep where you can leave your bag, box or wheelie bin i.e. because you live above a shop or restaurant
You local borough is working hard to find ways to collect from these types of properties and will be developing new services to help you recycle more. If you live in one of these types of properties, contact your local council to find out more.