A binman has pinpointed six common items you should never chuck into your recycling bin as it could prevent the entire load of rubbish from being collected
Recycling is massively important – it reduces waste in landfills, promotes sustainability and is better for the environment. So we should all take responsibility by doing our part to sort or rubbish properly.
Failing to do so can have negative impacts. Not only do you risk contaminating your entire pile of waste – making sorting impossible for recycling workers – you could also be causing yourself inconvenience too.
Throwing all of your recycling into one bin, including general waste items, can lead to refuse workers refusing to collect your waste. So it’s vital to get it right!
Thankfully, a bin man called Ashley is on hand to make this process much easier. He’s been sharing videos to TikTok about what you can and can’t recycle. So here are six common items you need to be aware of:
1. Lightbulbs
Speaking about this common household item, Ashley said: “They don’t belong in your bin – they don’t belong in your recycling, they don’t belong in your general waste. You’re meant to take them to a specialist place where you can dispose of them correctly.”
While you may think it’s a faff to bin lightbulbs separately, there’s actually some pretty convenient places you can drop them off.
Ashley added: “You can do it at most tips, B&Q, Tesco. When you go to replace them, take them with you!”
2. Pizza boxes
While some pizza boxes can be recycled, this should only be done if they’re clean and dry. To handle this correctly, you must remove and dispose of any greasy food remnants or stained sections, particularly the base.
Ashley said: “Pizza boxes should not be in the recycling bin. They should be in your general waste bin, whatever colour that will be. You are told to put all cardboard in the blue bin. I don’t know what your blue bin is, I don’t know.
“Let’s just make this clear, pizza boxes – general waste bin, not recycling bin. That’s all I needed to say. It doesn’t matter what colour your bin is, it goes in your general waste.”
3.Chewing gum
Chewed gum should never be thrown into the food waste bin because it doesn’t biodegrade. What’s more, you should be mindful about where you put the wrapping too.
Ashley added: “What about chewing gum? Good question. Right, this one, it goes in your general waste, if you’re chewing it, finished with it; it goes in the general waste bin.
“It is not biodegradable – that’s why you do not put it in your food waste or your compost bin. It goes in your general waste because it can’t break down and go into the soil or whatever they make the food waste into…
“The wrapper for chewing gum, another good one, which would be, because it’s a combination of paper and aluminium. Because of the combination, it doesn’t go in either the recycling bin. It would have to go in your general waste bin.”
4. Crisp packets
The No1 Binman shared: “Crisp packets do not belong in your recycling bin. You’re meant to take them to the supermarket and recycle them there, because it’s a different type of plastic.
“Just like carrier bags, just like film, bubble wrap – all that stuff does not go in your recycling. Take it to the tip, they can sometimes dispose of it there differently, or take it to a supermarket.
“There’s loads of stuff. Polystyrene is plastic, but it doesn’t go in your recycling bin because it takes up too much room, and it costs too much money to recycle because there’s barely any plastic in it. It’s mainly air.
“Please check before you put it in your bin. Normally, it’s like tins and bottles. Easy things to put in the recycling. Please check before you do it because you don’t want your bin to be contaminated. Don’t be the person who gets their bin rejected when you want it to be emptied.”
5. Wrapping paper
When it’s someone’s birthday or a special celebration and lot of gifts have been given, it’s really important to check whether the paper gift-givers have opted for is actually recyclable. It can be confusing to know which elements you can recycle.
He said: “It depends on the wrapping paper. So if you have actual wrapping paper paper, what you should be able to do with it is screw it into a ball – and if it stays in the ball, it’s just paper, and that can go in your paper recycling bin.
“If it’s got lots of Sellotape or labels all over it, then take them off and then just put it in the paper bin. Save some room in your general waste.
“But if you screw into a ball and it starts expanding back out again, that’s got mainly plastic in it, and that should not go in your paper bin. It’s not paper, it’s mainly plastic, and it’s got a film over it – that one would go in your general waste.”
Even though local councils can have differing regulations, he uses the scrunch test as a general rule of thumb. Ashley added: “If it expands, it’s plastic – if it stays as it is, it’s paper.”
It only takes two seconds to scrunch the wrapping to see if it’s suitable for recycling, so be sure to do it before chucking it away.
6. Condoms
You may think this item goes without saying – but there are sadly some who try to recycle condoms.
Ashley said these contraceptive products should always be placed in the general waste bin because they are made from materials like latex, polyurethane, or polyisoprene – which aren’t compatible with standard recycling processes.
Additionally, condoms are considered single-use personal hygiene products, which means they may contain bodily fluids and are classified as medical waste.
This makes them unsuitable for recycling due to health and safety concerns. For these reasons, condoms should be disposed of in the regular trash rather than being placed in recycling bins.