10 THINGS YOU THINK YOU CAN'T RECYCLE, BUT YOU ACTUALLY CAN

By Farah Jamal |

The act of recycling is constantly evolving. More and more alternatives are being found for many everyday products that allow us to either reuse or recycle them.

However, are we aware of these alternatives? Many things that are recyclable are still being thrown in the recycling bin. Ivvet Modinou, head of engagement at the British Science Association, says that this is due to many simply not being aware of the items that they can recycle. “It’s encouraging to see lots of people are concerned about plastic waste, but what you can and can’t put in the recycle bin can often be confusing.” Modinou also said how manufacturers should provide clearer information on packaging, to help decrease confusion.

© Leisy Vidal

Crayons/stationary

Stationary can be recycled to charities in the UK. First Mile are a company that recycle stationary and distribute them to schools for reuse.

Bottle corks

Recorked UK are the leading wine cork recycling charity. The corks are repurposed and supplied to various charities and schools for use in crafts. They are the founders of the movement Recorked UK.

© Oscar Soderlund

Cigarettes

Cigarette waste is one of the UK’s most commonly found items on the streets, consisting of over 40% of street litter, with filters taking up to 12 years to degrade. To combat this in September 2015, the Cigarette Waste Brigade scheme was launched. All cigarette materials are recycled into reusable materials or composted.

Trainers

As students, we love our trainers. We do however, tend to forget about our old pairs and later chuck them out years later when they are rediscovered. Recycling your old trainers could get you £20 off on a new pair with Runners Need.

Artificial Christmas trees

Granted, most people keep their Christmas trees for next year, but for those that feel their tree is past it’s sell by date, recycling is an option. Both real and fake. Sadly, only artificial trees can be reused and are best being given to charities, but real ones can be taken to organisations (Recycle Now) for shredding. They then can be used in parks and woodland areas.

Compact fluorescent lights

Whilst the standard light bulb and halogen bulbs are non recyclable, compact fluorescent ones are. They contain small amounts of mercury and should be recycled to Recolight collection points. They can then recycle the glass and metal in the bulbs.

Ink Cartridges

Ink cartridges are toxic for the environment and should be recycled to the cartridge’s manufacturer. Stinky Ink offer advice on where and how to recycle cartridges. Some UK manufacturers offer discounts on new ink cartridges for those who bring their old ones to them to be recycled.

Tights

Old tights can be recycled at textile banks. Love Your Clothes website offers a recycling locator, where you can enter your post code and find the nearest textile bank.

Makeup containers

For all those who are big on their makeup, full containers soon become empty. MAC Cosmetics have a program called Back To Mac where consumers can return 6 MAC containers and receive a free lipstick. Terracycle offer a free recycling programme for makeup containers that don’t have manufacturer recycling programs like MAC.

Deodorant and hairspray

If completely empty, deodorant and hairspray bottles are recyclable. Due to the majority being made out of metal it can easily be recycled. Company’s such as Lush make solid deodorants with little packaging and are recommended as alternatives to bottle deodorants.