I just don't get what to recycle and what not, help!

[ShakeMe]

Just moved into a house with a recycling bin for first time in my life....how the hell do you know what can and can't be recycled?!

Ive been checking the packaging but half of it doesn't have ANYTHING regarding getting rid so is there some sort of trick I'm missing?!

Have a look on your council website. There should be a list of what can go where as it differs for area (eg I know some places you can recycle yogurt pots but you can where I live).

Go on to your bin provider’s website (I presume your council? It’s all privatised where I am) and find a list of what can and can’t go in.

Look at your local council website to see what you can put in which bin. Where I am we have 4 bins
1)Paper/card/cardboard
2)mixed recycling
3)garden/food
4)general waste

When you say there is nothing on the packaging, are there invisible to the naked eye tiny little triangles with numbers in them?

Our council recycles plastic types 1, 2 and 4, so I have to look out for those on the packaging.

But yes, you need to look on your council website, because they all have their own rules about what can be recycled and what bin system is in place, so it's no good asking on here because you'll get a load of posts saying things like 'yogurt pots go in the blue bin and glass goes in the grey box' from people too dim to realise that not all councils deals with the issue in exactly the same way as theirs.

Cardboard from cereal packets and egg boxes are pretty universally recycled. Toilet roll tubes too.

Every council is different, which is massively frustrating. Your council's website should give a fairly comprehensive list of what you can and can't put in. And some councils are stricter than others. Our bin men will reject the entire lot if they see a scrap of dirt on anything (eg - tiny bit of tomato left on the lid of a tin of tomatoes meant the whole bin was uncollected), whereas my friend in the next village was horrified to hear that we have to wash everything - all her council requires is perfunctory rinse.

Our council website tells you exactly what you can and can't recycle so as per other posters have a look on the website for your local council.

Thank you, I don't know why I didn't think to check there!

Just had a look and it says plastic bottles, paper, cardboard and tins/cans.... so no plastic wrapping at all...that doesn't seem right!

A lot of plastic wrapping isn't easily recyclable. Many supermarkets have places where you can put 'stretchy' plastic (even if it's not a carrier bag). Or look up ecobricks if you want to keep your plastic waste out of landfill. Takes a bit of effort, but every little bit kept out of landfill/the sea has to be a good thing in my book.

Wow that's eye opening, I've clearly been living under a rock!

Thank you again least I can stop worrying now