Why does some film say not to recycle?

[amoreoamicizia]

I'm trying to collect film to recycle instead of it going to landfill but I've noticed the recycling instructions are really inconsistent? E.g. this clear film from some cheese scones, it says "don't recycle" rather than "recycle at large supermarkets"? Would you ignore that?

Where I live, you can't recycle anything like that.

I think you have to follow the instructions for your own Council, or run the risk of a lot of actual recycling not being recycled because it is mixed with things they can't recycle.

Not all plastic films are the same. Some are different polymers or contain several layers. The supermarket recycling is normally just polyethylene bags isn’t it?

If you’ve got time on your hands you could do what my mum used to do - collect all products from the same supermarket that say “don’t recycle” or “not currently recycled”, wrap them up and send them to the CEO.

In my area we can't put it in the bin either, but Sainsbury's and Morrison's take it. Maybe other, supermarkets, too, but those are the ones I know about.

In my area Sainsbury's and Morrison's now take a variety of plastic films and bags in addition to shopping bags, things like crisps and plastic chocolate wrappers, bags that bread comes in etc. I know it's not in all areas, though. No idea why.

Why would you ignore clear instructions? There's loads of different plastics and not all of them are recyclable. Putting that in with recyclable films means nothing gets processed.

It really annoys me that our local council doesn't take soft plastics. Local supermarket does but we do online shopping and haven't got time to drive across town to drop off a bag of plastic bags every week.

I appreciate that wasn't what you asked! I believe it's because they're made of different forms of plastic.

I'd chuck it in the landfill bin. You do know that a proportion (the amounts seem to be wildly contested) of what you painstakingly sort and separate, wash (at your cost for any extra water and/or hot water), and place in your recycling bin, does not get recycled and ends up in landfill or is incinerated anyway. A lot of that is due to contamination which is not just from what you do, but whole lorry loads can be contaminated by one person on a route putting the wrong thing into their recycling bin.

So the whole recycling system is reliant on infallible (and often vulnerable) humans following a detailed set of rules and never making a mistake, and of course there are ALWAYS going to be those that just don't bother at all. Seems a foolish premise destined for failure to me.

So no I wouldn't be stressing over one bit of plastic that says it's not recyclable.

"In my area we can't put it in the bin either, "

Are you sure you haven't misunderstood that? I can't see a council insisting that they won't take your rubbish and they won't recycle it either. It's either one or the other.. If they are saying that I would be complaining to my local councillor. They can't just decline to take rubbish, it's a core service that you pay for via your council tax.

Having said that, do you think the bin men are going to be rooting through your landfill bin and ripping open bin bags, to look for tiny bits of plastic? Unlikely. It's all just going in the lorry. They don't have time to fuck about.

Sorry, I meant we can't put it in our recycling bin.

I’ve contacted several manufacturers about this. It’s usually because they don’t want you to put it in your recycling bin - not because it can’t be recycled with soft plastics. Saying don’t recycle is so wrong isn’t it, when it can be it just needs explaining. If you have time I would contact them to ask!

It’s usually because they don’t want you to put it in your recycling bin - not because it can’t be recycled with soft plastics.

This is what I suspected, tbh.