Which plastics can I recycle?
Yes. Plastic bottles can be recycled
- Soft-drink bottles (clear and coloured)
- Alcoholic beverage bottles (clear and coloured)
- Plastic milk bottles
- Plastic fruit juice bottles
- Cooking oil bottles
- Bottles for baby-care products
- Shampoo bottles
- Bottles for household cleaning products
When recycling your plastic bottles, please remember to take the caps off and discard, rinse and flatten to eliminate contamination and save space.
No. These items can't be recycled in your recycling container:
- Plastic bags
- Yoghurt pots
- Margarine tubs
- Cling film
- Microwave meal containers
- Plastic meat trays
Why only plastic bottles?
Plastic is unlike other materials such as cardboard, paper, glass or metal as it is a generic term covering very different materials that are suitable for different purposes.
The majority of plastic bottles are made from three types of plastic:
- PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) – transparent bottles, eg. mineral water, cooking oil, cordials, fizzy drinks
- HDPE (High-density polyethylene) – opaque bottles, eg. milk bottles, washing up liquid, detergents, fabric conditioner
- PVC (Polyvinyl chloride) – other bottles, eg. cordials, still mineral water, toiletries, cooking oil
These materials are marked with a triangle containing a number 1, 2 or 3, and can be collected from your recycling container.
Items such as plastic bags, yoghurt pots, cling film, margarine tubs and microwave meal containers are made from different types of plastics that are not easily recycled and are not accepted by our reprocessor. These other types of plastic are marked with a triangle containing a number 4, 5, 6 or 7, and they cannot be collected from your recycling container.
