Category: How to

Glass was one of the first materials to be widely recycled in the UK, and I’m sure many people remember seeing bottle banks since the 80’s.

Glass is one of the perfect recyclable materials, as the is no degradation and can be recycled almost indefinitely. However, that’s’ not to say that you shouldn’t try and re-use glass first, and it really shines here too.

Glass is a great storage container, can be easily washed and realised many times. But if it can’t be reused, then it can be recycled.

Reuse before recycle

Unless there is no use, it is still far better to reuse a glass item than recycling them. Things like jars and bottles can still be used time and time again for what they were made for – storing things.

You can buy kilner jars in the shop, so why not reuse the jars you have? I bought a luxury dessert once, and still use the glasses they came in as drinking glasses. And ramekins for whatever I need, even washing paintbrushes in. Basically, there are a lot of useful ways you can reuse a glass jar, bottle, ramekin, etc. so make sure you try 😉

Not all glass is the same…

There are, however, some caveats to this; all glass is not created equally. Things to look out for are special glasses such as pyrex (glass with additives), windows (house or car), bulbs (electronic and glass), and a few others – we will list them below.

The excluded list

Some statistics show that we throw away more than 600 million batteries per year, and that is a crazy amount.

The problem with batteries is that they are not often collected as part of household recycling collections (although in some places they are). But they are also seen as a hazardous product due to the volatile chemicals used within.

However, since February 2010, shops that sell more than 32kg of batteries a year (approx 345 x four-packs of AA batteries) have to provide battery recycling collection in-store.

This means there are now a lot more places you can take your old batteries for recycling, including your local supermarket or DIY store. This makes the job an easy process, as long as you remember to take them with you when you go.

Which types of batteries can be recycled?

The batteries that are accepted in shop drop-off points are household appliance batteries. That covers AA, AAA, C, D, 9V, button or coin batteries, mobile phone batteries or computer batteries and so on. It DOES NOT include car batteries, but they can be dealt with in another way.

• All household batteries such as ‘button’ or ‘coin’ batteries from watches.
• Battery packs from mobile phones, laptops, power tools and remote control units.
• Car batteries should be recycled at designated collection points.

Why is recycling batteries so important?

From TV remotes to games controllers, batteries have become so prevalent in daily life, that many people don’t even notice that they are buying bulk packs. Think about how many batteries you need to buy when Christmas comes round, or a child’s birthday.

Toys, games, electrical products, all require batteries, and on average we use about 10 batteries each per year! Sure, we can swap some for rechargeable, but not everyone does. And when it comes time to dispose of the batteries, many people throw these highly toxic little things in the bin.

But there is a better way, and they can be recycled if you take them to a shop that sells more than 32kg of batteries per year.

If it’s easier, or you would rather do it, then you can also take them to most local recycling centres, as they will have a collection point for batteries.

In the UK, approximately 40,000 tonnes of portable batteries were sold in 2018, but only about 18,000 tonnes was recycled. If the UK meets its recycling targets, then thousands of tonnes of CO₂ emissions could be avoided.

One of the problems with so many batteries ending up in landfill, is that many batteries contain dangerous chemicals including: lead,cadmium, zinc, lithium and even mercury. And when those batteries degrade in landfill , theese checmicals may leak into the ground which causes soil and water pollution. Contaminated soil and water will eventually harm animals, the environment, and humans.

Recycling is the best way to ensure that this harm to the enviroment doesn’t happen.

Header Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

Christmas card recycling can be an issue – sure, Christmas cards are a great way to wish friends and family a merry Christmas – but once it’s time to take them down, and recycle them, it can be a pain. The problem with Christmas card recycling – or any type of greetings card – is that they can be problematic when it comes to recycling.

The main issues when it comes to Christmas card recycling is that any kind of foil, glitter, or other shiny stuff makes the card un-recyclable. Yes, that pretty, glittery card you paid top money for, is not recyclable. This problem is not even limited to Christmas card recycling, but any card or paper product with metallic-foil embellishment. This includes promotional mail, business cards, birthday cards, and product packaging.

This problem also extends beyond the pretty metal foils; If the cards are shiny or very matte, then they have been through a process called lamination. Lamination is a process of adhering a thin plastic film to paper or card (not to be confused with encapsulation, which you would do at home with a “laminator”). This thin plastic film is like a sticky tape that is bonded with the paper/card. The problem then is that the card can’t be recycled, because it is hard to remove the plastic from the paper in an automated process.

But all is not lost! Even if there are some sparkly bits on the cards or stamped foils – about 90% of the card can still be recycled! It just means that we, unfortunately, need to do a bit of prep-work. Hopefully, if you’re reading this, then you are ready and willing to put in a little bit of work to make a difference.

Other things to look out for

You should also lookout for the other problematic things that often find their way onto a Christmas card. Any glitter, metal foils, and embellishments such as ribbons, bows, jewels etc.

You will need to remove these embellishments, or you will have to put the card into the general waste (we would rather you didn’t 😉).

Foil Cards Recycling

If the card has gold, silver, red, green etc. foil – by which I mean, there is a section that is shiny and clearly metallic – then the only real way to recycle it, is by removing the metallic part. Some people rip off the front of the card and recycle the back (if there is no foil on the back), while others will cut out the foil sections so that they can recycle the majority of the card.

If you would rather use the front of the card as present tags, and go along the reuse route, that is great too, but you may need to tell the recipient how to deal with the tag once they are done with it.

To get most of the card in a recyclable state, I find it easiest to use a scalpel, or a similar craft knife to carefully cut out the shiny bits, and then I am left with about 95% of the card recyclable,

What if the card is laminated, and how to tell…

What is the card is laminated? For many people, it is hard to tell, as a matte lamination may make it look like a textured paper. The easiest way I have found to check if a card was laminated is to tear the corner of the card carefully.

The paper with rip as paper does, fairly easily. But the plastic lamination will start to stretch, and isn’t as easy to tear.

Another telltale sign the card is laminated; if the inside of the card (where you write), has a different finish to the exterior of the card! The difference in finish is because only the outside of the card is laminated.

But how do I remove the lamination?

In order to make the card recyclable, you are going to have to remove the lamination. The easiest way is to tear a corner, to determine that it is laminated, and then gradually peel off the plastic film. It may take a minute, but it is usually possible without any problems.

Once you have taken off the lamination, the paper/card should be ready to be recycled.