Your business waste and the law

Recyclable materials you must collect for recycling

Below is a full list of the recyclable materials you are required to collect for recycling.

Our collection services can help you with all of these.

Dry recyclable waste

In the dry recyclable waste stream:

Glass

Glass packaging, including bottles and jars.

Metal

Includes the following:

  • steel and aluminium tins and cans
  • steel and aluminium aerosols
  • aluminium foil and food trays
  • steel and aluminium jars and bottle lids
  • aluminium tubes

Plastic

Includes the following:

  • plastic bottles made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET, including amorphous and recycled PET), polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE)
  • pots, tubs and trays made of PET (including amorphous, recycled and crystalline PET), PP (including expanded PP) and polyethylene (PE)
  • PE and PP plastic tubes larger than 50mm x 50mm
  • cartons for food, drink and other liquids, including aseptic and chilled cartons
  • plastic film packaging and plastic bags made of mono-polyethylene (mono-PE), mono-polypropylene (mono-PP) and mixed polyolefins PE and PP, including those metallised through vacuum or vapour deposition

Paper and card

All paper and card except:

  • paper and card that contains glitter or foil
  • laminated paper
  • stickers and sticky paper
  • padded lined envelopes
  • paperback and hardback books
  • wallpaper

Please note: cartons for food, drink and other liquids, including aseptic and chilled cartons, will be included in the plastic recyclable waste stream.

Tip: If your waste collector collects plastic separately from other dry materials, collecting cartons in the plastic recyclable waste stream will mean more cartons can be effectively sorted and reprocessed.

Food waste

In the food waste stream:

  • all food intended for human or household pet consumption, regardless of whether it has any nutritional value
  • biodegradable material resulting from the processing or preparation of food, including inedible food parts such as bones, eggshells, fruit and vegetable skins, tea bags and coffee grounds