WATCH OUT, IT’S EVEN IN YOUR TEA BAGS
CHEWING GUM
EVERY year we chew the equivalent of 120 pieces of gum each in the UK. Originally made from tree sap, gum is now a mix of synthetic polymers (also used as a car engine lubricant) and flavourings. There is a gum recycling scheme for public spaces available at gumdropltd. and your old gum could be made into wellington boots, mobile phone covers or even stationery — but most of it ends up in the bin or, disgustingly, on the pavement.
TEA BAGS
DO YOU dutifully chuck used tea bags on the compost heap? The tea leaves may degrade but the unbleached sachets — often made
with natural banana fibre — are laced with up to 25pc plastic.
TILL RECEIPTS
THERMAL receipts, printed using a heat process rather than regular ink, are commonplace. But the paper is sometimes infused with Bisphenol A (BPA), an industrial chemical found in polycarbonate plastics and resins. BPA is considered by some to be an endocrine disruptor (it could alter our hormonal balance if ingested).
MEDICATION
TABLETS and capsules that are designed to break down slowly in the body sometimes contain phthalates — chemicals used to make things like vinyl flooring and shower curtains — which have been linked to a raft of unpleasant health problems.
TIN CANS
MANY drink and food cans contain a thin lining of epoxy resin (plastic) to stop their contents eating into the aluminium. The resin also contains BPA, which some fear could harm human health. But you can recycle them — the lining is burnt off during the process.
DENTAL FLOSS
USUALLY made from nylon or super-strong plastic fibre. In any case, dental floss cannot be recycled for hygiene reasons — and should not be flushed down the toilet as it can create blockages or pollute seas and affect wildlife.
TAMPONS
WOMEN’S sanitary protection generates more than 200,000 tonnes of waste every year in the UK. All of the items usually contain plastics — indeed some are around 90pc plastic.
CARPET
MADE from a combination of hard-to-separate natural and synthetic fibres, and often coated in protective, plasticbased chemicals. Most councils won’t recycle carpets, advising that we pass them on or use them as pond liners or frost protection for car windscreens (can you imagine?).
FAUX FUR
WHILE it’s hailed as eco-conscious, fake fur is actually made from fine strands of acrylic. This is difficult to recycle.
FLEECE
EVERY time you wash a polyester fleece it can send up to 1,900 tiny synthetic microfibres (around 1.7g of plastic) down the drain and to the ocean.
MEMORY-FOAM
GETTING rid of memory-foam pillows and mattress toppers — usually polyurethane — can be tricky. Most councils won’t take bedding, so they’re destined for landfill or the incinerator.