how to be a world-class RECYCLER

You may think you are already a pretty diligent recycler. Almost everyone separates household waste now, ensuring paper and card aren’t mixed with plastic or tins, and it’s nice to enjoy that warm glow of righteousness as you close the bin lid, right?

You probably assume the bulk of the plastics you use are successfully recycled, but the truth is only a small percentage of the contents of a recycling bin or box is truly recycled — and few people are really good at recycling efficiently.

Recent figures show England has one of the worst recycling rates in the developed world, with only 42.8 per cent of what is put in recycling bins actually being recycled. Germany comes top with 57 per cent. Meanwhile, figures from Recycle Now show 26 per cent of uK residents don’t see the direct benefit of recycling — and 5 per cent don’t bother at all.

of all the plastic bottles we use, 44 per cent are not recycled, nor is 40 per cent of glass, while 400,000 tons of card are simply thrown away.

We could all do with becoming a little savvier at recycling. Do you know what you should be doing with milk bottle lids, for example? And what about bubble wrap?

The good news is there are steps you can take to boost the efficiency of your recycling process and maximise the chance of everything in your bin going through the correct channels rather than ending up in landfill or clogging our rivers and oceans.

Go online to check the recycling capability of your local authority. If there’s anything you don’t fully understand, call to clarify or check at

recyclenow.com. Tick the item you want to recycle, then enter your postcode to see your local recycling points and details of what they collect.

‘By understanding more about what can and cannot be recycled and putting the right items in the right bin, we can reduce contamination and make sure our recycling has the best chance of being recycled,’ says Craig Stephens, from Recycle Now.

If in doubt, throw it out. The recycling process would be far more efficient if it wasn’t slowed by items it cannot process.