Most people in Greater Manchester are great at recycling all they can from all over their homes. However, sometimes people forget to empty their cardboard boxes before putting them in the paper and card bin.
All of these things aren’t made of paper or card, so they don’t belong in your paper and card bin:
Nappies, polystyrene, bubble wrap and any other plastic packaging needs to go in your general waste bin. None of it is wasted though, it’s used to create electricity.
All of your food waste can be recycled in your food and garden bin and is turned into compost. You can recycle electronic items at your local Recycling Centre, or if they are still working, you could donate them for reuse.
Luckily, more and more people in Greater Manchester are recycling all their paper and cardboard from around their home. It’s really important to get it right so that it can be turned into new products, like a new newspaper or cardboard box. Putting the wrong things in your paper and card bin interferes with the recycling process.
This costs your council money and can result in loads of recycling being rejected by the people who reprocess the paper and card. Paper mills can only make recycled paper products out of paper or card. Things like plastic, food or electrical items can’t be transformed into new paper or card products, so can’t go in the paper and card recycling. Putting nappies in the paper and card bin is also unhygienic, as they contain human waste! This can cause health issues for people working in the recycling facilities and can damage machinery.
Recycling paper and card is really important. On average, every family in Greater Manchester uses 6 trees worth of paper every year. It is much better for the environment to make paper and card products out of recycled paper or card. It uses less energy and up to 50% fewer chemicals than virgin paper.
Do you want to know the 5 wrong items we keep finding in the paper and card recycling? Read our latest blog post to find out.
Or do you want to learn more about what happens to your paper and card? See how it’s recycled here.
C’mon Greater Manchester, it’s time to get #InTheLoopGM ♾️ Liz has been doing her bit for years. Every time she recycles a steel can, she knows it’ll be back in someone’s hands in no time Get in the loop - youtube.com/watch?v=7chq4I… pic.twitter.com/u1uzBd3LOX
