What is your recycling challenge?
Join us for Act For Ealing’s great Recycling Challenge, taking place on the first Saturday of the month from 10 am to 3 pm at the Reduce and Recycle Hub at Acton Market.
If you’ve ever been frustrated about recycling, you are not alone. Many of us struggle to understand the confusing symbols on packaging. Who hasn’t held up a plastic wrapper asking ‘can it be recycled’?
We have guides on what goes in what wheelie bin in Ealing so scroll down to find out more.
Come along to Act For Ealing’s stand to get a better understanding of recycling at Acton Market Reduce and Recycle Hub. Juliet will be there from 10am to 3pm and we’re asking visitors to have a chat about recycling and where to put it. Juliet also brings along some easy plastic free swaps.
ActforEaling recently visited our recycling site at Crayford to Trace the Trash. They found out how our recycling is dealt with and why it is important for residents to follow guidelines in order to ensure that as much household waste as possible is collected.
Doorstep recycling
To help you get recycling, we’ve got Ealing Council leaflets summarizing the essentials. The biggest mistake is to contaminate what’s in your blue recycling bin with your leftover lunch. All food waste should go in the small green recycling bin, available from the council, unless you have your own compost bin (for fruit and vegetable peelings).
So what goes where?
Blue wheelie bins
Blue wheelie bins are for items that are recycled.
Put inside your blue wheelie bin all your:
- glass and jars,
- metal tins and cans,
- aerosols,
- aluminium foil (if clean),
- paper and cardboard (if dry),
- magazines,
- newspapers,
- Tetra Pak,
- cartons
Tip: Items should be LOOSE inside your bin.
Do not include flimsy plastics – eg. bread wrappers. These are accepted in most supermarkets such as Sainsbury’s flexible plastic collection, Coop soft plastic recycling, Morrisons plastic bag recycling and other shops offer collection points usually near the checkouts
Black wheelie bins
Black wheelie bins are for items that cannot currently be recycled.
Black bin items can include items such as:
- tissues,
- paper towel,
- cling film,
- cotton buds,
- sanitary towels,
- nappies,
- wet wipes,
- polystyrene,
- wet paper or card.
NOTE: if you cannot access a soft plastics collection point, you could also dispose of flimsy wrappers – eg. crisp packets – in the black wheelie, but do remember that it will go to landfill, so it is not the best solution.
Tip: Items should be in a black refuse bag inside your bin.F
Food Waste
Line your food waste bin with newspaper or a compostable bag to stop food sticking to the bin and reduce smells.
Put in your green food waste bin:
- Teabags and coffee grounds
- Fruit and vegetable peelings
- Leftover food
- Dairy, fish and egg shells
- Meat and bones
- Bread and pastries
What else can I get collected?
Textiles and batteries (bagged in a CLEAR plastic bag) can be left on top of the blue wheelie bin. Alternatively, for the doorstep collection of textiles, you can call TRAID – free to Ealing residents. For large household items, such as beds, sofas, fridges and televisions, a bulky items collection can be requested (charges apply). Find out more at www.ealing.gov.uk/reusecollection
Non-Kerbside
Soft plastics collection point
Soft plastics, also known as low-density polyethylene (LDPE), are more challenging to recycle. A number of specialist collection points do exist and many supermarkets offer collection points. For example Co-op, Sainsbury’s and Tesco are now offering soft plastic drop-offs. At Morrisons, plastic bags can be deposited. Ealing Council, in collaboration with Terracycle, has a facility at Greenford Recycling Centre.
Other recycling
Kerbside collection gathers up a significant amount of recyclables, but not everything you want to discard. Local Recycling Centres have containers for small electrical items, textiles, DIY waste, batteries, light bulbs, ink cartridges, oil and paint.
Phew! It’s a lot to remember, but well worth getting to grips with. If everyone disposes of waste responsibly, it will make our borough a brighter, greener place. Do drop by the Reduce and Recycle Hub this Saturday at Acton Market on the first Saturday of the month from 10 am to 3 pm. Friendly advisors will chat to you about your concerns and you can test your knowledge at Act For Ealing’s great Recycling Challenge!
Leave a Reply