Kerbside Recycling Guidelines

What can and cannot be collected for recycling from householders and how these materials should be presented for collection. This guidance intends to:

Increase consistency in household recycling across Pembrokeshire
Reduce confusion for householders
Improve material quality
Save money

Why should you recycle?

We can all make a difference. Recycling Conserves Resources Your recycled materials are valuable resources and by recycling we reduce the need to use more natural resources. When we recycle, used materials are converted into new products, reducing the need to consume natural resources. If used materials are not recycled, new products are made by extracting fresh, raw material from the Earth, through mining and forestry. Recycling helps conserve important raw materials and protects natural habitats for the future.

Recycling Saves Energy

Using recycled materials in the manufacturing process uses considerably less energy than that required for producing new products from raw materials – even when comparing all associated costs including transport etc. Plus there are extra energy savings because more energy is required to extract, refine, transport and process raw materials ready for industry compared with providing industry-ready materials. For example, recycling aluminium cans saves up to 95% of the energy needed to make new cans from fresh raw material. The energy saved in not having to make just one can is enough to power a TV for 3 hours.

Recycling Helps Protect the Environment

Recycling reduces the need for extracting (mining, quarrying and logging), refining and processing raw materials all of which create substantial air and water pollution. As recycling saves energy it also reduces greenhouse gas emissions, which helps to tackle climate change. Last year recycling in Pembrokeshire is estimated to have saved 11,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions - the equivalent to taking 3,000 cars off the road.

Recycling Reduces Landfill

When we recycle, recyclable materials are reprocessed into new products, and as a result the amount of rubbish sent to landfill sites reduces.

Reusing Saves Money

By reusing more we can save money and reduce the need to consume and produce more waste.

Paper

Yes please

Newspapers and supplements
Magazines, brochures and catalogues
White paper (e.g. computer paper, letters)
Shredded paper
Telephone directories
Leaflets and flyers
Envelopes - You can include those that have a window

No thanks

Paper that is stained/dirty with food, grease, paint or dirt.

Once soiled with grease, paper cannot be recycled because the fibres cannot be separated from the oils during the recycling process.

Tissues
Cotton wool / make up pads
Wet wipes
Non-paper gift wrap (e.g. foil-based gift wrapping) or bags
Crisp or sweet packets/wrappers
Wallpaper and decoration paper

Please remember:

Remove any plastic wrapping and free gifts from newspapers, magazines and flyers and put in the general rubbish.
Paper is one of the most valuable recyclable materials – but only when it is clean

How is paper recycled?

Paper collected for recycling is sorted and taken to paper mills where it is turned into Newsprint

Card and Cardboard

Yes please

All card from around the home, including:

Cardboard boxes (e.g. cereal boxes, dishwasher tablet boxes)
Corrugated cardboard
Online delivery boxes and cardboard envelopes. Remove all plastic inserts and polystyrene, as well as packing tape.
Greetings cards without glitter, foil embossing or any other embossing on them (no bows, ribbons etc). Remove these items as well as any badges and batteries.
Egg boxes
Brown Paper

No thanks

Put these in your general rubbish

Card that is stained/dirty with food, grease, paint or dirt (e.g. pizza boxes)
Once soiled with grease, paper and card cannot be recycled because the fibres cannot be separated from the oils during the recycling process.
Glitter covered greetings cards

Recycle these at your local Waste and Recycling Centre

Food and drink cartons

How is Card recycled?

Card collected for recycling is sorted and taken to card mills where it is turned into new card.

Metal packaging

Yes please

Drinks cans
Food tins o Pop tin lids inside the tin
Metal Biscuit/chocolate tins and their lids
Aerosols
Aluminium foil (e.g. for baking, covering food)

Scrunch foil together to form a ball

Aluminium foil trays (e.g. take-away trays)
Aluminium tubes e.g. tomato puree

Please remember:

Empty and rinse items – left over foods or liquids can contaminate other recyclables.
You can leave labels on: machines ensure these get removed.
Metal lids and caps on glass containers (e.g. metal jam jar lids) can be left on. These are different metals to cans/tins/aerosols so are recycled in a different way and by putting the lids/caps back on glass jars and bottles it reduces the chance of them getting lost through the sorting process.

No thanks

Put these in your general rubbish

Laminated foil (e.g. cat food / coffee pouches that spring back when you try and scrunch them. Pouches are currently not recyclable)
Crisp packets and sweet wrappers

Recycle these at your local Waste and Recycling Centre

Metal containers for chemicals (i.e. white spirits, paints, etc.) or engine oils
General kitchen ware e.g. cutlery, pots and pans.
Any other metal items e.g. kettles, irons, pipes, white goods (WEEE)

How is metal packaging recycled?

Aluminium cans and foil are turned back into cans, whilst steel cans are made into ingots and use in steel manufacture.

Plastic bottles

Yes please

All clear and coloured plastics bottles from around the home:

Detergent and soap bottles
Cleaning product bottles (e.g. bathroom cleaners bleach etc.) - Triggers can be left on to be recycled
Skin care product bottles
Shampoo/shower gel bottles
Fizzy and non-fizzy drinks and water bottles
Milk bottles
Ready-to-use plant food and pesticides bottles (check the label)

Please remember:

Empty and rinse items and replace lids/tops - left over foods or liquids can contaminate other recyclables and; - If bottles contain liquid they might not be recycled as they go through the automated sorting process (the extra weight stops the bottle being pushed into the correct recycling stream). Liquid can also damage the machinery and contaminate other recyclables.
Leave on labels and tops: these will be removed in the recycling process
Bottles can be squashed to save space

No thanks

Put these in your general rubbish:

Plastic bottles containing chemicals (e.g. anti-freeze).

Strong chemicals that are highly poisonous are hazardous to staff and can damage the recycling equipment. Check the bottle for disposal instructions.

Black or Brown plastic pots, tubs or trays.
Plastic film and carrier bags
Polystyrene Recycle these at your local Waste and Recycling Centre
Plastic pots, Tubs and Trays.
Food and Beverage Cartons

How are plastic bottles recycled?

The plastic bottles collected for recycling are turned into plastic pellets which are used for the manufacture of clothing such as fleeces, toys, furniture or more plastic bottles.

Food waste

Yes please

All uneaten food and plate scrapings
Tea bags and coffee grounds
Out of date or mouldy food
Raw and cooked meat, including bones
Raw and cooked fish, including bones
Dairy products such as cheese
Eggs and egg shells
Rice, pasta, beans
Baked goods such as bread, cakes and pastries
Fruit and vegetables including raw and cooked vegetables and peelings

Remember:

Remove all food from its packaging

No thanks

Put these in your general rubbish:

Packaging of any kind (unless this can be recycled)
Any material that is not food waste

Only food is suitable for this process. If packaging and other materials are included this causes a problem

Liquids - these may leak, causing spillages when transporting the food waste.

Recycle these at your local Waste and Recycling Centre

Cooking Oil.

How is food waste recycled?

Food Waste collected from the Kerbside is sent to an Anaerobic Digestion facility in South Wales, during this process energy is created and compost of PAS 110 standard is produced.

Glass

Yes please

All glass packaging from around the home, including:

Bottles of any colour (e.g. wine, beer, spirits)
Jars (e.g. sauces, jam, baby food)
Non-food bottles (e.g. perfume, aftershave, face creams)

Please remember:

Empty and rinse – it doesn’t need to be spotlessly clean, a quick rinse will do. Left over liquid and residue can contaminate other recyclables which may mean they are not recycled.
Metal lids and caps can be put back on – these will be removed and recycled. These are different metals to cans/tins/aerosols so are recycled in a different way and by putting the lids/caps back on glass jars and bottles it reduces the chance of them getting lost through the sorting process.

No thanks

Put these in your general rubbish:

Nail varnish bottles

It is difficult to remove the varnish and the bottles are so small that they are filtered out during the recycling process

Recycle these at your local Waste and Recycling Centre

Light bulbs/tubes
Window glass (Inert)
Microwave plates (Inert)
Mirrors (Inert)
Glass cookware (e.g. Pyrex) (Inert)
Drinking glasses (Inert)
Vases (Inert)
Ceramics (e.g. crockery or earthenware) (Inert)

Why’s that?

These types of glass do not melt at the same temperature as bottles and jars. If they enter the glass recycling process it can result in new containers being rejected.

How is Glass recycled?

Glass is sent to a processing facility in South Wales where it is turned into glass cullet before being turned into fibreglass.

Grey/black bag

All materials which cannot be recycled:

Plastic film, carrier bags
Crisp packets or sweet packets/wrappers
Animal food pouches
Black or Brown plastic pots, tubs or trays.
Polystyrene
Paper/ Card that is stained/dirty with food, grease, paint or dirt. o Once soiled with grease, paper cannot be recycled because the fibres cannot be separated from the oils during the recycling process.
Tissues, Cotton wool / make up pads
Wet wipes
Non-paper gift wrap (e.g. foil-based gift wrapping) or bags
Wallpaper and decoration paper
Nail polish bottles.
Animal litter waste
Feminine and sanitary hygiene waste.
Nappies and Incontinence Waste – however a new recycling Absorbent Hygiene Production

No thanks

Anything which can be recycled through the kerbside recycling collection schemes or at your local Waste and Recycling Centre.

What happens to residual waste collected in Pembrokeshire?

Residual waste collected in Pembrokeshire is sent to an Energy from Waste facility in South Wales, waste is incinerated and energy is produced. This process produces incinerator bottom ash which is recycled and used as an aggregate in construction, flyash which is recycled and used for treatment of acids, mainly Sulphuric acids from various processing industries and metals which are sent for recycling. Last year this facility diverted 99.83% of the waste it processed from landfill, produced enough energy to power a 60W lightbulb for 500,000 years and had a recycling rate of 19.14%.

Kerbside Collection