{"id":122556,"date":"2025-05-22T12:51:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T12:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/122556\/"},"modified":"2025-05-22T12:51:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T12:51:10","slug":"5-everyday-plastic-items-you-cant-actually-recycle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/122556\/","title":{"rendered":"5 everyday plastic items you can’t actually recycle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marks and Spencer has unveiled an easily recyclable paper fibre ready meal tray for tikka masala to replace the plastic containers.<\/p>\n

The tray is made of renewable paper fibre and can be recycled as easily as paper without removing the thin plastic lining.<\/p>\n

The move is part of Marks & Spencer\u2019s ambitious plan to remove a billion units of plastic by 2028.<\/p>\n

According to the government<\/a>, England has seen recycling rates stall in the past 14 years meaning too much waste is dealt with through incineration or thrown in landfill. Almost half of all waste (49%) collected by local authorities in 2022\/23 was incinerated, with just 40% recycled.<\/p>\n

Part of the problem remains confusion among consumers. According to a survey by the Environmental Services Association (ESA) and British Plastics Federation (BPF) in March 2024, 70% of respondents said they would recycle more plastics if they were better informed on which plastics can be recycled at home.<\/p>\n

For example, many consumers may be unaware that when they eat standard ready meals, the plastic container can be recycled, but the film attached to it can not.<\/p>\n

This means that knowing what not to recycle can be just as important as knowing what can be recycled.<\/p>\n

In fact, there are several very common types of plastic that many of us throw into the recycling without a second thought, and for which not only is there limited recycling in the UK, in some cases, there is no plan for them to ever become recyclable.<\/p>\n

Here, Yahoo News looks at some of the most common plastics that the UK struggles to recycle.<\/p>\n

\u2018Biodegradable\u2019 and \u2018compostable\u2019 plastics\"Sustainability<\/p>\n

Compostable plastics are often used in takeaway containers, cutlery and coffee cups (Getty)<\/p>\n

Biodegradable and compostable plastics sound like they are good news for the planet, but are not usually recycled in either kerbside collections or garden waste.<\/p>\n

Most British councils do not recycle them, and they can contaminate recycling streams or reduce the quality of compost.<\/p>\n

‘Compostable’ also does not mean they can be composted in normal gardens, and these plastics usually require an industrial composting facility.<\/p>\n

Most \u2018compostable\u2019 plastics are usually sent to landfill or incinerated, as there is no UK-wide system for dealing with them.<\/p>\n

In the UK, compostable plastics are often used in takeaway containers, cutlery and coffee cups as well as ‘compostable’ bags from retailers.<\/p>\n

Biodegradable plastics are often used in ready-meal trays, wet wipes and food packaging.<\/p>\n

Composite plastics\"Different<\/p>\n

Plastics that have multiple layers, such as with aluminium and plastic, cannot be recycled. (Getty)<\/p>\n

Composite plastics (i.e. plastics that have multiple layers, such as with aluminium and plastic in coffee bags) cannot be recycled in most places.<\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one shiny side to plastic and a dull side, it\u2019s probably composite.<\/p>\n

Some supermarkets and large retailers offer places where composite plastics, such as aluminium-lined crisp packets, can be recycled.<\/p>\n

Otherwise, composites mostly end up being incinerated or in landfill.<\/p>\n

Composite plastics are commonly used in food packaging, drinks cartons, coffee cups and flexible pouches, for example for pet food.<\/p>\n

PVC\"Sandwich<\/p>\n

Sandwich on a plate being wrapped in cling film.<\/p>\n

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is rarely recycled in the UK, despite being widely used in cooking oil bottles, cling film and clear food packaging.<\/p>\n

Not all cling film uses PVC and some is recyclable, so it’s worth checking the packet.<\/p>\n

PVC is not generally collected because it is difficult to process and carries a risk of contamination.<\/p>\n

Globally, 82% of PVC waste ends up in landfill and 15% is incinerated, according to World Wildlife Fund research<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Polystyrene\"Package<\/p>\n

Polystyrene is used in electronics packaging among other things (Getty)<\/p>\n

Polystyrene and expanded polystyrene are used in takeaway food containers, meat trays and some egg cartons, as well as some electronics packaging.<\/p>\n

Most councils in the UK do not recycle polystyrene, although some areas have collection bins where people can bring polystyrene to be recycled.<\/p>\n

The problem is that polystyrene can cause contamination with other recyclable plastics.<\/p>\n

But the government’s Simpler Recycling scheme aims to standardise collection rules, with councils forced to collect the same waste streams.<\/p>\n

Experts hope that this means that plastics such as polystyrene can be recycled in future.<\/p>\n

Plastic films and bags\"Turkey<\/p>\n

Turkey and gravy TV dinner with vegetables<\/p>\n

Plastic films commonly come attached to items such as ready meals, which can be recycled, but the film itself cannot.<\/p>\n

Films are commonly made from Low-Density Polyethylene or a mixture of materials, and these are not commonly recycled due to a risk of contamination.<\/p>\n

By 2027, the government aims to standardise household recycling so that films can be recycled.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Marks and Spencer has unveiled an easily recyclable paper fibre ready meal tray for tikka masala to replace…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":122557,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3843],"tags":[54514,54516,54515,728,395,999,54513,54517,70,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-122556","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-biodegradable-plastics","9":"tag-coffee-cups","10":"tag-composite-plastics","11":"tag-environment","12":"tag-getty-images","13":"tag-marks-and-spencer","14":"tag-plastic-containers","15":"tag-recyclable-paper","16":"tag-science","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114551579380474847","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=122556"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122556\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/122557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=122556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=122556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=122556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}