Harringay online

Harringay, Haringey - So Good they Spelt it Twice!

I have just had a baffling conversation with Veolia regarding what plastics they actually recycle so that I can ensure I am sorting my waste properly.

The lady I spoke to was apologetic but unable to give me any indication of the specific plastic types / codes I can recycle and I am now more confused than I was previously.

So much of Sainsbury’s packaging says “Check local recycling” but this is impossible to do! I am now emailed them as I am hoping a written reply will make more sense.

Has anyone else had any luck getting more specific details from them on recycling? 

Thanks! 

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We wash and recycle any stiff food container plastics excluding black ones which apparently can't be machine read. We check occasionally for recycling marks, but recycling most stiff plastics and binning polythene, pliable crinkly plastics and black stiff ones seems to be a good rule of thumb. Paper and card we recycle unless it's really drenched in grease. 

By the way I found out recently that tea-bags tend to contain plastic. So those shouldn't be recycled or composted. They can however be emptied and the contents recycled with your food waste.

Not all tea bags contain plastic - shop wisely and you can get bags that can go in the food waste. Though I get around this one by using tea leaves and an infuser.

Thanks for that info, Sarah. After reading your comment I looked online and the best listing of plastic-free vs non-plastic-free teabags was this one

PDF from Haringey Council attached.

What Goes in my Recycling Bin Leaflet.pdf

Here's Haringey's leaflet dated 2013: https://www.haringey.gov.uk/sites/haringeygovuk/files/what_goes_in_...

" All plastic bottles; food & drink cartons (Tetrapaks); plastic containers and food trays "

Their online A-Z of what to recycle (and what not) https://www.haringey.gov.uk/environment-and-waste/refuse-and-recycl...   states: 
"Plastic pots, tubs, trays, bags and bottles can be recycled.
Important: plastic film, cutlery/straws, crisp packets, plastic toys and medicine packs cannot be recycled."

Nor can expanded polystyrene. Or bubblewrap. Or most plastic flower pots. Or metallicised giftwrap.

Here's a more technical general guide that gives some context:  https://www.recycle-more.co.uk/how-is-it-recycled-/plastic-recycling

This Wikipedia article describes among many others the plastics codes (1-7) you can see on the bottom of most bottles and tubs, inside a broken triangle.  Items coded 6 and 7 aren't recyclable in Haringey.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling_codes

I've started to take more notice of which things in the supermarket are in black packaging - usually cooked meats and microwave meals - and try not to buy this brand in the first place. Quite a few stores are now packing things in clear plastic trays instead. 

A friend recently alerted me to Lush's recycling of plastic bottle tops, which apparently are hard to cope with alongside other plastics, so perhaps best not put in with general Veolia recycling. There's more info here: https://disposalknowhow.com/lush-plastic-bottle-tops/

It’s a mystery to me. So I always wonder about the plastic packaging round packs of yogurts, cat food pouches etc

tbh I chuck it all in after it’s been washed. Maybe I’m wrong

Thanks for all the info everyone. I really appreciate it.

I emailed Veolia and got this reply. 

Thank you for your email. Unfortunately, we do not have any codes, the complete list is on the website. If there is any specific item would you like to know about you can email us and we will let you know if we recycle this item.

If I have time I may try to query specific items and I will report back!

Not Veolia related but you can recycle a lot of stretchy plastics at Sainsburys (not sure about other supermarkets) - obviously check the packaging but things like bags of frozen vegetables say "recycle with bags at larger stores". The Arena Sainsbury's has a recycling bin at the very end past all the tills.

I've never tried it but apparently you can take any packaging from food you bought at a supermarket back to the supermarket and they have to take it for recycling

Yep - I use the "recycle with bags at larger stores" bin in Sainsbury's.   

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