Where can I recycle plastic food containers and tin foil?

Question

I want to do my bit by recycling plastic food containers but the local council only take plastic bottles. They take both PET and HDPE bottles but will not take plastic food containers made from the same material. They also take aluminium cans but not foil.

Answer 1

a recycling bin for them materials make sure you put them in the right bin it says what materials on it

Answer 2

It's all to do with the supply chain. They collect it, bale it, then sell it on.

They will get less money for mixed plastics - or mixed scrap metal, than just bottles or cans.

It will come eventually once they get the infrastructure going.

Try hassling your local MP to take tetrapack, and other plastics - or set up a community composting site (there is money available for this)

Answer 3

The market for baled plastic doesn't discriminate between what the plastic was, just that it is clean & baled. The reason for not taking other types of PE plastics is a local facility decision. You can address this with them directly or through your local government. As for the foil, I always drop it into my cans before I crush them. My local facility still won't take any aluminum other than cans, so I take my trays and such to a local recycle dumpster. Good Luck!

Answer 4

I take my used foil and twist it into thin "ropes" I then stuff these into aluminum soda cans before I crush then and toss them into my recycle bin.

I can't help you with the food containers. I expect that they don't recycle them because they often contain food scraps (the cost of cleaning them would be higher than the value of the plastic they contain).

Answer 5

I'd find out the name of your local MP (from your local council's website) and write to him/her to suggest more recycling.  Clearly there needs to be more provision for the recycling of these food containers which the local council says it can't or won't take away because it's too expensive, etc., especially the ones where there is the internationally recognised triangluar symbol with the arrows.

Answer 6

go to www.earth911.org they will be able to tell you where to recycle almost anything.