Cartons and foil now accepted in kerbside recycling bins across Dorset
Dorset Council is pleased to announce that food and drink cartons, as well as foil trays and sheet foil, can now be placed in your household recycling bin for collection.
The Recycle for Dorset kerbside collection scheme has been an enormous success since its introduction over a decade ago. Dorset Council is currently the number one unitary council in England for recycling, with 59.1% of the waste we collect being recycled.
Cartons have been difficult to recycle in the past as they are similar to cardboard when sorting mechanically but contain foil/plastic. Our sorting facility partners are now able to separate these cartons for recycling, which we hope residents will find more convenient than the banks in car parks that have been provided.
The success of the Recycle for Dorset scheme is mainly due to the efforts of Dorset’s keen recyclers. So, it is vital for the council to continue making things simple for people wanting to do the right thing, by recycling as many kinds of waste items as possible at the kerbside.
Cartons and cardboard-tube containers
We now accept empty food cartons and drinks cartons (e.g. soup, milk, juice etc.) in your recycling bin or box, alongside the usual paper/plastic/cans etc. we already collect.
We will also accept cardboard tube-shaped containers (e.g. curved crisps, hot chocolate, gravy granules) too.
Just make sure they’re completely empty, flatten them, and pop the lids back on (if possible) before placing in your recycling bin.
Foil
We now accept the following foil items in your recycling bin or box:
- Foil containers (e.g. pie trays, take-away dishes)
- Foil sheets (e.g. to cover food or wrap sandwiches)
- Confectionary foil wrappings (e.g. Easter eggs, inner wrappings of chocolate bars)
- Foil lids (e.g. yoghurts, noodles.)
We would be very grateful if everyone could rinse foil trays and wipe sheet foil clean if possible. Sheet foil or wrappers should be scrunched into a ball roughly the size of a tennis ball before placing in your recycling bin. If it does not scrunch, it’s not the kind of foil that we can recycle.
Some items that look like foil (e.g. crisp packets, sweet/biscuit/chocolate bar wrappers, pet food pouches etc.) are joined with plastic or paper. Therefore, people should continue to keep these out of your recycling.
Cllr Jon Andrews, Dorset Council’s Cabinet Member for Place-based services, said:
“We’re very proud of our kerbside recycling scheme, and this development makes a great service even better. By adding cartons and foil to the list of items we can receive in household recycling bins, we can prevent even more waste from going unrecycled.
“Not only does recycling waste help us protect our natural environment, but it also saves us money that can be spent on essential services. I’d like to thank everyone that has been involved in this service improvement and look forward to seeing just how much of an impact it will make.”
Categories: Waste
Comments
24 Comments
So not pill blister packs then?
No, as the plastic/foil combination means they can't currently be separated by our facilities. We recommend speaking with your local pharmacy to see if they operate a recycling scheme.
Well done for continuing to improve the Recycle for Dorset service. I've used several kerbside recycling schemes elsewhere in the UK and ours is definitely the best.
Does this new facility now include "cardboard" coffee cups, which we have always understood to need special processing due to the plastics that they contain?
Yes, but only the non-compostable kind. Compostable coffee cups shouldn't be placed ina recycling bin.
I am glad that this has finally happened but please ensure that your crews do not put recycling & food waste in with general household waste as has happened in the past. It makes a mockery of your Natural Environment, Climate and Ecology Strategy 2023 - 25.
We'd be very interested to hear about any such incidents (especially date, time, postcode) - please contact the team via http://dorset-self.achieveservice.com/service/Contact_Us - thank you.
good news indeed, may I ask when will you accept trigger-sprays and pump-dispensers please??
No plans at this time I'm afraid, as the non-plastic components are difficult to remove and sort.
Does this mean I can now recycle Tetrapak milk containers?
Yes, and cartons from Elopak and SIG Combiblok.
Excellent news, well done!
Talk to me about lids...!
Newer plastic bottles/packaging have lids attached, so clearly the lids are meant to go in with the bottles. I'd always thought they had to be removed from the bottles, due to being made from different plastics. Could you clarify please?
What about metal lids? Eg. Jars, twist-top wine bottles. Do they go in with the glass (seems odd), the other recycling (seems more sensible), or just in the land-fill (daft)?
And when I recycle a glass bottle/jar with a plastic insert or lid (eg. olive oil bottles, herbs/spice jars/bottles) should the plastic part be removed?
Does that then go separately into the general (non-glass) recycling?
Thanks! ♻️
We always advise to just leave the lids on - doesn't matter about the material. Plastic bottles (with lids on) go in the recycling bin, glass jars/bottles (with metal or plastic lids) go in your glass box. If the lids are loose, pop them in your recycling bin, and our sorting facilities will do the rest.
Sorry to be picky, but if cardboard tubes for crisps etc are flattened, the lids cannot be attached! I am really pleased that cartons and foil are now being collected as that saves a separate item to be saved and taken to a recycling point. Excellent.
That's why the text says "if possible" - if they cannot be placed back on, just pop them in separately.
So pleased we can now recycle tetra packs and foil, well done. The more we can recycle the better. Especially without having to drive places to drop them off, which somewhat defeats the object of saving them by using more fuel.
Well done indeed to all involved in Dorset's recycling process. Thank you.
Does this include used foil coffee capsules for espresso machines etc
Sorry Lynn, it does not.
Can we recycle the cardboard tubes with metal bottoms as well as the cardboard bottoms?
Yes you can - just pop them in your recycling bin.
Just to double check. There are two types of pill blister packs. One has a clear top plastic layer on foil. The other is foil, top and bottom. Is the latter unrecyclable? Unfortunately our surgery does not offer a recycling service.
Without knowing the exact composition of the material, it's difficult to say. But it's unlikely that they can be recycled, as the type of pack you describe is still a mix of foil and plastic (like crisp packets) which cannot be recycled at the kerbside.