Paper
e.g. newspaper, magazines, junk mail, flyers and envelopes
Where to Recycle: Household Collections, Paper Banks or Household Waste Recycling Centres.
What happens: After collection, the majority of paper in Devon is taken to processing facilities in Shropshire or Norfolk. Here, it is pulped, de-inked and dried onto large rolls, where it is then used to make newsprint in the UK. It can be recycled into new paper in just 7 days!
Glass
e.g. bottles and jars
Where to Recycle: Household Collections, Glass Banks or Household Waste Recycling Centres.
What happens: The collected glass is sorted into different colours, washed and broken into small pieces called cullet at processing facilities in the UK, (Wales, Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire). This cullet is then reformed into new glass bottles and jars.
Some of the glass may be used as aggregate in road construction within Devon – the road you live on could be surfaced with your empty bottles! Recycling a tonne of glass saves the same amount of carbon as you would emit from driving 2,225 miles in a car – as far as London to Cairo.
Plastic
e.g. bottles (including bathroom and cleaning), pots, tubs and trays
Where to Recycle: Some Household Collections or Household Waste Recycling Centres.
What happens: After your plastic is collected, it is sorted into different grades and sent to the correct re-processor. Here, it is turned into shredded and cleaned before being turned into new plastic items such as bottles, fleeces and food containers.
Depending on the grade, it may also be melted down and turned into pellets (see left), which are used to manufacture other more complex items. The majority of this occurs within the UK however a select number of specialist plastics are sent to facilities in Germany or Spain.
Metal
e.g. cans, aerosols and foil
Where to Recycle: Household Collections or Household Waste Recycling Centres.
What happens to aluminium cans: Aluminium materials are separated via an Eddy Current Separator which uses an electric charge to “throw” items made of aluminium into a separate container. The cans are shredded, any coloured coating is removed, then they are melted in a furnace. The molten metal is cast into solid ingots, which are then used to make new metal products such as tins, cans and even airplanes! Aluminium foil is recycled separately into cans.
What happens to steel cans: Steel can recycling is a similar process. The cans are melted in a huge furnace, into which molten iron and then oxygen are added, raising the temperature to ~1,700°C. The liquid metal is then poured into a mould to form big slabs which are rolled into coils. These coils are used to make all sorts of steel products such as bikes, cars, bridges, paperclips or even new food and drink cans!
The majority of cans collected in Devon are processed and recycled within the UK, with a small proportion being recycled in Romania.
Cardboard
e.g. packing, catalogues and food boxes
Where to Recycle: Household Collections or Household Waste Recycling Centres.
What happens: If collections are combined, cardboard is first sorted and separated from paper. It is then pulped and then reprocessed into corrugated card at reprocessing facilities – most of these are in the UK and Europe. Cardboard collected in Exeter currently goes to a company supplying the Malaysian market, meeting the extremely high-quality standard, ‘Export Grade’, to be recycled into cardboard packaging for electronic and other exported goods.
Cartons: Cartons are collected in Some Household Collections or at Household Waste Recycling Centres. They recycled separately to cardboard as they contain mixed materials. You can find out how they are recycled on Recycle Now.
Textiles
e.g. clothes, shoes and bags
Where to Recycle: Some Household Collections, Clothes Banks, or Household Waste Recycling Centres.
What happens: Good quality textiles and wearable clothing collected from either banks or kerbside recycling is resold into textile markets abroad for reuse or sold in UK charity shops such as the Salvation Army.
Lower quality textiles are turned into rags and cloths for cleaning. Some charities such as The Firefighters Charity accept these lower quality textiles. Learn to love your clothes, with information on repairing and caring for them here.
Electricals
e.g. batteries, small items such as kettles, plugs, cables and leads
Where to Recycle: Some Household Collections, Electrical Recycling Drop Off Points or Household Waste Recycling Centres.
What happens: Electrical items are stripped down to their component materials e.g. plastics and metals. These are then reprocessed into new items depending on the grade of material. Typical items include traffic cones, new steel products or even new circuit boards!
Always make sure to recycle batteries or electricals containing a hidden battery separately. If mixed in with general waste or recycling, they pose a serious fire risk.
Food Waste
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here to Recycle: Household Collections
What happens: After collection, food waste is sent to an anaerobic digestion facility in either Holsworthy or Cannington. Plastic liners are removed and the remaining material is broken down in a series of sealed, oxygen free tanks in a process called anaerobic digestion. This process produces methane, (used to generate electricity) and digestate, a nutrient rich fertiliser used by local, Devon farmers.
Garden Waste
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here to Recycle: Optional Garden Waste Collections or Household Waste Recycling Centres.
What happens: Garden waste is sent for processing at a windrow composting facility. This involves piling organic matter into long rows and turning it frequently to oxygenate and help with the decomposition.
Your recycling
For more detailed information about where your kerbside recycling ends up, check your local authority’s information page, linked below. (link opens in a new tab)
Why bother?
More and more people across Devon recycle everyday – we have the second highest recycling rate in England, with 54.5% of our waste being recycled!
Recycling helps to reduce the amount of our waste going to Energy Recovery Facilities and Landfill, which are more expensive and less environmentally friendly means of disposal.
Recycling also makes use of existing resources, reducing the need for extracting (mining, quarrying and logging), refining and processing more raw materials.
This all adds up to help to save energy and resources, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change whilst also saving money for local services.
Find out more…
Click on the images below to find out more about each material’s recycling process! (links open in a new tab)
