We’ve written before about reducing our use of plastics but sometimes there’s no getting away from it - so what can we do?

According to DEFRA 2020/21 statistics, Buckinghamshire recycles, reuses or composts 51.2% of household waste - and it’s the first of these processes that causes the most confusion. 

Plastic is graded and marked with recycling symbols so, in theory, it should be easy to see if  our plastic waste will be accepted. But things are not always what they seem! Beware, for example, the ‘Green Dot’; two green arrows looping into each other in a kind of yin-yang arrangement. This does not necessarily mean the item is recyclable or made from recycled products; it simply means the company has donated money towards the recycling of packaging somewhere in Europe. 

Similarly, just because a plastic bears a ‘Mobius Loop’ (the familiar triangle of interlocking arrows) does not mean it can be recycled. An  unadorned triangle just means that the packaging could be recycled - but not necessarily in Bucks. So, in the absence of a specific instruction (‘recycle’/‘don’t recycle') we need to look at the number in the middle of the Loop. Sometimes this is a percentage figure indicating the the packaging contains x% of recycled material. More usually there’s a number 1-7; the ‘plastic resin identification code’ - and this is where it gets complicated, so pay attention!

1 = PET used for drinks bottles and some food packaging; widely recycled

2 = HDPE used to cleaning product bottles, milk cartons and so on; also widely recycled

3 = PVC used for car parts and window fittings; not easily recycled

4 = LDPE used for plastic bags and wrapping; recycle at specialist points

5 = PP used for many tubs and trays; widely recycled

6 = PS used for takeaway boxes, disposable cutlery and so on; not easily recycled

7 = Other indicates plastic resin used for crisp packets, dried food and bread bags, and some vegetable wrapping (so-called ‘soft plastics’); recycle these at specialist points

‘Specialist points’ include most supermarkets; look for a cage or large bin. Soft plastics are sorted, washed, scrubbed and dried and the resulting material made into pellets, used in the manufacture of bin liners. There’s more about all of this on the excellent Recycle Now website.

On the Bucks Council waste and recycling pages, there’s a helpful list of the plastic items that we must not put in our blue-lidded wheelies. The list includes sweet wrappers, cling film, plant pots, and pet food pouches - but, if you look closely, you will see a Green Dot or a Mobius Loop on many of these items. Hold back! Check the codes and decide for yourself.

Kathy Bostrom for BCAG, July 2022