Plastics - other

Plastics account for 10% by weight of household waste, and occupy about 20-30% of the space in bins. There are over fifty different types of plastic (many products are marked by a code, e.g. a number from 1-6 in a triangle), but unfortunately, few of them are recyclable. The Highland council only take BOTTLES made from PET1 and HDPE as this is what the recycle plastics buyers require. They say that there would be too much contamination of other plastic types if people could put other PET1 and HPDE packaging to the plastics collection as its too difficult to distinguish.

Visit Waste Online for further information on recycling. Their information sheet on plastics recycling gives an overview of the different types of plastic, associated symbols and numbers.

Avoiding excessive use of plastic is the best course of action. It is also a good idea to reduce the volume of plastic in your bin, e.g. rinse bottles with hot water, compress, then put the lid back on.

Magazines packaged in polythene can be sent for recycling to Polyprint Mailing Films,

Also see a-z items: plastic bags, plastic bottles, polystyrene.