Are YOU guilty of these 9 recycling mistakes? Experts reveal why greasy pizza boxes, vapes and Mounjaro pens are derailing your good intentions – and the ‘designer’ system to follow instead

Do crisp packets belong in the recycling bin? Should you be washing your yoghurt tubs and milk bottles before binning them? And what’s the safest way to get rid of lithium battery-powered vapes? 

Chances are you’ve grappled with at least one of these recycling questions – and you’re definitely not alone.  

A survey of 500 UK homeowners conducted by Redrow revealed that while almost half think recycling is ‘very important’, less than 30 per cent are ‘very confident’ they understand the best way to dispose of household waste correctly. 

Dr Elliot Wooley, Reader in Sustainable Production and Consumption at Loughborough University, told the Daily Mail that flexible plastics like crisp packets and bread bags, greasy cardboard boxes and food containers are most frequently disposed of incorrectly. 

But there’s also confusion about how to discard vapes, handheld electric fans and Ozempic pens, as it is estimated that over 1.6 million people in the UK have used fat jabs in the last year. 

Waste disposal experts from Waste Managed reveal the nine household items most people discard incorrectly, while a celebrity stylist shares her top three tips to create an efficient, foolproof system that works every time.  

Crisp packets  

Over eight billion packets of crisps are thrown away in the UK every year, and most people put them in their recycling bins because they look like plastic packaging. 

However, most household collections do not accept these packets because ‘they are made up of several materials such as plastic films and metallic layers, which makes them hard to recycle in normal systems’, said Kelvin Croney, the Group Chief Commercial Officer at Newcastle-based waste management firm, Waste Managed. 

He advises placing them in the general waste bins unless a specialist recycling scheme or soft plastic collection point is available. 

‘This reduces the risk of contamination in the recycling collection, which can lower the quality of other recyclables and stop some waste from being recycled.’

Vapes 

The government banned the sale of single-use vapes that contain lithium batteries last year, but millions of single-use devices continue to be binned in the UK despite the ban.       

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Mr Croney highlighted that disposing of them in general waste or recycling bins is ‘highly dangerous’. 

He said: ‘Regular recycling facilities you find in the home or workplace are not equipped to process batteries. If a battery enters the system, it may contact metal, overheat, and ignite nearby flammable materials.

The government banned the sale of single-use vapes that contain lithium batteries last year, but millions of single-use devices continue to be binned in the UK despite the ban 

‘Disposing of vapes or lithium batteries in general waste or recycling bins is highly dangerous. Compaction with other waste can cause rupture or short-circuiting, which may result in a fire.’

Instead, vapes should be recycled through proper WEEE recycling facilities and many local recycling centres and vape shops now offer designated collection points for safe disposal.

‘After using a vape, store it safely and take it to a WEEE recycling point or your local vape shop. Proper recycling helps prevent fires and conserves valuable materials such as lithium,’ the waste management expert added. 

Mounjaro pens 

As the use of fat jabs becomes more common, it’s essential to know how to get rid of used needles from ‘pens’ or pre-filled devices to safely administer the medication. 

Steve Traviss, the Procurement & Sustainability Officer at Waste Managed, said: ‘Throwing used Mounjaro needles into recycling bins or household waste is not only dangerous to the user, but could also leave people with needlestick injuries and even put them at risk of infection.’ 

Instead, once the injection has been used, it’s advised that the needle should be removed from the pen and put straight into a sharps bin. 

Mr Traviss added: ‘Containers are specifically designed to keep used needles safely sealed away, and can be sourced from your pharmacy, local council or GP. 

‘Once the bin is full, it should be closed securely and returned or collected, never thrown out alongside everyday waste disposal.’ 

Juice cartons

Before recycling juice cartons, check your local council’s advice. This is because many cartons can be recycled, but services differ by area, advised Mr Croney. 

Cartons need special facilities to separate and recycle the layers as they are mostly made from paperboard, plastic and aluminium. ‘If cartons are placed in the wrong recycling bin, they can cause contamination,’ he added. 

‘It’s also important to empty and rinse the carton before putting it in the recycling. Leftover liquid can contaminate other recyclable materials, reducing the quality and making them harder to process.’ 

Ice cream tubs

Ice cream tubs are also a good example of why checking local recycling guidance matters. Research from WRAP found that 82 per cent of UK households put at least one item into their recycling that isn’t accepted locally.

Mr Croney said they should always be emptied and cleaned before being placed in the recycling bin to avoid the risk of contamination. 

Handheld electric fans

Back-to-back heatwaves made handheld electric fans the hottest accessory to own this summer, with research suggesting eight million were sold as temperatures rose to a sweltering 38 degrees in some parts of the UK. 

Almost half of these will end up in landfills, as Mr Croney said they should not be treated like ordinary plastic waste and should be recycled through the correct channels rather than dumped in the bin. 

‘Many handheld fans contain lithium-ion batteries and electrical components, meaning they should be recycled through dedicated electrical waste schemes rather than placed in general waste or household recycling bin,’ he added. 

‘Lithium-ion batteries are estimated to cause around 48 per cent of all waste fires every year in the UK, according to research from the Environmental Services Association and Eunomia.

‘Recycling handheld fans correctly helps recover valuable materials and reduces the risk of batteries becoming damaged during waste processing, where they can create a fire hazard.’ 

Egg cartons

In the UK, egg boxes are typically made from cardboard, so they are widely accepted as recyclable by local authorities. 

‘If you do find your egg box is made from plastic, you should check with your local authority to see if you can recycle it,’ advised the senior executive at Waste Managed. 

‘If you compost at home, you can usually compost egg boxes made of cardboard or paper but be sure to break them up first and remove any plastic labels. Remember that both plastic and Styrofoam egg cartons can’t be composted.’ 

Milk bottles

Plastic milk bottles are most widely used in the UK and are manufactured from high-density polyethene (HDPE) and can generally be recycled. 

Mr Croney recommends thoroughly cleaning these bottles before disposal to reduce the risk of contamination and ‘prevent your bin from smelling’. 

‘You will need to remove the bottle lid but be sure to rip the milk label off and dispose of it in your general waste bin, as labels are often not recyclable,’ he added. 

Lemon nets

If you’re buying fresh lemons, the nets aren’t something that can generally be recycled at home in your recycling bin.

‘However, most supermarkets will allow you to recycle fruit nets along with other soft plastics such as carrier bags,’ Mr Croney told the Daily Mail. 

How to make recycling simple  

 A celebrity interiors stylist has said recycling doesn’t have to clutter up your home and can be simplified by ‘creating a simple – but obvious – system’. 

Georgina Burnett said: ‘If you have separate bins or compartments, label them clearly – particularly if you have children, guests or anyone in the household who is slightly less enthusiastic about recycling than you are.

‘I like to give each waste stream its own defined home rather than relying on lots of loose bags and containers. Even simple labels such as Food, General, Recycling and Glass can make a huge difference.

‘Also, don’t make the recycling bin a dumping ground. If you have several different recycling categories, separate them at source rather than creating one enormous pile that needs sorting later. The less decision-making involved, the more likely everyone is to use the system properly.’ 

Her ‘designer-approved’ ways to recycle consistently are: 

Hide recycling in plain sight

Large bins don’t need to dominate a kitchen, according to Georgina, who recommends integrating recycling into existing cabinetry where possible.

‘I’d go vertical and multi-purpose. You don’t necessarily need four huge bins taking up precious floor space.

‘A pull-out waste system inside a cupboard can give you several compartments without visually dominating the room. Narrow pull-out units can also make use of awkward gaps that would otherwise become dead space,’ she added. 

Create dedicated zones for different waste streams

Rather than trying to keep everything in one place, Georgina recommends assigning different areas of the home to different types of waste.

‘Another trick is to use a smaller food-waste caddy on the worktop or inside a cupboard door, while keeping larger recycling containers elsewhere – for example in a utility room, boot room or even a dedicated cupboard near the kitchen.’

Don’t treat the kitchen like recycling HQ

When space is limited, homeowners shouldn’t feel restricted to storing all of their recycling in the kitchen.

‘Your recycling doesn’t have to live entirely in the kitchen. If space is tight, the best storage solution might actually be just outside it,’ Georgina said.