What can't be recycled (yet) — and what to do with it

Enthusiastic recyclers often fall into a trap: trying to recycle everything. But putting non-recyclable items into recycling — "wishcycling" — actually does harm, contaminating good material and creating extra work. Knowing what can't be recycled, and what to do instead, is just as important as knowing what can. Here's a practical guide.

Why "wishcycling" backfires

When you put a non-recyclable item in with recyclables, hoping it'll be sorted out, you risk:

• Contaminating the whole load
• Slowing down sorting
• Damaging equipment
• Causing good material to be downgraded or rejected

The honest rule: when in doubt, leave it out. It's better to bin one item than to spoil a whole bag.

Common things that usually can't be recycled

Soft, multi-layer plastics

• Chip packets and snack wrappers
• Squeezable pouches (sauces, baby food)
• Bubble-lined courier bags
• Cling film that's soiled

These combine materials or are too contaminated to recycle through normal streams.

Polystyrene

• Foam takeaway containers and cups
• Foam packaging and "peanuts"
• Meat trays (foam)

Polystyrene is difficult and rarely accepted at buyback.

Food- and grease-soiled items

• Oily pizza boxes
• Food-soaked paper and packaging
• Used paper plates and serviettes

Contamination ruins the recyclability of otherwise-good paper and card.

Certain glass and ceramics

• Drinking glasses, Pyrex and ovenware
• Window and mirror glass
• Ceramics and crockery
• Light bulbs

These differ from bottle-and-jar glass and contaminate the stream.

Hygiene and mixed-material items

• Nappies and sanitary products
• Tissues and paper towels
• Thermal till slips
• Stickers and heavily taped items

Hazardous materials

• Batteries (need special e-waste channels)
• Paint, chemicals and aerosols with contents
• Electronics (e-waste — separate handling)

What to do instead

Just because something can't go in your recycling doesn't mean there's nothing to do:

• Reduce. Choose products with recyclable packaging — bottles, cans, glass — over hard-to-recycle formats like pouches and foam.
• Reuse. Many "non-recyclables" can be reused: containers for storage, packaging for posting, jars for crafts.
• Special channels. Batteries, electronics and certain items have dedicated drop-offs and e-waste recyclers — use them.
• Compost. Food-soiled paper and food scraps can often be composted rather than binned.
• Bin responsibly. What genuinely can't be recycled or composted goes in general waste — keeping it out of your recycling protects the good material.

The hopeful "yet"

Notice the word "yet" in the title. Recycling capabilities keep improving. Materials that are hard to recycle today — like multi-layer pouches or certain plastics — are the focus of ongoing innovation and producer-responsibility efforts. Better packaging design and new processing technology gradually expand what's recyclable. What's non-recyclable now may not be forever.

Focus on what works

Rather than stressing about every tricky item, focus your energy on recycling the materials that genuinely work well — PET and HDPE plastics, paper and cardboard, cans and glass — and recycling them properly: clean, dry and sorted. Get those right and you'll divert the vast majority of your recyclable waste effectively.

The clean-stream principle

The single most valuable habit is keeping your recycling clean — free of non-recyclables, food and moisture. A clean stream of the right materials is worth far more and does far more good than a contaminated jumble of "everything". Knowing what to leave out is how you keep your stream clean.

Unsure about a specific item? Don't guess — ask WasteGo Green what we accept, and we'll help you recycle right.