Light bulbs and florescent lamps

What we call a light bulb, is referred to as a lamp by the lighting industry. Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are low energy light bulbs. Compact LED bulbs can look very similar to CFLs, this means you can change to LEDs without having to change your light fittings. CFL’s use up to 80% less energy than old fashioned incandescent bulbs, but to do this, they need a small amount of mercury which is why they can’t be thrown away in your Kerbside bins.

The typical amount of mercury in a lamp is between 1.2 to 4mg, and in a domestic compact florescent lamp (CFL) this equates to the tip of a ballpoint pen. The mercury in one CFL is not enough to pose a health risk but they do need to be disposed of responsibly to reduce the risk of large quantities of mercury ending up in landfill.

In the UK, the collection and recycling of fluorescent lamps is compulsory under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive. If we all recycle, we can protect our environment, and the mercury, glass and metal can be reused. If you want to know how, have a look at: www.recolight.co.uk How can we recycle? Save up your light bulbs and tubes and take them with you next time you are making a journey to your council recycling centre (AKA The Tip!).

Some electrical retailers offer a recycling service. Robert Dyas is one, but I am sure there are others. When you buy your next light bulb do ask if they offer a recycling scheme.

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Recycling home

Soft plastic bags and packets

You can now recycle a lot more soft plastics than crisp packets and stretchy plastic at many supermarket stores (www.shorturl.at/cekFR).

Soft plastics are lightweight plastics that cannot be placed in recycling bins at home. Think plastic film lids on yoghurt pots, soft fruit punnets and ready meals, as well as plastic crisp packets, pasta bags and chocolate or biscuit wrappers.

All major supermarkets are offering this service: Co-op, Tesco, Waitrose, Morrisons and Sainsburys. When you get into the swing of it, you will be taking a carrier bag full of recycling to the supermarket every time you visit!

Additional: Please bear in mind supermarkets do move around their recycling bins, so if you cannot find it do ask in store, and your local store may be different.
Waitrose – At the far end of the store after the checkouts by the café.
Robert Dyas – offers battery recycling by the entrance door.
Boots – On the right as you step inside.
Marks and Spencer – Behind the checkout desks.

WSCC recycling your ‘hard’ plastic (bottles, tubs and trays etc) and the supermarkets accepting your ‘soft’ plastic (bags, packets). All the plastic packaging you get from Supermarkets can now be recycled!

But what happens to it? Soft plastic can now be recycled via physical recycling which turns it into other items such as heavy-duty outdoor plastic furniture and roads; and chemical recycling, which turns it back into oil, that can be used for making new plastic resins for fuel and other purposes. Please also support your local Terracycle collection teams. www.terracycle.com/en-GB/brigades will show you where and what you can recycle, for the benefit of a local charity or school. The Stand Up Inn and Lindfield Primary Academy are prime examples in Lindfield.

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The cereal manufacturers are changing their packaging so the good news is that some liners can be recycled with carrier bags at larger stores.
You will need to look at the cardboard outer, and the recycling instructions on the cardboard outer of individual packets. Some manufacturers, and these include Kelloggs, Nestle and Sainsburys’ own brand are changing the composition of the liner to a recyclable plastic and the instructions on the box have been changed to reflect this, and now tell you that the inner liner can now be ‘recycle with carrier bags at larger stores’. What this means is that these inner wrappers can now be put into the plastic bag recycling bins at most large supermarket stores.

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Please make sure these are all empty and clean so they can be recycled! So now you recycle your soft plastic, that cannot be recycled by WSCC, at your supermarket.

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Recycling home

Aluminium foil

Foil can be used for many things, mostly though, it’s used in cooking and especially with the use of oil, it can end up with baked on residues of food and grease. So, how do we recycle it?

With foil if you can scrape off as much food waste as possible either by crinkling it or scrapping it with your fingernail. Small amounts will be okay. If there are large amounts, just cut them out and pop the really damaged foil into your black top rubbish bin.

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Like aluminium cans, aluminium foil is made from bauxite, a natural mineral found in the planet in great abundance. And like aluminium cans, aluminium foil is 100% recyclable - and a valuable recyclable material as it doesn’t lose any quality during the recycling process.

Do scrunch all your foil, big and small, into a ball until it is the size of a tennis ball, but the bigger the better.

Our dependency on oil and bauxite is reduced since recycling one ton of aluminium saves 40 barrels of oil. As you know we ask for all your recycling to be Clean Dry and Loose. Regarding clean, the main issue is that if a soiled item is put into your recycling bin it will contaminate other items in your bin or the bin lorry. If you put a half full tin of baked beans in your recycling bin (it does happen!!) then the beans will contaminate the paper, cardboard and plastics in your bin, and the rest of the bin lorry when it is collected. So as long as when you run your fingers over the foil there is no grease that will contaminate the rest of your recycling bin then it will be OK.

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Recycling home

Metal foil milk bottle tops

The foil milk bottle tops from good old fashioned milk bottles can be recycled. This is foil and can go into your blue top kerbside recycling bin.

As they are small, I would suggest you do as I do: As you use them pop them, clean and dry, into a small pot and then with all your other small bits of foil, roll them up into a ball. When the ball gets to the size of a tennis ball pop it into your recycling bin. At this size it will not get mixed up with other recycling and will not block up the mechanical sorting machinery at our recycling plant.

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Recycling home page