Reuse and recycle your plastic bottles

Recycle your plastic bottles instead of throwing them away – or, better still, keep reusing them.

Reusing and recycling bottles reduces both energy consumption and the huge amount of waste sent to landfill sites.

Making a considered effort to reuse or recycle your plastic bottles instead of simply tossing them into the main rubbish bin could hugely reduce the impact on landfill sites and conserve a vast amount of energy currently having to be used to manufacture new bottles from raw materials and chemicals.

Where you can, keep hold of your empty bottles and reuse them for storing and transporting drinks. Just think how many times you’ve spent money on bottled water when out and about when you could have simply refilled and chilled an empty bottle from the tap.

Where no use can be found for your empty bottle, make sure it finds it way to a recycling facility rather than a landfill site. Many councils now provide recycling collection services for plastics. Alternatively, find your nearest plastic recycling centre.

What plastic you can and can't generally recycle

Plastic items can be made of several different types of plastic. While most plastic is technically recyclable, certain types are more practical and beneficial to recycle than others. You'll therefore find it easier to find collections for some types of plastic than others.

While services vary around the country, here's our guide to what plastic items generally are and aren't accepted by recycling collections and facilities.