SPONSORED EDITORIAL

In the UK it’s estimated that as much as 80% of the contents of our rubbish bins could have been recycled or composted.

Recycling is one of the best ways to help make a positive impact on the environment and it’s so easy to help do your bit.

Your local council provide bins to dispose of your waste.

These may be different colours depending on where you live - and if you use them correctly it’s a win, win situation.

Recycling requires far less energy, uses fewer natural resources and means that valuable materials can be used again and again.

If you live in Maidstone you will be provided with a green bin for recycling.

Check out our simple guide to recycling at home.

RECYCLING COLLECTION: Green wheelie bin - collected fortnightly

Yes please to...

All plastic bottles - drinks bottles, cosmetics/toiletry bottles, cleaning product bottles

Plastic containers - fruit punnets, meat trays, ready meal trays, cake trays and chocolate trays, takeaway trays, yoghurt pots, margarine tubs, ice-cream tubs, dip pots, soup and sauce pots.

Glass jars and bottles - drinks bottles, sauce and condiment jars, jam and spread jars.

Cardboard - cereal boxes, toilet roll tubes, kitchen roll tubes, cardboard packaging, egg boxes.

Paper - letters, envelopes, junk mail, newspapers, magazines, cards, wrapping paper, catalogues.

Cartons - juice, soups, UHT milk

Foil and metal tins/cans - drinks cans, tinned food cans, tinned pet food.

Empty aerosols - deodorant and body spray, shaving foam, furniture polish, air freshener, hair spray, squirty cream

No thanks to...

Plastic bags or sacks

Floppy plastics such as bread bags, crisp packets and cling film

Polystyrene

YOU CAN ALSO RECYCLE THESE ITEMS AT HOME

Textiles recycling: Unwanted clothes and shoes can also be recycled. Just put the items into a standard sized carrier bag and place next to the green bin at the kerbside on your collection day, not in the recycling bins.

Small electrical items recycling: Small electrical items can also be collected like hairdryers, kettles and toasters. Place them into a standard sized carrier bag and place nextto your grey bin or sacks on your rubbish collection day.

Battery Recycling: To recycle batteries simply place them in a clear plastic bag and put on top of your grey bin or sacks on rubbish collection day.

DID YOU KNOW?

All of your recycling is taken to a Materials Recycling Facility in Crayford, Kent where it is sorted by material type using a range of advanced mechanical and manual techniques before being sent on to be reprocessed into new products.

Last year a huge 82.99% of your recycling stayed in the UK with 64.87% of this remaining in Kent.

Go to www.maidstone.gov.uk