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All the plastic you can and cannot recycle

Categories: Articles:Environment, Articles:Social Justice | Published: 23/09/2018 | Views: 1716

Most people are trying their best to recycle plastic - but the many different ways in which recycling is collected by different councils across the UK has left them confused. Report by BBC.




What can be recycled and what can't? We are putting more plastic in the recycling than ever before - but pictures of sea life tangled in all manner of waste plastic mean the pressure is on to do more.

The government is now considering changing the way plastic is recycled in England. In the rest of the UK the strategy for recycling is a devolved issue.
 
Each council collects their plastic recycling differently. BBC analysis shows there are 39 different sets of rules for what can be put in plastic recycling collections:
 
  • Most collect bottles
  • Others collect pots, tubs and trays
  • Some collect a much wider range
Around the UK, all four nations are hoping to improve their recycling rates. The review by the government may change the target for recycling in England, but currently the aim is that 50% of waste will be recycled by 2020.

Scotland has a target to recycle 70% of waste by 2025 as does Wales. Northern Ireland has a proposal that 60% of municipal waste is recycled by 2020.
 
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