Recycling - recycle right
We run two recycling schemes.
Most homes have a recycling bin and in most cases we ask you to put your recycling at the front of your property.
This includes if you are on scheme B and have asked us to swap your recycling caddy and bag for a wheeled bin.
What's my collection date and scheme?
Scheme A | Scheme B |
---|---|
Black lid wheeled bin - general waste | Black lid wheeled bin - general waste |
Green lid wheeled bin - cans, tins, aerosols, plastics and foil | Green caddy - cans, tins, aerosols, plastics and foil |
Caddy in your green lid bin - paper and cardboard | Blue bag - paper and cardboard |
Green box - glass | Green box - glass |
What can I recycle?
Yes please | No thanks |
---|---|
Newspaper and supplements | Soiled paper or card – like greasy pizza boxes |
Magazines brochures and catalogues | Glitter covered cards or wrapping paper |
White paper, computer paper, letters | Non paper gift wrap, foil based wrappings or bags |
Shredded paper, telephone directories | Sticky paper like post its or sticky labels |
Leaflets and flyers | Wallpaper |
Envelopes (without windows) | Nappies, wipes or sanitary products |
Gift wrap, brown paper and greetings cards | Tissues or used paper towels |
Cardboard boxes, cereal, washing tablets | Cotton wool, make up pads |
Online delivery boxes (remove tape) | Food & drink cartons, coffee cups, sandwich boxes, Tetra Pak-style packaging, laminated boxes (passata, pet food etc) |
Yes please | No thanks |
---|---|
Drink cans | Laminated foil pouches or boxes (pet food, coffee, passata etc ) |
Metal jar lids | Coat hangers |
Biscuit and chocolate tins | Pots and pans, kettles and irons |
Aluminium foil and trays | Kitchen knives |
Aerosols | Oil drums |
Single use e-cigarettes/vapes | |
Batteries (any type) |
Yes please | No thanks |
---|---|
Bottles of any colour, wines, beers or spirits | Drinking glasses and vases |
Jars (with metal lids removed) | Pyrex bowls, glass cookware |
Non food bottles; perfume, aftershave, face creams | Mirrors |
Nail varnish bottles | |
Microwave plates | |
Broken window panes | |
Light bulbs |
Yes please | No thanks |
---|---|
Tubs/containers from yoghurt, soup, butter, ice-cream etc | Black plastic like ready meal containers |
Trays/punnets like ham, meat, fruit & veg | Bottle tops, pumps and triggers |
Brown plant pots | Crisps and sweet wrappers |
Cleaning bottles (remove pumps, triggers, bottle tops) | Film lids from pots and trays |
Shampoo bottles, shower gel | Carrier bags, plastic wrapping, cling film, bread packets |
Juice, cordial and milk bottles | Laminated pouches – pet food |
Cosmetic bottles | Toothpaste tubes |
Ready to use plant food | Polystyrene |
Chemical bottles such as anti-freeze | |
Bubble wrap | |
Blister packs for medicine and medication |
Batteries
Batteries should never be put in bins as they can cause fires. Many batteries are built into devices such as scooters, phones and vapes and they all need safely disposing of. Lithium iron batteries are widely used as they are light and contain more energy, but this makes them more dangerous. Fires caused by lithium iron batteries are self sustaining and very hard to put out
If batteries are thrown away with general rubbish they are crushed in the bin wagon which causes highly flammable chemicals to leak out and fires can start either in the wagon or at the treatment plant. One serious fire a day is caused in the UK because of batteries.
Find your nearest battery recycling centre.
Help the planet
Check out our zero waste map to find shops and businesses around Darlington that encourage us to reduce, reuse and recycle.
Recycle Now has produced a handy recycling tracker which lets you search for places to recycle all sorts of items close to where you live. Recycle Now recycling locator [external link].
Responsible recycling
The majority of material we collect if reprocessed in this county - paper and card may go abroad depending on market conditions.
We can't collect everything we would like to as the UK does not have the infrastructure to recycle all the waste we produce.
For example there are lots of different types and grades of plastic – we will only collect higher quality plastics that can be recycled in the UK. We ask you to put the other ‘problem plastics’, which can’t be treated in the UK, in your general rubbish bin.
We feel this is better than sending them abroad where we can't control what happens to it.
Changing times
Sometimes we have to change what items we can collect to recycle and this is because recycling is a market and the value of items goes up and down.
For example, years ago recycling companies wanted to buy black plastic from us so we collected it from you.
However, the black plastic market stopped making money and the company we work with stopped taking black plastic for recycling.
Instead, they separated the black plastic from the other high quality plastics and sent it to a plant down south to turn it into fuel.
There is a fuel plant very close to Darlington, so it made more sense to stop sending our black plastic to a company miles away when we could do it close to home.
That’s why we asked you to stop putting black plastic in your recycling bin.
This is just one example of how changing markets in recycling affect what we will ask you to collect.
Frequently asked questions
Not everything with a recycling logo on it can be properly recycled in the UK and not all recycling plants recycle all recyclable materials.
The logo means the item can be recycled, but it doesn't mean it will necessarily be able to be recycled everywhere.
That's why we have our own list of what we can collect and recycle in this area (what the recycling plant we use will accept).
You can see a full list of recycling symbols and what they mean on the Recycle Now website[external link].
All waste that can't be recycled is taken to a treatment plant. Most of the waste is processed to make RDF (refuse derived fuel) for industry.
If you’re unsure whether something can be recycled, please put it in your normal bin rather than hoping we can recycle it.
If you put something in your recycle bin that can’t be recycled, it could contaminate the whole wagon, meaning your whole neighbourhood’s recycling efforts go to waste.
This means you have put the wrong materials in your bin.
It is important to take care with your recycling as we cannot recycle contaminated waste and it also costs the council money to dispose of it.
Our recycling vehicles have three compartments, one for paper and card and one for general recycling at the back and one for glass at the side.
During busy times, like Christmas, or if one of our vehicles breaks down, we hire extra wagons.
These hire vehicles sometimes have two compartments instead of three, which means some recycling needs to be put together.
When this happens, all recycling is sorted when the vehicles arrive at the depot so your efforts are not wasted.
If tops are left on bottles they can't be compressed and bailed at the recycling plant, however if you crush the bottles first and then put the top back on you can recycle them.
Sadly we can't do anything with pumps or triggers so these need to be removed.
We know that recycling can be complicated.
We ask you to sort your rubbish so we can collect as much quality recycling as possible. Sadly we can't recycle everything as we are subject to market forces and our aim to be a responsible recycler.
If you’re unsure whether something can be recycled please put it in your normal bin rather than hoping we can recycle it.
All waste that can't be recycled is taken to a treatment plant and most of it is processed to make RDF (refuse derived fuel) which is used in various industries.
This means the majority of your household waste, even when it can’t be recycled, avoids landfill.
School resources
It's never too early to learn about recycling right! We have produced a number of resources for primary school age children to spark discussion about the importance of recycling and recycling right.
- Benji factsheet [pdf document]
- Benji worksheet [pdf document]
- Benji colouring [png image file]
- Benji video - what's upset Benji? [external link]
- Benji video - Pauline's hungry [external link]
Recycle right video series
find out what can be recycled and what happen to your rubbish when we take it away. Each episode is around three minutes long and are suitable for viewing by all ages.
- Episode one [external link]
- Episode two [external link]
- Episode three [external link]
- Episode four [external link]
- Episode five [external link]
- Episode six [external link]