What is happening with our recycled waste?

Many of you are aware that recycling your waste is the way forward, but are you actually aware of what happens to our recycled waste once your bin collection is over?

Over time, more people have recognised the need to protect the environment and reduce unnecessary waste. Because of this, the 3Rs—Reduce, Reuse, Recycle—have become part of everyday life. In homes, reducing and reusing come naturally, but in offices, recycling has taken the lead. Businesses often generate large volumes of paper, packaging, and general waste. Therefore, office recycling plays a crucial role in cutting down landfill. Across the UK, we now recycle about 25% of our rubbish. Although that’s an improvement, we still lag behind many European countries. To help close the gap, councils have introduced stricter rules. Some issue fines for sorting mistakes, while others reduce bin collections. A few even use bin microchips to monitor waste. Still, many people support these efforts. After all, turning rubbish into recycled waste benefits everyone. By working together, we can protect resources and create cleaner communities.

But where does our recycled waste actually go…

Most recycled waste in the UK gets processed locally, with many final products staying within the country. However, some of this waste still travels abroad. Bottles, tins, and plastics often return as packaging or become bricks, insulation, or even car parts. In many cases, recycled waste helps create road surfaces and construction materials. So, although it moves, it usually travels hundreds—not thousands—of miles. At one time, much of our waste went to China.

Now, that’s where a serious issue begins. China has tightened restrictions on the waste it accepts from abroad. As a result, the UK must find new solutions for handling recycled waste. Councils and companies now face growing pressure to manage it responsibly and locally. Thankfully, new facilities and technologies are emerging to support that shift. Still, long-term success depends on better habits at home and work. Recycling only works when everyone does their part.China bans foreign waste – but what will happen to the world’s recycling? Read more…

Plastic waste is a major concern!

So what will happen to the plastic collected from domestic and commercial properties once the Chinese refuse to accept it? What are the alternatives?

Plastics collected for recycling could go to energy recovery (incineration). They are, after all, a fossil-fuel based material and burn extremely well – so on a positive note, they could generate electricity and improve energy self-sufficiency. Many local authorities collect recycling that is jumbled together. But a major side effect of this type of collection is that while it is convenient for the householder, there are high contamination levels which leads to reduced material quality. This will mean it is either sold for lower prices into a limited market, will need to be reprocessed through sorting plants, or will be incinerated or put in landfill. But changes to recycling collections and reprocessing to improve the quality of materials could be expensive.

So it is now time to change our relationship with plastic and other general waste.