Plastic Bottles
Find out how plastic bottles are recycled by watching a video here
Alternatively, you can watch what happens to material collected co-mingled at a Materials Recycling Facility
By weight, plastic makes up approximately 8% of the household waste stream, although it often appears to be more due to its light and extremely bulky nature.
There are about 50 different groups of plastics, and within these groups there are hundreds of different varieties. However, there are 6 types which are the most common in the household.
The biggest use of plastics in the UK is packaging, which is used to wrap almost half of all packaged goods and accounts for 37% of consumption.
Download a pdf of a leaflet about plastics.
Our recycling / disposal advice
What & Where?
There are many different types of plastic and it comes in many different forms. The type of plastic that is used to make carrier bags for shops to give to customers is very different from the type used to make toothpaste tubes, and this again is different from the plastic used for shampoo bottles etc...
Each type of plastic is suited to its particular use, and the qualities of each type affects it's suitability to be recycled. In collecting plastics for recycling the Disposal Authority is generally restricted by what the reprocessors will accept; currently there are three plastic types which are fairly easy to recycle and they are the types which are commonly used to make plastic bottles: drinks bottles, shampoo bottles etc...
These same plastic types are also used for other products but bottles can be easily cleaned. So unfortunately other plastic packaging cannot be recycled in Hertfordshire at the moment.
In the case of plastic carrier bags, WasteAWare recommends that when you are offered a plastic bag in a shop, consider whether you really need it. Every year an estimated 17.5 million plastic carrier bags are given away by supermarkets alone, the vast majority of which end up in landfill. Invest a few pounds in the purchase of a cotton re-use shopping bag or a supermarket ‘bag for life’ which can be bought for as little as 10p.
Kerbside collection schemes in your area may or may not accept plastic bottles. Contact your local District/Borough Recycling Officer for more details. Plastic bottles are also recycled at some community recycling points in Hertfordshire's Districts/Boroughs.
All types of plastic bottles from households (such as shampoo, bleach, fizzy drinks, milk etc) can be recycled at 18 of Hertfordshire's 19 Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs). This service at HWRCs was launched in April 2004, and in the schemes first year more than 115 tonnes of plastic bottles were collected for recycling and therefore diverted from landfill. This equates to in excess of 2.3 million plastic bottles!
Hertfordshire's plastic bottles undergo a process of shredding, washing, drying and flaking. The final pure flake is then transferred to other reprocessors in the UK to be made into piping, agricultural and garden fencing, bedding and fleece garments.
How?Please rinse out the bottles before placing them in a recycling bank. This is to avoid any nasty smells that may accumulate or attracting pests due to residues. The material will be thoroughly sterilised in the recycling process so the washing does not have to be to high hygienic standards. In fact WasteAware recommend using 'grey water' (i.e. the end of your washing up water) to rinse, as this will be sufficient to remove residues and avoids using any more water or energy than is necessary.
Labels do not have to be taken off as they will also be removed during the recycling process. However, lids should be removed if taking the bottles to a HWRC (although they are still recycled), as the bottles are compacted and baled on site to aid more economical transfer to the reprocessor (it takes approx. 20,000 bottles to make a 1 tonne bale). The removal of lids aids the compaction processes. If taking plastic bottles to a local recycling bring bank, check with your relevant District Council providing the service whether lids are also accepted for recycling with the bottles.
Download and view our How materials are recycled leaflet.
Use the search below to find where to recycle / dispose of Plastic Bottles.