Recycling Matters.

What is contamination?

Contamination refers to anything put in our recycling bins that shouldn’t be there. That could mean materials being put in the recycling that aren’t currently collected or putting recyclable items in bags.

Our most recent Waste Composition Analysis showed that 27% of the recycling collected across the Liverpool City Region is classed as contamination.

Our main contaminants include materials such as textiles, plastic bags, and food-stained materials. None of these belong in our recycling bins!

So, remember:

Bagged recycling is rubbish! We need to keep our recycling clean and leave it loose. Just lift the lid and drop it in, easy.

Make sure what you put in your bin is accepted locally. Across most of the Liverpool City Region* the only items we can currently recycle at home are drink cans, food tins, plastic bottles, glass bottles and jars, paper, and cardboard. (For materials recyclable in St Helens click here.)

Most importantly, things like electronic devices and car batteries should never go in your recycling bin. They’re likely to cause fires and can contain hazardous materials. Instead, these can be recycled at your local recycling centre!

If in doubt, just search the materials on our  website, and it will tell you where and how to safely dispose or recycle your items.