What do I put in my blue box?

PAPER

YES - Newspapers, magazines, cardboard, catalogues, phone directories, cereal packets, envelopes, junk mail, cards, office paper and brochures.

NO - Egg boxes, plastic liners to cereal packets.

GLASS

YES - Wine, spirit and beer bottles, fruit juice and soft drink bottles, sauce bottles, jam and other food jars.

All these types of glass - whether green, brown or clear - are 100 per cent recyclable, meaning that by using them again you are making an immediate impact on the environment.

NO - Painted bottles, light bulbs, heat resistant or toughened glass, Vision or Pyrex cookware, mirrors, windows or windscreens.

Before glass can be recycled it needs to be melted down. If you put any of the above material in with your glass for recycling, it will contaminate a whole recycling load. This leads to a batch of faulty bottles that have to be thrown away. Ceramics and porcelain will also contaminate glass.

ALL TYPES OF PLASTIC BOTTLES

YES - All plastic bottles must be washed, lids removed and squashed.

NO - Plastic egg boxes, plastic packaging, waxed paper, yoghurt pots.

ALL TYPES OF CARDBOARD

Cardboard must be flattened.

FOOD AND DRINKS CANS

All cans should be rinsed out.

PLASTIC CARRIER BAGS

All plastic carrier bags can be collected.

EMPTY AEROSOL CANS

All empty aerosol cans can be collected.