Brief
UK homeowners mis‑recycle nine common items, survey finds
A Daily Mail survey and expert comments highlight nine household items most often placed in the wrong bin.
By Felo News Desk · Published
A Daily Mail survey of 500 UK homeowners found that while almost half consider recycling "very important," fewer than 30% feel "very confident" about disposing of waste correctly.
What happened
The survey identified nine items that are most frequently mis‑recycled, including flexible plastic crisp packets, greasy cardboard, food containers, single‑use vapes, handheld electric fans and Ozempic pens.
What the reports add
Dr Elliot Wooley, a reader in Sustainable Production and Consumption at Loughborough University, told the Daily Mail that flexible plastics such as crisp packets and bread bags are often disposed of incorrectly because they consist of multiple materials that standard recycling streams cannot process.
Kelvin Croney, Group Chief Commercial Officer of Waste Managed, explained that crisp packets should be placed in general waste unless a specialist scheme is available, to avoid contaminating other recyclables.
Croney also warned that discarding single‑use vapes, which contain lithium batteries, in recycling or general waste is "highly dangerous" because batteries can overheat and ignite.
What was said
"Flexible plastics like crisp packets and bread bags, greasy cardboard boxes and food containers are most frequently disposed of incorrectly," Dr Wooley said to the Daily Mail.
"This reduces the risk of contamination in the recycling collection, which can lower the quality of other recyclables and stop some waste from being recycled," Croney said.
"Regular recycling facilities you find in the home or workplace are not equipped to process batteries. If a battery enters the system, it may contact metal, overheat, and ignite nearby flammable materials," Croney added.
How it came about
The findings follow earlier Felo News coverage on household recycling practices, including the need to rinse cans (Do You Need to Rinse Cans Before Recycling?) and recent incidents involving battery fires at recycling centres (Fire engulfs 150 tonnes of batteries at Berkshire recycling centre).
Key facts
- A survey of 500 UK homeowners found less than 30% feel very confident about recycling correctly. (dailymail.co.uk)
- Flexible plastic items like crisp packets are often placed in recycling bins despite being unsuitable for standard processing. (dailymail.co.uk)
- Kelvin Croney advises disposing of crisp packets in general waste unless a specialist scheme exists. (dailymail.co.uk)
- Single‑use vapes containing lithium batteries are considered highly dangerous if placed in recycling or general waste. (dailymail.co.uk)
Sources
- [1] dailymail.co.uk — originally reported as “Are YOU guilty of these 9 recycling mistakes?”
