Having recently moved abroad, I’ve found myself baffled by the multitude of rules and colour-coding of the German recycling system. In the process, I’ve begun to question whether I ever fully understood the same rules in Edinburgh, despite living in the city for multiple years and often patting myself on the back for my environmentalist attitudes.
I for one am certainly guilty of ‘wish cycling’ - throwing rubbish into what I assume is the correct bin in the sheer hope that it’ll be recycled. Usually this involves materials such as glass, plastics and cardboard, for which the rules can differ between local authorities. Often this process allows us to feel like we’re doing the right, sustainable thing without the necessary attention to detail.
Why do we wish-cycle?
Wish-cycling often falls into the strange gap between one’s sustainable ambition and unsustainable action - if we didn’t care about the environment, it’s unlikely we’d be making the effort to recycle in the first place!
Social scientists have spent decades pondering why recycling initiatives often fall short of providing the level of reuse and avoiding the level of waste we expect. For example, the UK Government reported that in 2021, approximately 45% of household waste in our country was recycled, including 63.2% of total packaging waste (DEFRA, 2022). However, with the UK producing over 200 million tonnes of waste annually, the sheer quantity of landfill waste continually produced suggests we’re falling short of our waste reduction goals.
Previously, this has been attributed to a lack of opportunity - local councils without clear, structured recycling facilities have fallen at the first hurdle. Regardless of our personal motivations, residents are far less likely to consciously recycle if the opportunity simply isn’t there (Derksen & Gartrell, 1993).
On the other hand, modern councils may have been cursed by their own success, with recycling schemes seemingly too complicated for us to follow on a daily basis. In this situation, public campaigning and general awareness has lagged behind the technology and infrastructure necessary for more effective recycling. The ‘3 R’s’ (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) have been a key phrase in encouraging recycling in Britain, but more specific, localised campaigns are necessary to make the most of the infrastructure we have available.
From a sociological and psychological perspective, making recycling an ordinary, mundane practice integrated into our behaviour is crucial to normalising effective recycling. “Much like exercising or eating healthily”, recycling is a beneficial practice we’re all aware of, but regularly fail to follow unless we imbed it into our routines and it becomes a habit (Brian Lacoviello in Waste360, 2016).
The simplest action we can all take is to familiarise ourselves with how recycling works in our city (all laid out below). Print it out if you have to and stick it on the fridge for the whole flat to see. There will be no exam at the end.
The most common culprits
Pizza boxes - used for transporting a staple of the student diet. Unfortunately cardboard boxes tainted with grease cannot be recycled and must be put into the general waste bin. Any non-tainted cardboard can be recycled normally.
Pringles cans (other crisps brands are available and equally non-recyclable) - although the constituent parts of Pringles packaging can technically be recycled, few local recycling facilities are geared up for this. As such, they generally end up in landfill. Pringles are in the process of creating ‘Bring Bank’ collection points across the UK. The cynic in me would rather see a change of packaging instead of brand-specific, relatively sparse collection points, but the trudge towards sustainability is certainly a slow one…
Plastic-lined drinks cups - again, theoretically recyclable in parts, but unless you’re willing to remove the plastic lining from the cardboard shell, it won’t be done at the recycling centre.
Recycling in Edinburgh:
Whether you live in a property with its own wheelie bins or a tenement building with communal street level bins, recycling in Edinburgh is reasonably convenient.
GREEN WHEELIE BIN
- Paper, cardboard, most plastic packaging, tins, foil, and even aerosols.
- However, dirty packaging simply contaminates the rest of the recycling (especially due to dirty food packaging).
- Plastic bags, crisp bags, polystyrene, and clingfilm are formed of a different type of plastic which must go in the general waste instead of green recycling bin!
GREY LID/GREY CADDY
- Food recycling.
- All solid cooked or uncooked food (as well as used tea bags and coffee grounds).
- Food needs to be unpackaged - non-degradable material eg plastic go elsewhere.
PURPLE (or blue recycling box)
- Glass recycling.
- All glass bottles and jars and their lids! (Essentially all packaging).
- Doesn’t include any cookware or glassware, and lightbulbs as the different type of glass has a different melting temperature so disrupts the recycling process.
BLACK BINS
- Non-recyclable waste.
- Anything not mentioned above.
- Items too big to fit in these bins can be taken to your local recycling centre (leaving bin bags on the pavement is illegal).
Zero Waste Scotland have produced an excellent website providing advice on just about anything you need to dispose of. Their search engine makes it super simple to check what you can and can’t bin. Have a go for yourself -
General take-aways (not in polystyrene containers, please):
It’s always more beneficial to simply avoid using plastic packing in the first place!
Wash and separate your rubbish before throwing it away to increase chances of recycling.
Although it may appear intimidating at first, familiarising yourself with your local recycling rules can have a significant impact on our individual waste footprints.
Holly Derrett, 3rd November 2022
References and useful resources:
Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (2022) UK statistics on waste https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/uk-waste-data/uk-statistics-on-waste
Derksen, L., & Gartrell, J. (1993). The Social Context of Recycling. American Sociological Review, 58(3), 434–442. https://doi.org/10.2307/2095910
Waste360 (2016) The Reasoning Behind Why People Don't Recycle. [Online]. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A459930277/ITOF?u=ed_itw&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=429b5cd5
BBVA, 5 Best recycling practices from around the world - https://www.bbva.com/en/sustainability/5-best-recycling-practices-from-around-the-world/
Pringles, ‘Time to Recycle’ - https://www.pringles.com/uk/recycle.html