Plastic bags and wrapping
Recycle at home
Recycle out of home
Yes, Plastic bags and wrapping can be recycled at some out of home recycling points.
Which types of plastic bags and wrapping can be recycled?
All plastic bags except biodegradable or compostable bags;
Bread bags;
Breakfast cereal liners;
Shrink wrap and ring joiners from multipacks of water, cans, etc;
Frozen food bags, e.g. bags for frozen vegetables, chips, etc;
Dry cleaning bags or bags covering new clothing;
Magazine and newspaper wrappers;
Bags for loose fruit and vegetables;
Bubble wrap;
Low-density polyethylene (LDPE) – resin ID code 4.
Which types of plastic bags and wrapping cannot be recycled?
Dirty bags or film, for example containing food;
Non-Polyethylene film (e.g. PP, PVC, others);
Cling film or plastic wrapping film;
Compostable and biodegradable bags and film;
Film lids from trays and pots, e.g. yoghurt pots;
Food and drink pouches;
Pre-prepared salad bags;
Wrappers from bakeries, e.g. bags with lots of small holes in them;
Plastic frozen food bags;
Plastic carrier bags.
Good to know
Top tips for recycling plastic bags and wrapping
All items should be clean and free of food;
Tear off sticky labels where possible;
Compostable and biodegradable bags are not designed to be recycled and if they enter the recycling system can potentially cause quality issues in the recycled material.