What you can and cannot recycle

7 questions about what you can recycle — 0 yes, 2 no, and 5 that genuinely depend on the specifics.

Question	Answer	Short version
pizza boxes	It depends	Clean parts yes, grease-soaked parts no — tear the box and bin the oily half.
plastic bags	It depends	Not in kerbside bins. They need a store drop-off point that takes soft plastic film.
batteries	It depends	Yes, but only at a collection point. Batteries in a kerbside bin start fires.
styrofoam	No	Effectively no. Almost no kerbside service takes it, and food-soiled foam never qualifies.
coffee cups	It depends	Not in ordinary paper recycling — the plastic lining needs a specialist facility.
receipts	No	No. Most receipts are thermal paper coated with BPA or BPS and must go in general waste.
shredded paper	It depends	Often not loose — short fibres fall through the sorting screens. Bag it or check locally.

Read the full answer

Can you recycle pizza boxes? Clean parts yes, grease-soaked parts no — tear the box and bin the oily half.
Can you recycle plastic bags? Not in kerbside bins. They need a store drop-off point that takes soft plastic film.
Can you recycle batteries? Yes, but only at a collection point. Batteries in a kerbside bin start fires.
Can you recycle styrofoam? Effectively no. Almost no kerbside service takes it, and food-soiled foam never qualifies.
Can you recycle coffee cups? Not in ordinary paper recycling — the plastic lining needs a specialist facility.
Can you recycle receipts? No. Most receipts are thermal paper coated with BPA or BPS and must go in general waste.
Can you recycle shredded paper? Often not loose — short fibres fall through the sorting screens. Bag it or check locally.