---
title: "What you can and cannot recycle"
description: "7 straight answers about what you can recycle, each with what actually happens and what to do instead when the answer is no."
url: https://atoneplace.net/can-you/recycle/
site: "At One Place"
---

# 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?](https://atoneplace.net/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?](https://atoneplace.net/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?](https://atoneplace.net/can-you/recycle-batteries/) — Yes, but only at a collection point. Batteries in a kerbside bin start fires.
- [Can you recycle styrofoam?](https://atoneplace.net/can-you/recycle-styrofoam/) — Effectively no. Almost no kerbside service takes it, and food-soiled foam never qualifies.
- [Can you recycle coffee cups?](https://atoneplace.net/can-you/recycle-coffee-cups/) — Not in ordinary paper recycling — the plastic lining needs a specialist facility.
- [Can you recycle receipts?](https://atoneplace.net/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?](https://atoneplace.net/can-you/recycle-shredded-paper/) — Often not loose — short fibres fall through the sorting screens. Bag it or check locally.