Where do Crisp packets and snack wrappers go?

A crisp packet is metallised polypropylene — plastic film with a vapour-deposited aluminium layer measured in nanometres. It looks like foil and behaves like plastic, and the combination is why it is excluded from kerbside collections and why the scrunch test fails it. Many large supermarkets now take flexible plastics including crisp packets at front-of-store collection points, which is currently the only routine recycling route. Where there is no such bin, it is general waste, and no amount of rinsing changes that. A handful of councils have begun trialling flexible plastics at the kerb, so check your own local list.

How to prepare it

1. Empty the crumbs out and flatten it.
2. Take a bag of soft plastics to the supermarket collection point rather than making individual trips.

What not to do

• Never put crisp packets in the kerbside bin — metallised film is a contaminant in both plastic and paper streams.

Compiled from supermarket flexible-plastic scheme guidance; coverage varies by retailer and region.

Kerbside collection rules genuinely vary by council and county, and local rules always win over general guidance. The reasoning above is what transfers — if your service differs, it will usually be for a reason described here.

Other things that go to general waste bin

• Used cooking oil Let it cool, seal it in a container, and put it in general waste — or take it to an oil bank.
• Polystyrene and foam packaging General waste almost everywhere. It is recyclable in principle and collected almost nowhere.
• Incandescent and halogen bulbs General waste, wrapped. They are not recyclable glass and not electrical waste either.
• Broken glass Wrap it thickly and put it in general waste, unless it is a broken bottle or jar — those can go in the glass bin.
• Dried-out paint and empty tins Once the paint is solid, many councils take the tin in general waste or as scrap metal. Check yours, because this one genuinely varies.
• Cling film General waste. It is excluded even from soft plastic collections almost everywhere.
• Till receipts General waste. Thermal paper is coated, not printed, and it should not go in with paper or compost.
• Wet wipes and makeup wipes General waste. Never the toilet, whatever the packet says about flushability.
• Dog waste Bagged in general waste, or a dog waste bin. Not the food waste caddy, and not the compost heap.
• Nappies General waste, bagged. There is no kerbside recycling route for them anywhere in ordinary use.
• Cat litter General waste, bagged. Clay litter is not compostable, and cat faeces carry a parasite that keeps it out of the garden.
• Medicine blister packs General waste in most places, or a pharmacy collection scheme where one exists.
• Greetings cards with glitter or foil Tear off the plain card and recycle that; the glittery part goes in general waste.
• Cigarette butts Put it out completely, then bin it. Filters are cellulose acetate plastic, and a live butt starts bin fires.