---
title: "Where do Envelopes with plastic windows go? Kerbside recycling"
description: "Kerbside paper recycling in most areas — modern pulping screens the window out. Why that route, what goes wrong on the wrong one, and how to prepare it."
url: https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/envelopes-windows/
site: "At One Place"
---

# Where do Envelopes with plastic windows go?

**Where do Envelopes with plastic windows go?: Kerbside paper recycling in most areas — modern pulping screens the window out.**

Kerbside recycling bin

The advice to cut out every address window predates the equipment now in use. Pulpers agitate paper in water and screen the result, and a small polystyrene or cellulose film window is removed with the other rejects along with staples and paperclips. Most authorities now say envelopes can go in whole, though a minority still asks for windows to be removed and a few exclude padded envelopes entirely. Padded envelopes are the genuine exception: paper-lined ones are usually fine, plastic-bubble-lined ones are not unless the lining is stripped out. Check your own council list, because the minority that still asks for windows to be cut out means it.

## How to prepare it

1. Put ordinary window envelopes in whole.
2. Tear the plastic bubble lining out of padded envelopes, or bin them whole.

## What not to do

- Never put a plastic-lined padded envelope in the paper bin intact.

> 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 kerbside recycling bin

- [Pizza boxes](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/pizza-boxes/) — Recyclable if the card is only greasy; not if it is soaked or has food stuck to it. Tear off the clean lid if in doubt.
- [Aerosol cans](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/aerosols/) — Empty aerosols go in the kerbside recycling in most areas. Never pierce them, never crush them, never bin a part-full one.
- [Wrapping paper](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/wrapping-paper/) — Plain paper: recycle. Foil, plastic-coated or glittery: general waste. The scrunch test settles it.
- [Drinks cartons (Tetra Pak)](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/cartons/) — Recyclable, but only where your scheme says so — they need a mill that separates the card from the plastic and foil.
- [Aluminium foil and foil trays](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/foil/) — Recyclable if it is clean. Scrunch it into a ball the size of a fist so the sorters can see it.
- [Shredded paper](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/shredded-paper/) — Depends entirely on your council. Loose shreds jam sorting lines; where they are accepted it is usually bagged or in food waste.
- [Plastic bottle caps](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/bottle-caps/) — Leave the cap on the empty bottle. That is now the standard advice in most places.
- [Black plastic food trays](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/black-plastic-trays/) — Historically rejected because the optical sorter could not see them. Increasingly accepted now — check your council.

## Common questions

### Where do Envelopes with plastic windows go?

Kerbside paper recycling in most areas — modern pulping screens the window out.

### What happens if you put Envelopes with plastic windows in the wrong bin?

Never put a plastic-lined padded envelope in the paper bin intact.

## Related pages

- [Where do Pizza boxes go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/pizza-boxes/)
- [Where do Aerosol cans go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/aerosols/)
- [Where do Wrapping paper go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/wrapping-paper/)
- [Where do Drinks cartons (Tetra Pak) go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/cartons/)
- [Where do Aluminium foil and foil trays go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/foil/)
- [Where do Shredded paper go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/shredded-paper/)
- [Where do Household batteries (AA, AAA, C, D, 9V) go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/batteries/)
- [Where do Lithium-ion batteries go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/lithium-batteries/)
- [Where do Vapes and disposable e-cigarettes go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/vapes/)
- [Where do Medicines and tablets go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/medicines/)
- [Where do Leftover wet paint go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/paint-wet/)
- [Where do Mobile phones go?](https://atoneplace.net/where-does-it-go/mobile-phones/)

## Sources

- US Environmental Protection Agency — EPA (https://www.epa.gov/) [Public domain (US Government)]