Plastics, metals and cartons

Recycle plastic, metals and cartons in your white weighted bag.

How to recycle plastic, metals and cartons

  1. rinse your tins and cans, and wash and squash your plastics and cartons
  2. place your plastics, metals and cartons, tops and lids into your white bag
  3. seal your white bag and place it at the kerbside for 7:00am on your collection day
  4. materials will be taken to a Material Recovery Facility to be separated
  5. once sorted the materials are then sent for recycling

What can I recycle?

         Yes please          No thank you

Plastics

  • plastic drinks and toiletry bottles
  • cleaning bottles and detergent tubs
  • plastic food pots, jars, tubs and trays
  • plastic lids and tops

Metals

  • food and drinks tins and cans
  • empty aerosols
  • clean aluminium foil and trays
  • chocolate and biscuit tins
  • metal lids and tops

Cartons*

  • liquid food and drinks cartons
  • glass
  • plastic bags, liners or film
  • plastic pouches, wrappers or packets
  • plant pots
  • plastic or coffee cups
  • polystyrene packaging or containers
  • bubble wrap
  • compostable packaging
  • engine oil and paint cans
  • cutlery and baking trays
  • medication blister packs

*Cartons that are used to package liquid food and drinks items and are made from a layered mixture of materials - plastic coated card often with a foil lining

My containers haven't been emptied

If you put the wrong items in your recycling containers then the collection crew will sticker your container to let you know. You should remove these items and present your containers on your next collection day.

If you presented your containers at the kerbside by 7:00am on the correct collection day, with the right materials and they have not been emptied, call FCC Environment on 01620 678 825. FCC Environment carry out the collection on our behalf.

What happens to my recycling?

The material from the recycling collections is taken to East Lothian Council's Waste Transfer Station, at Kinwegar, near Wallyford where it is bulked up before it is taken to be separated into different material streams.

The plastic, metals and cartons are loaded into a large lorry and taken to a materials recovery facility at Levenseat where they are sorted to produce bales of different types of plastic bottles, mixed plastics, steel and aluminium and cartons. The sorted materials are then transported to various locations for recycling.

How are the materials used?

Once sorted, the material is used in many different ways:

  • mixed plastics are separated, chipped and washed and can then be recycled into wide variety of products including clothing, toys, chairs and tables, headphones, kitchen utensils, paint pots, building materials such as fencing, flooring, piping, and more plastic packaging
  • cans and aerosols are separated into non-ferrous metals like aluminium and ferrous metals like steel and are then melted down and used to make kettles, cars, mobile phones, and of course new cans
  • cartons are dropped into a pulper to split apart the layers of the packaging, allowing the metal and plastic layers to be separated from the paper fibres which are recovered to make new paper products. The non-fibre remainder can be used in a number of new products including garden furniture and roofing materials.