Our green tips guide to family recycling - a perfect introduction for any aspiring green family. Covers how to recycle, why to reccyle, and where to do it.

Why recycle?

• Waste that ends up in landfill sites takes up a lot of space and much of it stays in the ground for millions of years without decomposing
• Recycling reduces the need to use energy and natural resources to make new materials
• It also reduces greenhouse gas emissions produced by landfill sites and in the process of manufacturing new materials

How should I recycle?

• Home collection – nine out of ten of homes in the UK now have kerbside collection schemes
• Taking waste to recycling centres and recycling banks – type in your postcode at www.recyclenow.com to find out where your nearest one is

What can I recycle?

1) Glass

New glass can be made containing up to 90 per cent recycled glass and it is possible to recycle glass over and over again without affecting the quality. Using recycled glass helps the raw materials of glass to melt at lower temperatures saving even more energy.

• Can recycle – glass bottles, jars and other containers
• Can’t recycle – window glass, lightbulbs, electrical appliances
• Rinse out, remove lids and separate different colours of glass

2) Aluminium and Steel

Containers made from aluminium and steel can be recycled indefinitely. Recycling is cost effective, reduces carbon emissions and saves energy – recycling aluminium uses only 5 per cent of the energy required to produce new aluminium. Most local authorities will separate cans for you, but if you want to tell which is which, hold a magnet up to the can. If it sticks, it’s steel.

• Can recycle – drink cans, food cans, biscuit tins and other containers
• Rinse out – unless told to do so, you don’t need to remove the labels

3) Paper and cardboard

By recycling paper we save energy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent deforestation. Paper is also one of the quickest and easiest materials to recycle – it can take just seven days for paper to go through the recycling process to become newsprint.

• Can recycle – office paper, cardboard boxes, yellow pages, greetings cards
• Check first – shredded paper, wrapping paper, drinks cartons envelopes
• Can’t recycle – books, so take them to a charity shop instead

4) Plastic

Because plastic is made from oil, recycling is extremely important to conserve this finite resource and to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However plastics are made from different polymers meaning they are not all easy and cost-effective to recycle. Check with your local recycling scheme to see what kinds of plastic they will take.

• Can be recycled – plastic bottles
• Can’t usually be recycled – lids, yoghurt pots, plastic containers, flower pots
• Rinse out and remove lids