Cartons and foil now included in kerbside recycling

Food and drink cartons and aluminium trays and foil can be added to mixed recycling picked up by the council from next week.

While cartons, along with tubes used for Pringles and gravy granules, have been able to be recycled at some of the city’s recycling points, residents haven’t been able to put them out for collection.

But from Monday they, along with foil, can be put out for crews to pick up – although as with other recyclables, they must be clean.

Food and drink cartons are made from a mix of materials, which makes them more difficult to recycle.

Brighton and Hove City Council has been working with Veolia to upgrade the Hollingdean Materials Recovery Facility with new equipment and make improvements to the site layout so cartons can be sorted and recycled alongside a wider range of materials.

Deputy Leader Tim Rowkins said: “Making it easier for residents to recycle cartons and foil is something we’ve wanted to achieve for a long time, and I’m delighted we’ll soon be able to include them in our mixed recycling collections.

“Cartons are widely used for everyday items such as milk, juice and soup. By collecting them alongside other recyclables, we can save residents a trip to a recycling point and encourage more people to recycle them instead of putting them in with their waste.

“Because cartons are made from a mix of materials, sorting them is more complex than many other items. That’s why we’ve been working closely with Veolia to make the necessary adaptations to our facility’s sorting equipment.

“Until the new service begins next week, please save them or recycle them separately instead of contaminating other recycling collections.”