Throwaway Comments

It is fifteen years since the start of this annual campaign, but I think I only really picked it up in 2019. Aiming to be 'part of the solution to plastic pollution'
I know that lots of you are already working hard at this - Taking your own containers to the local chinese takeaway, buying loose fruit and veg, having milk delivered in glass bottles, wearing pee-pants instead of plastic-based sanpro, using waxwraps not clingfilm, taking reusable cups to Costa ...
the list of good alternatives is really long - but we still have a long way to go. I hadn't realised the new kitchen would affect my thinking about recycling, but it has.

Under the sink I now have two IKEA 'hallbar' bins alongside my yellow compost bin [i'm still awaiting the Council to sort out a food waste collection] These are labelled general and recycling. I have found myself being much more careful about putting packaging in the correct bin lately.

Many people think these triangle labels on plasdtic automatically mean you can put it in domestic recycling. You can't! If you can see the number, you are usually safe with 1-5, possibly not 6 & 7. But honestly, how often do you squint at the clear plastic as you prepare a meal, and can see the triangle, but not the number? So you recycle and hope [aka wishcycling]
So well done to the OPRL company [On Pack Recycling Labels] who have been working incredibly hard to make it easier for us, to recognise easily what we can and cannot recycle, with labels like this

This independent company is getting lots of big brands on board

And it seems that their efforts are paying off. Their latest report "What consumers want" involved consumer insights taken from a study in spring 2025 involving over 5000 UK consumers. They covered six areas

I find their conclusions encouraging - I do check packs for guidance on recycling, and prefer simpler instructions. I think labelling is improving - but I am aware of friends and social media spreading misinformation, usually through ignorance.
Now my bins are adjacent, it is much easier to put things in the correct one. I am not sure if there are any massive changes I can make this July, I shall just keep plodding away. Recycling, but more mindfully [and hopefully in a better way] Looking out for the informative OPRL swirls, in preference to the old three arrow triangle. 
I have to come clean here - the company conducting the Consumer Insights Study for OPRL is a small one in Manchester, called Tangible, and my Steph is now the boss. I am incredibly proud of her, and her company, for this research. These small changes in labelling really are having a big impact on the amount of thoughtful recycling. And that makes for a better world for us to live, and our grandchildren to grow up in.