foil

Welcome to the waste directory - foil

What can be recycled?

As well as sheets of foil, you can also recycle these other aluminium items:

  • Foil milk bottle tops.
  • Foil barbeque and freezing trays.
  • Cigarette and tobacco foil.
  • Screw top lids from wine bottles.

Is it aluminium?

It's important to note that items such as crisp packets are not made of aluminium foil (which is a thin sheet of metal) but of metallised plastic film, which is a plastic film coated with a sort of metallic ink. Therefore you should not include these with your aluminium recycling.

Scrunch an item you're not sure about in your hand and, if it springs back, it's not aluminium and should probably be disposed of in the general waste.

What is included?

Yes

Yes

  • Foil
  • Foil milk bottle tops
  • Foil barbecue and freezing trays
  • Cigarette and tobacco foil
  • Screw top lids from wine bottles

Waste hierarchy

What happens to this waste stream?

0% reused
100% recycled
0% recovered
0% incinerated
0% landfilled

Dry mixed waste stream

Dry mixed recycling represents 11% of our total waste.

Where do I put foil?

  • Foil should be placed in the green-topped dry mixed recycling bin.

Who empties the bin?

  • The cleaning team will empty the bins on a regular basis.
  • Sacks are colour coded and will generally be transported to a compounded area via a trolley.
  • Sacks are tipped into a the appropriate Eurocart (usually located in a locked compound).

What happens then?

  • Dry mixed recycling is sent to a Materials Recovery Facility where the materials are segregated. They can then be recycled.

How green is this waste stream?

  • Everything is put to good use.
  • By recycling we reduce our need for raw materials, reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and reduce our carbon footprint.
  • You are helping to protect and improve the environment.

Contacts

recycling@imperial.ac.uk