Did you know that 30% of the wrong items in Lambeth’s recycling is food, or food and drink packaging that has not been emptied or cleaned?

The Council's current waste contractor Veolia is asking us all to ensure we do not let food or drink spoil our recycling. Over the past year, while we have all been spending more time at home, recycling rates have risen in Lambeth. There are certain items we are all pretty confident about recycling, such as glass jars, tins, paper and plastic bottles, and there are those that leave us rather confused.

Two things are a big no-no in your recycling: food and liquids. Recyclable items like paper and cardboard are easily spoiled by food, drink and other liquids, and once contaminated, they cannot be recycled and have to be discarded as rubbish. This wastes not only your recycling efforts, but those of other residents in Lambeth too. That’s why Veolia are asking Lambeth residents to Empty, Rinse, Recycle, Repeat to help us recycle even more!

You can read more about the do's and don'ts of recycling here on the Love Lambeth website.