Bradford Council has launched a brand new aluminium foil recycling campaign.

The campaign encourages residents to recycle aluminium foil trays and household wrapping foil in their grey recycling bin alongside other metal packaging such as food/drink cans and empty aerosols.

It is surprising how much foil is used in our homes, from ready meal and takeaway trays to chocolate wrapping foil and the lids found on dairy products.

The Council is asking for the foil to be free from any food residue before it is left in the grey recycling bin.

For smaller pieces of foil generally found as dairy lids or chocolate foil please scrunch these together to make a larger ball of foil (about the size of a tennis ball), it will keep the foil together and makes it easier to recycle.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Executive Member for Healthy People and Places said: “We are thrilled to be working in partnership with Alupro promoting our aluminium foil recycling service to the people of Bradford.

"An average household can expect to use 182 foil trays and 144 metres of household wrapping foil each year and when you consider that we have over 210,000 households across the district, you begin to realise just how much foil is out there available for recycling.”

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Aluminium foil is endlessly recyclable and recycling uses only 5 per cent of the energy it takes to produce foil from raw materials.

A ready meal tray, if recycled, could become another aluminium product within just a couple of weeks.

Edith Grooby, recycling manager said: “Some items do look like foil but unfortunately are made from a metallised plastic film which cannot be recycled in the UK currently. These include items such as crisp packets, drink/baby food/pet food pouches and ‘foil’ wrapping paper – please do not add these to your recycling bin.

“A simple way to test if a material is foil or not, is to do the ‘Scrunch test’. Scrunch the item in your hand. If it stays scrunched its aluminium foil and can be recycled. If it springs back open then it is metallised plastic film and cannot be recycled.”

Funding for the aluminium foil recycling campaign in Bradford is provided by the European Aluminium Foil Association, who seek to improve the recycling rate of the Foil across Europe.

The campaign was developed, and is managed by, Alupro (Aluminium Packaging Recycling Organisation) a not-for-profit company which represents the leading aluminium packaging producers, reprocessors, foil converters, can makers, fillers and brand owners in the UK.

For more information visit bradford.gov.uk/recycling