Puzzled by plastics? When it comes to recycling, many people are.

“Can anyone explain to me, and readers of the Telegraph & Argus, exactly which plastics can be recycled in Bradford?” asked local householder Mollie Somerville when she got in touch with Earth Matters.

In her letter she reveals that she and many friends are thoroughly confused about which types of plastic can be thrown away for re-use, and which cannot.

In writing, Mollie opened up a proverbial can of worms. For most people, plastic recycling is a minefield.

Ninety-two per cent of local authorities in the UK now offer facilities for plastic bottles either from the kerbside or at a household waste disposal site. Bradford is one of them. But what other type of plastic is recycled, and what isn’t?

For Mollie, who lives in Lister Mills, Lilycroft Road, it is a grey area. “I’ve been given different information,” she says. “Bottles only, without their tops can be recycled, along with anything that has a number one or two within a triangle. I’ve also been told that any plastic at all, including bags, can be recycled.

“I’m sure there are many people who are taking pains to do things correctly, but in fact may not be. If any item is added that is not acceptable, then the whole lot becomes useless – there is no way of sorting it.

“We know what happens with glass, cans and paper, but there is so much confusion surrounding plastic.”

Over to Bradford Council, which in 2007-8 collected 941.65 tonnes of plastic for recycling from its eight household waste sites and a number of local recycling banks. Waste minimisation and recycling officer Edith Grooby says: “We only accept plastic bottles – milk cartons, juice cartons, shampoo bottles, cleaning fluid bottles – all plastic bottles, regardless of thickness and colour.

“We want to promote this as a simple message, being easier to understand than symbols.”

The tops can remain on the bottles, she adds. Most bottles will be classified as either HDPE (high-density polyethylene) – these are commonly milk bottles and those containing washing-up liquid – or PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which makes up fizzy drink bottles.

At present there is an end market for plastic bottles, but not for other types of plastic container. Bottles are taken to a plant in Cheshire where, after sorting and washing, they go through a two-stage process, being either melted down and moulded into a new shape or shredded into flakes then melted down before being processed into granulates.

The recycled plastic is used in many manufacturing processes including the production of garden furniture and fleece jackets. A certain amount is used abroad.

Unfortunately, yoghurt pots, take-away containers and other types of plastic cannot be recycled.

“We lack the infrastructure in this country to recycle yoghurt pots and margarine cartons,” says Edith. “They contain a mix of polymers, which cannot be turned into as good a quality recyclate as bottles.”

However, says Edith, yoghurt cartons and other containers can be re-used by green-minded individuals for various purposes including planting seedlings or to store food, such as pieces of fruit, for packed lunches.

“This is higher in the waste-hierarchy as it is by-passing recycling and bring re-used, ” she says.

And, she adds, consumers can help reduce the amount of plastic waste by selecting loose fruit and vegetables in supermarkets.

At present, kerbside collections of plastic bottles are not carried out, although long-term trials are being carried out in certain areas. “We have an orange bag collection scheme in Baildon, Bingley and Eccleshill that has been running for about five years,” says Tracey Thackray, the Council’s marketing officer for recycling.

Councils work to targets based on weight, so concentrate on garden waste, paper, glass and cans.

Plastic waste is not weighed, simply bulked up and sent off.

Plastic bags are not recycled as they are classed as ‘film’ and are difficult to recycle. “It is best to return them to supermarkets, who run their own recycling. Morrisons, for example, bales the bags which are then sent to a Leicester-based firm for recycling,” says Tracey.

In 2006-7, Bradford Council came eighth out of 20 local authorities after collecting 576 tonnes of plastic bottles. The Council works closely with WRAP – the Waste & Resources Action Programme – which helps individuals and businesses recycle more and make better use of resources.

WRAP recently completed a study which demonstrated that mixed plastics packaging (for example trays, tubs, pots and films) can be mechanically recycled and that it is both economically and environmentally effective to do so.

Further work is being carried out in this area and it is hoped that the UK will in the near future have the infrastructure for the collection, sorting and reprocessing of these materials.

Says Mollie: “We all want to do our bit for the environment, but then you hear all these stories about what happens to certain types of waste and think, ‘what’s the point?’”

For more information on recycling in Bradford, visit bradford.gov.uk. recyclenow.com has a list of the main types of plastic and their symbols; also visit waste.org.co.uk.