Following public demand Croydon Council has added aluminium foil to the growing list of items that can be recycled.
People can now put clean foil, food trays or milk bottle tops into their green boxes for kerbside collection – or into the mixed recycling bins at flats or the green bins at the council’s 27 neighbourhood recycling centres.
It is important only clean foil is put out for recycling, as too much contamination from food can cause it to be rejected at the sorting stage.
It then goes to a processing plant at Rainham, where it is separated from other materials.
Recycling aluminium can potentially save 95 per cent of the energy it would have used to mine fresh ore for new metal, and with no loss of quality.
Cabinet member for environment and highways, Councillor Phil Thomas, said: “When we recently asked people about the improvements that they wanted from their recycling service one of the biggest requests was that we collect more materials – so this is definitely another step in the right direction for Croydon.”
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