Quick tips

• Grease is the enemy of paper. Clean cardboard recycles; greasy or food-soiled paper goes to compost, or trash if you have no compost.
• Shiny and layered means trash. Chip bags and coffee cups mix plastic with foil or paper, and most plants can't separate them.
• Batteries never go in a bin. They can start fires in trucks. Shops and recycling centres collect them.
• Soft plastic goes back to the shop. Plastic bags jam sorting machines; many supermarkets collect them.
• Use the keys. On a keyboard, 1 to 4 pick Recycling, Compost, Trash and Drop-off.