Recycling plastic bottles

Currently in West Wiltshire there are two ways to recycle plastic.

The mini recycling centres accept plastic bottles only. For information about which sites can accept plastic bottles, please see mini recycling centres page.

The Household Recycling Centres (HRCs) can accept grades 1, 2 and 3 of plastic, which are the highest grades. The grade is shown by the triangles on the plastic product, please see the symbols below as a guide. We are currently unable to collect grades 4 and 5 as they are too low-grade and there is no market for the recycled product.

What you can recycle

There is a robust processing market for these high quality plastic items within the UK, meaning they do not have to be shipped abroad to be processed. The plastic is chipped, melted and cleaned in Hemswell, Leicester and then sold to be made into products such as water butts, bin liners and window frames.

Type: PET - Polyethylene terephthalate

• Fizzy drink bottles
• Cooking oil bottles
• Cordial bottles

Type: HDPE - High-density polyethylene

• Milk containers
• Washing up liquid bottles
• Shampoo and conditioner bottles
• Fabric conditioner bottles
• Household cleaning fluid bottles

Type: PVC - Polyvinyl chloride

• Shampoo and conditioner bottles

These plastics below cannot be recycled

Type: LDPE - Low density polyethylene

• Bin liners
• Carrier bags

Type: PP - Polypropylene

• Margarine tubs
• Microwave ready meal trays
• Plant pots

Type:PS - Polystyrene

• Foam meat or fish trays
• Burger boxes
• Yoghurt pots

Plastic Carrier Bags

Around 80 million carrier bags are used in Wiltshire each year with most being sent to landfill. Try to reuse plastic bags as much as possible, or invest in a ‘bag for life’. Some supermarkets also offer a plastic bag recycling point.