London households issued bin warning as 24C heat hits

For many of us, summer is well and truly over, but for parts of London, the warm weather is not over just yet. Over the next week, highs of 24°C are expected across the capital, well above the average for this time of year.

While many Londoners will be set to make the most of the last likely sunny spell of the year, many of us are incorrectly disposing of common summer items, including handheld fans and ice cream tubs, and households may face enforcement action from councils.

Kelvin Croney, Group Chief Commercial Officer at UK commercial waste broker Waste Managed, shares how to dispose of common summer items correctly, with temperatures set to spike next week.

Handheld Fans and Electrical Hazards

1. Handheld electric fans

Kelvin Croney at Waste Managed notes: "As temperatures rise, handheld electric fans have become a popular summer essential, with Brits buying up to 8 million of them this year and almost half landing in landfill. Handheld fans cannot be chucked straight in the bin and should be recycled through the correct channels rather than being treated like ordinary plastic waste.

Many handheld fans contain lithium-ion batteries and electrical components, meaning they should be recycled through dedicated electrical waste schemes rather than placed in general waste or household recycling bins. Lithium-ion batteries are estimated to cause around 201 waste fires every year in the UK, accounting for approximately 48% of all waste fires, according to research from the Environmental Services Association and Eunomia.

Recycling handheld fans correctly helps recover valuable materials and reduces the risk of batteries becoming damaged during waste processing, where they can create a fire hazard."

Packaging, Bottles, and Food Containers

2. Crisp packets

Group Chief Commercial Officer, Kelvin Croney, says: "Around 8 billion crisp packets are thrown away in the UK every year. Although crisp packets resemble plastic packaging, most household recycling collections do not accept them. This is because they are made up of several materials such as plastic films and metallic layers, which makes them hard to recycle in normal systems.

Instead of recycling them, place them in the general waste unless a specialist recycling scheme or soft plastic collection point is available.

This is to avoid contamination in the recycling collection, which can lower the quality of other recyclables and stop some waste from being recycled."

3. Plastic water bottles

Kelvin Croney highlights: "It is estimated that an average of 35.8 million plastic bottles are used every day in the UK, but only 19.8 million are recycled each day.

Plastic bottles should be emptied, rinsed and placed into the correct recycling container where facilities are available. Bottles should be taken home rather than left behind, if recycling bins are not available.

Bottles that are incorrectly disposed of can become litter, wasting a material that could have been recycled and contributing to environmental damage in public spaces."

4. Ice cream tubs

Kelvin Croney at Waste Managed adds: "In the hot weather, the day often ends with ice cream. However, the tubs can often be assumed to be able to be placed in the recycling bin.

Research from WRAP found that 82% of UK households put at least one item into their recycling that isn't accepted locally.

Although this is the case for some areas, they should always be emptied and cleaned before being placed in the recycling bin. Any leftover food residue can contaminate other recyclable materials.

Always check with your local council to find out if you can recycle these tubs. This will help avoid contamination and reduce the risk of lowering the quality of recycling or preventing other materials from being successfully recycled."

5. Juice cartons

Kelvin Croney says: "Before recycling juice cartons, check your local council's advice. This is because many cartons can be recycled, but services differ by area. Cartons need special facilities to separate and recycle the layers as they are mostly made from paperboard, plastic and aluminium. If cartons are placed in the wrong recycling bin, they can cause contamination, making recycling harder.

It's also important to always empty and rinse the carton before putting it in the recycling. Leftover liquid can contaminate other recyclable materials, reducing the quality and making them harder to process."