A binman known as The No1 Binman has used TikTok to explain what households should do with polystyrene, a material that often looks recyclable but is not accepted in many recycling bins.
With more than 210,000 followers and nearly four million likes, the influencer was responding to a question about where polystyrene should go if it cannot be placed in a recycling bin. He said general waste is the answer in many areas, but stressed that people should check their own council's arrangements.
General waste is the default
"Where is polystyrene supposed to go if not in the bin? It is meant to go in the bin," he clarified. "It's meant to go in the general waste bin, okay."
His advice is especially relevant when households have large pieces of packaging left over from deliveries or furniture. He said: "Some councils may be different that let you store your polystyrene next to the bin because there's so much of it that, yes, it will fill your bin up, but check with your council if you're allowed to have excess waste."
Alternative disposal routes
He also raised the possibility of taking unwanted polystyrene to a tip or household waste recycling centre. "You can take it to the tip, they may be able to recycle it there," he said, although he added it could instead end up being treated as general waste.
For Liverpool residents, the council's own guidance provides a particularly clear answer. Polystyrene is listed among the materials that should not go into the blue recycling bin, while the purple bin is for household waste and items that cannot be recycled.
Check local rules
Liverpool City Council also says its recycling bins will not be emptied if they contain incorrect materials. That means putting polystyrene into the blue bin could result in the recycling being rejected rather than collected as normal.
The No1 Binman was particularly emphatic about keeping the material away from recycling. "It does not go in any of the recycling bins," he continued, before listing large polystyrene, food packaging and takeaway items among the examples.
His warning comes with an important caveat because waste rules are not identical across the country. In England, the Government's Simpler Recycling guidance specifically says councils do not have to collect expanded and high-impact polystyrene packaging as part of the dry recycling stream.
For Liverpool households, the council's current guidance should be the first port of call when deciding what to do with unwanted polystyrene. And if you're elsewhere in the UK, check your local authority's rules before putting it into a recycling bin, as the correct disposal route can differ.
