Clear sack for plastics
We provide clear sacks for you to recycle plastics, such as carrier bags, milk bottles and yoghurt pots.
You can check what you can and can't put in your clear sack by viewing our guide.
If you can't find the item you want to dispose of in this list, you can search by item instead.
| Item | Bin, box or sack |
|---|---|
| Black plastic food trays (rinsed and free from food residue) | Clear sack for plastics |
| Carrier bags | Clear sack for plastics |
| Cartons (such as for milk, fruit juice and other drinks) | Clear sack for plastics |
| Cling film | Clear sack for plastics |
| Coffee pods, empty (plastic) | Clear sack for plastics |
| Flower pots (plastic) | Clear sack for plastics |
| Fruit and vegetable punnets (plastic) | Clear sack for plastics |
| Household cleaner bottles | Clear sack for plastics |
| Ice cream tubs | Clear sack for plastics |
| Margarine tubs | Clear sack for plastics |
| Medicine bottles (plastic) | Clear sack for plastics |
| Plant trays (plastic) | Clear sack for plastics |
| Plastic bags | Clear sack for plastics |
| Plastic bottle lids | Clear sack for plastics |
We can recycle:
- All plastic bottles
- Rigid plastic packaging and cartons, such as Tetra Pak
- Food trays and coffee pods
- Cling film and polythene wraps
- Carrier bags
You need to rinse dirty packaging, squash plastic bottles and put the lids back on.
We can't recycle:
- crisp wrappers and pill packets
- wax-coated coffee cups
- fruit and vegetable netting
- polystyrene and bubblewrap
- CDs, videos, cassette tapes and their cases
- hard plastics, plastic toys and pens
If you have a plastic product that we have not included, you can contact us to ask if it can be recycled.
Some manufacturers label plastic packaging with numbers, which indicate the type of plastic, or logos.
In Chelmsford, we can general recycle types 1, 2, 4 and 5. However, this does vary, so we recommend you follow our guidance, rather than the symbols.
Manufacturers also add logos to their packaging. These indicate that items are made from recycled materials, or the manufacturer has made a financial contribution to recycling efforts in Europe.
Collection
We collect the clear sacks for plastics every two weeks. You can check your collection dates by entering your postcode or address.
Replacement sacks
Between September and October, we deliver a roll of clear sacks to every household. The roll contains enough sacks for you to use one a week, and should last for 12 months.
You can't order a sack for plastics, but you can view our guidance on using your plastic sacks effectively. This includes advice such as not putting out half-full sacks or using sacks for other purposes.
What happens to your plastics
You can find out more about what happens to your recycling.
Taking plastics to the recycling centre
The household recycling centre, which is run by Essex County Council, does not accept many types of plastic for recycling. They can only recycle plastic bottles, and send all other plastics to landfill.
Therefore, we encourage you to recycle your plastic waste at kerbside.