Can you recycle glitter cards and glittery paper?

Glitter is a microplastic and cannot be separated from paper at the mill, so glitter-covered cards, gift bags and wrap contaminate the whole paper stream. Put them in general waste, or tear off and recycle only the plain, glitter-free sections. Many retailers have moved to glitter-free ranges — buying those avoids the problem entirely.

Tips

• Tear off and recycle any plain sections
• Choose glitter-free cards to avoid the problem

Which bin does it go in?

General waste

Before throwing it away, see reuse, repair and donation routes.

Background: The 10 recycling mistakes that ruin lorry-loads.

Also searched as: glittery wrapping paper, sparkly cards, glitter gift bags.