Can you recycle plastic drinks bottles?

PET drinks bottles are the most recycled plastic in the UK and every council collects them at kerbside. Empty them, give a quick rinse, squash to save space and put the lid back on — modern reprocessors want caps attached (many are now tethered by law anyway). Labels can stay on.

Tips

• Squash the bottle and replace the cap
• No need to remove labels
• A deposit return scheme is due in the UK in 2027 — bottles may soon be worth money

Which bin does it go in?

Recycling bin — empty, squash, lid back on

Background: Plastic numbers 1–7 explained.

Also searched as: water bottles, pop bottles, PET bottles, soft drink bottles.