Packing waste adds up faster than you think

A two-bedroom flat move in Bromley can easily generate thirty or forty cardboard boxes, several rolls' worth of plastic wrap, a bin bag full of bubble wrap and a few polystyrene corners nobody quite knows what to do with. A single pallet delivery to a shop in Penge can leave behind timber, strapping and shrink wrap that fills half the yard. Either way, the pile is real, and it will not shift itself.

The good news is that most of it is genuinely recyclable or reusable. The trick is sorting it as you unpack rather than letting it accumulate into one intimidating heap. Set aside twenty minutes at the end of each unpacking session and you will stay on top of it.

Cardboard first: flatten it properly

Cardboard is the easiest win and usually the biggest volume. Break every box down flat before it goes anywhere near a bin or a recycling centre.

• Remove all tape and labels where you reasonably can. A strip of packing tape left on a box is not the end of the world, but a box covered in it may be rejected.
• Pull out staples, foam inserts and plastic handles. These contaminate the cardboard stream.
• Cut boxes down rather than folding them in half. A flattened box takes up a fraction of the space and stacks neatly against a wall until collection day.
• Keep it dry. Cardboard that has been rained on or left in a damp garage is usually destined for general waste.

If you are moving and have dozens of clean boxes, offer them on a local community group or ask a local removals firm whether they reuse boxes. A decent double-walled removal box can do four or five moves before it gives up, and passing them on saves somebody else money.

Plastic wrap, bubble wrap and the soft plastics problem

Stretch wrap, shrink wrap, bubble wrap and air pillows are all soft plastics, and soft plastics are the awkward customer of household recycling. Most kerbside collections in South East London will not take them, and dropping them in with your bottles and pots can jam sorting machinery or contaminate a whole load.

Separate them out. Check whether your local supermarket has a soft plastics collection point at the front of the store — many larger stores do, and they accept carrier bags, bread bags, stretch film and bubble wrap. If there is no collection nearby, bag soft plastics separately and put them in general waste rather than mixing them into your mixed recycling.

A useful rule of thumb: if you can scrunch it into a ball in one hand, it is soft plastic and almost certainly not kerbside recyclable. If it holds its shape, like a bottle or a tray, it usually is.

Polystyrene, pallets and other awkward leftovers

Expanded polystyrene is the material most likely to be refused everywhere. Most household recycling centres will not accept it, so the realistic options are reuse, a specialist drop-off point, or general waste. Break large moulded pieces into bag-sized chunks so they do not blow around on the way to the tip.

Wooden pallets are a different matter. Standard pallets are repairable and in demand — a quick ask on a local marketplace will often see one collected within a day. Broken pallets and offcuts can go to a household reuse and recycling centre that accepts timber, where they are chipped and turned into board or biomass fuel.

Other items to watch for:

• Bubble wrap in good condition — reuse it, or offer it to a small business that posts items.
• Mattress bags and furniture covers — usually soft plastic, so follow the same route.
• Strapping bands and metal clips — rigid plastic and metal, usually not accepted in kerbside recycling, but accepted at most recycling centres.
• Corner protectors and foam sheets — typically general waste unless a specialist takes them.

What Bromley's kerbside service will and won't take

Bromley's kerbside recycling is fairly standard for London: paper and card, mixed glass, tins and cans, and plastic bottles and containers. What catches people out is the not list. No soft plastics, no polystyrene, no textiles, no wood, no bulky items and nothing that has been used for food or paint without a rinse.

Volume matters too. If you have flattened boxes stacked waist-high by the front wall, your weekly collection may only take a portion of it. Spread the load over a couple of weeks or take the surplus directly to a household reuse and recycling centre. Booking may be required at some sites, and you will usually need to show proof of address.

Reuse first, recycle second, landfill last

The most environmentally friendly piece of packing material is the one that gets used again. Reuse boxes, bubble wrap and pallets wherever you can, then recycle what is genuinely recyclable, and only send the remainder to general waste.

If you have a move or a delivery coming up and want the packing cleared properly — sorted, flattened, taken away — a local haulage and removals team can handle it as part of the job. It saves a string of trips to the tip and means the end of your move is as tidy as the beginning.