Can you recycle bubble wrap? Yes, with bags at the supermarket
Bubble wrap can be recycled, and it is on the official list of what supermarket front-of-store collection points accept. What it cannot do, for now, is go in your household recycling bin.
Bubble wrap: key facts
| Recyclable | Yes, with plastic bags and wrapping at supermarket collection points |
|---|---|
| Household kerbside | Not yet. Only around 18% of UK councils accept soft plastics |
| England kerbside film date | Due by 31 March 2027, for households and businesses |
| Family of material | Flexible plastic film, the same stream as carrier bags and pallet wrap |
| In commercial volume | Clean clear film is genuinely valuable, and worth baling separately |
| Prepare it | Clean and dry, labels and tape off where you can |
Where to take it
Larger supermarket branches have collection points at the front of store for plastic bags and wrapping, and bubble wrap is on Recycle Now's list of what they accept. The same stream takes a surprisingly wide range of things that your kerbside bin will not:
Crisp packets. Chocolate and sweet wrappers. Yogurt lids. Fish and meat wrapping. Loo roll wrap and multipack wrapping. Bread bags. Netting from fruit and veg packaging. Carrier bags. Ready meal and punnet film lids. Delivery and dry-cleaning bags. Frozen food bags. Pasta, rice and salad bags. Baby food pouches. Coffee pouches. Cereal box liners. Magazine and newspaper wrapping. Cling film. Bubble wrap.
That list is worth knowing because most of it currently goes in general waste in most households, and it is one trip.
Why not the kerbside bin
Film jams sorting machinery. At a materials recycling facility, material travels over screens and rollers designed for rigid items, and a sheet of film wraps itself around moving parts. Recycle Now's own guidance is that soft plastics should not go in kerbside bins, and points out that only around 18% of local authorities accept them at present.
That is changing. Under England's Simpler Recycling reform, kerbside plastic film collections for households and for businesses and other non-domestic premises are due to be introduced by 31 March 2027. Until then, front of store is the route.
Reuse first, with bubble wrap especially
Bubble wrap is one of the few packaging materials that genuinely survives repeated use. If it is intact, it is worth keeping for the next parcel, and anyone who posts regularly is better off with a box of used wrap than a new roll. The waste hierarchy puts prevention and reuse above recycling for exactly this kind of material, and that is a legal duty for businesses rather than just good advice.
For businesses, film is worth money
This is where the household story and the commercial story diverge sharply. Clean, clear, single-polymer film in volume is a valuable material, and any warehouse strips a great deal of it off pallets every day. Baled separately from cardboard it has a real market; mixed into general waste it is a disposal cost.
Two things make the difference. Keep clear film apart from coloured and printed film, because clear is worth more. And keep it dry and free of tape, labels and strapping. Film behaves differently from cardboard in a baler, being springy rather than crushable, so if film is part of your mix say so when specifying a machine. Our guide to the baler machine covers that, and the directory lists companies that collect plastics by postcode.
How to tell what belongs in the film stream
The practical test is whether the item is flexible or rigid. If it bends, crumples and stays crumpled, it belongs with bags and wrapping at the supermarket. If it holds its shape when you squeeze it, like a bottle, tub or tray, it is a rigid plastic and belongs in your household recycling. Items that spring back rather than staying crumpled, and anything with a foil layer, are usually the laminates that neither stream wants.
Film is one of several plastic streams a business can separate profitably, and our guide to plastic recycling covers the rest.
Frequently asked questions
Can bubble wrap go in my recycling bin?
Not usually. Only around 18% of UK councils accept soft plastics at the kerbside. Bubble wrap should go to a supermarket front-of-store collection point with plastic bags and wrapping.
What else can I take to supermarket plastic bag collections?
Crisp packets, sweet wrappers, bread bags, cling film, frozen food bags, pasta and salad bags, baby food and coffee pouches, cereal liners, delivery and dry-cleaning bags, magazine wrapping, fruit and veg netting and carrier bags, as well as bubble wrap.
Why does film have to be kept out of kerbside bins?
Because film wraps itself around the screens and rollers at a sorting facility, which are designed for rigid items. That is why soft plastics are collected separately for now.
When will bubble wrap be collected from home in England?
Kerbside plastic film collections for households and for businesses are due to be introduced by 31 March 2027 under the Simpler Recycling reform.
Is bubble wrap worth anything to a business?
Clean, clear film in commercial volume genuinely is. Keep clear film apart from coloured and printed film, keep it dry and free of tape, and bale it separately from cardboard.