Delivery packaging: boxes, envelopes and bubble wrap

Updated 24 Oct 2026

Black Friday falls on 27 November this year, and the deliveries keep coming until Christmas. Cardboard boxes are simple to deal with. Padded envelopes, plastic mailers and polystyrene take a bit more thought.

Councils don't all take the same things, so each item links to its own page. Choose your council there to see its exact rule.

Cardboard boxes

Cardboard boxes usually go in your recycling. Flatten them, pull off the plastic tape and take out any plastic packaging. Keep them dry: greasy or food-soaked card goes in general waste.

Tape is plastic film with glue on it, so it can't be recycled. Peel long strips off, and put the tape itself in your general waste.

A box that is too big for your bin can usually be cut or torn down to fit.

What to do with lots of cardboard

After a few big orders, the recycling bin fills up long before collection day. Some councils will take extra flattened card left dry beside the bin, so check your council's page before you leave a pile out.

Recycling centres also take cardboard, and many have a separate cardboard skip. Some councils ask for large boxes to go there. West Berkshire, for example, says card bigger than 85cm by 45cm won't be taken in its paper and card box, and asks you to cut it down or take it to a recycling centre (West Berkshire Council).

North Devon will collect up to 20 flattened boxes taped together for free if you ring first (North Devon Council). Many councils don't offer this, so it's worth asking yours.

Paper and padded envelopes

A plain paper envelope goes in your paper recycling, window or not.

Padded envelopes are trickier. In most places the padded kind goes in general waste, because the paper is stuck to a plastic bubble lining. If the lining pulls out, some councils will take the paper part. Bolsover, for instance, asks you to take the bubble wrap out and bag it with your soft plastics, and the paper envelope goes in the burgundy bin (Bolsover District Council). West Berkshire also asks for the lining to come out first, and the lining goes in the black bin.

Neath Port Talbot is one council that takes plain and padded envelopes together in its white bag for cardboard, cartons and paper (Neath Port Talbot Council). A padded envelope that is all paper can be recycled too. If you can't tell what yours is made of, check your council's rule.

Envelopes from online shops come in different types. A plain paper one is just paper. One with a bubble lining counts as a padded envelope. A plastic mailer is soft plastic, which has its own route.

Bubble wrap and plastic mailers

Bubble wrap, plastic mailing bags and similar film are soft plastics. Most councils don't take them in the recycling bin yet, so the usual route is a supermarket soft plastic collection point. In England, kerbside film collections have been put back to April 2030. In Wales, some councils already collect plastic bags and wrapping from home, and they are due to collect it by 2027. Northern Ireland councils usually don't take film in recycling bins, so it's a supermarket collection point or your general waste.

Some councils do take bubble wrap at home. Charnwood takes clean bubble wrap in its green bin (Charnwood Borough Council), and Exeter asks for it in pieces no smaller than a postcard (Exeter City Council). Check your council before you rely on it.

Bubble wrap is also worth keeping to reuse for packing. If it does go for recycling, make sure it is empty and dry, and read the sign on the bin at the supermarket, because not every collection point takes everything. Our soft plastics guide has more on how it works.

Air pillows, the inflated plastic cushions that fill out a box, are plastic film too. Pop them and take them to a soft plastics point with your mailing bags, or keep them for the next parcel you send.

Paper packing

Crumpled brown packing paper is plain paper, so it goes in your recycling with your cardboard. Take out any plastic tape first.

Polystyrene and packing peanuts

Polystyrene packaging usually can't go in your recycling bin, so it goes in your general waste, broken up to fit. A few councils do take it at their recycling centres. Edinburgh says all its recycling centres take expanded polystyrene packaging (City of Edinburgh Council), and Swansea names four centres that take it (City and County of Swansea). Some tips elsewhere have a polystyrene bin, so check before you bin it.

Loose packing peanuts are best reused. A neighbour who sends parcels may be glad of them.

Packing peanuts can't be recycled at home, whether they're polystyrene or the starch kind, so they go in your general waste. They're easy to reuse, though: keep a bag of them for your own parcels.

Hard plastic product packaging

Clear plastic shells from product packaging can usually go in recycling once the card backing is taken off, and the card can be recycled separately. PVC, recycling code 3, goes in general waste.

Keep some of it

Returns are common after Black Friday and Christmas. Keep the box and the bubble wrap until you're sure you're keeping the order, and you won't need to buy more packaging to send it back. A sturdy box is also handy for posting your own parcels.

Wrapping paper and Christmas cards tend to arrive soon after the deliveries. Our Christmas recycling guide covers those.

Common questions

Can you recycle bubble wrap?

It depends where you live. Bubble wrap is a soft plastic, so most councils don't take it in the recycling bin and the usual route is a supermarket soft plastic collection point. Some councils do take it at home. Reusing it is better still. See bubble wrap and choose your council.

Can padded envelopes be recycled?

In most places, padded envelopes go in general waste. Some councils take the paper part if you pull the bubble lining out, and a few take whole padded envelopes. One that is all paper can be recycled. See padded envelopes.

How do I recycle polystyrene in the UK?

Not in your kerbside bin. Polystyrene packaging usually goes in general waste, but some councils take it at their recycling centres, so check with yours. See polystyrene packaging.

Can Amazon envelopes be recycled?

It depends on the type. A paper envelope goes in paper recycling. A padded one follows the padded envelope rules above, and a plastic mailing bag is soft plastic for a supermarket collection point. See envelopes and padded envelopes.

What can I do with lots of cardboard boxes?

Flatten them and remove the tape. If the bin is full, check whether your council takes extra flattened card beside the bin, or take it to a recycling centre. See large cardboard.

Can you recycle air pillows?

Not in most recycling bins. Pop them and take them to a supermarket soft plastics point, or reuse them. See air pillows.

Are packing peanuts recyclable?

No, not at home, whether they're polystyrene or starch. Reuse them, or put them in your general waste. See packing peanuts.

Can plastic mailing bags be recycled?

Most councils don't take them in the recycling bin yet, so take them to a supermarket soft plastics point. See plastic mailing bags.

Sources

Each item's answer above comes from the national guidance in our data. Your council's own rules can differ: choose your council on any item page, or check its website.