Many of us threw wrapping paper into the recycling after Christmas or put empty alcohol bottles in our green bins, but do we know what happens to that waste once it leaves our home?

Unwanted items are whisked away to be sorted and transformed into new products.

Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) started collecting mixed household waste in 2008 and has so far recycled 91,575.63 tonnes.

Elizabeth Hazell, MBC’s environmental improvement manager, said: “Recycling is important because it allows valuable resources, such as glass, metals, paper and plastics, to be used again and made into new products.

“This reduces the reliance on raw materials and avoids the need for resource-heavy extraction methods.

“An aluminium drinks can won’t necessarily become a drinks can again – it could become a component in an aeroplane or part of a car. Some clothing, like a fleece, can be made from plastic bottles.”

More items are recycled at Christmas and in the New Year as wrapping paper, gift boxes and extra food packaging are disposed of and in January and February last year 1,545.1 and 1,403.78 tonnes were recycled respectively, compared with just 1,217.26 tonnes in August 2015.

Paper is the most commonly recycled item in Maidstone, with 79% of waste paper being recycled, while just 34% of metal items such as tins, foil and aerosol cans end up in the recycling.

Throughout 2015, 1,523 tonnes of non-recyclable waste – about 59 dustcarts full – was put into the borough’s green bins, including food and sanitary waste.

Stray items are removed by a vehicle, a machine or by hand at the Material Recycling Facility in Crayford and sent to landfill or safely disposed of.

Recyclable items can be washed to a certain extent but are thrown away if too dirty.

If you still have a few tubs of sweets or boxes of biscuits hanging around after Christmas and you're not sure which bin to put them in, here's a handy list of festive items that can and can't be recycled in the Maidstone borough:

Festive items that can be recycled: Non-laminated wrapping paper, wrapping paper inner tubes, pulled Christmas crackers, Christmas cards and envelopes, tubs of sweets, chocolate and biscuit boxes and their inner plastic trays, the foil from the turkey – as long as it’s not greasy, foil mince pie cases, glass bottles that contained Christmas fizz, glass jars – of cranberry sauce for example, and plastic Christmas pudding basins.

Items that can’t be recycled: Tinsel, laminated wrapping paper, polystyrene, bubble wrap, light bulbs, nappies, sanitary waste, pet waste, floppy plastics such as bread bags, crisp packets and carrier bags, and cling film.

Uneaten food, garden waste including Christmas trees, electrical items such as broken fairy lights, and textiles – perhaps a worn out Christmas jumper – are taken in separate collections.