British retailers hand out 11.2 billion receipts every year at a cost of £32m, according to a new study, but the environmental impact is no doubt even greater because at least half of the 7,300 tonnes printed cannot be recycled.

Around 50% of the receipts we receive in supermarkets, clothes shops, restaurants and cafes are printed on shiny, thermal paper, according to Wired.

Not only are they non-recyclable because they're made from more than one material and therefore impossible to separate, but they also contain a combination of potentially harmful BPA and BPS chemicals.

Thermal receipts, like coffee cups, cannot be recycled because they contain more than one material. Peter Dazeley Getty Images

Rather than using ink, these chemicals react to heat to reveal numbers and letters on the paper. BPA and BPS have both been banned in other plastic products, including water bottles, because they're harmful to health in large amounts. And, in order to recycle these receipts, more BPA would have to be released into the air.

What should we do with our receipts?

So what should you do with the thermal receipts taking up space in your purse? Current advice is to bin them, rather than place in the recycling. But, the good news is, more and more shops are opting for digital receipts via email, which is much less wasteful.

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