Your recycling questions answered
We all have questions about recycling and we’re here to give you real answers.
Recycling's so confusing, isn't it?
It doesn’t have to be – just type your postcode into our Recycling Locator to find out what to recycle where you live.
One item in the wrong bin can't hurt, can it?
Sadly, just a few wrong items from all of us, like toothpaste tubes and broken drinking glasses, can end up spoiling whole lorry loads of our recycling.
Some items like batteries can even be hazardous to our recycling workers as they can cause fires at the recycling facility.
Find out more about contamination and how to improve your recycling.
Does my recycling really make a difference?
Your recycling is a valuable resource which can be made into new products.
Recycling doesn't just reduce the amount of waste going to landfill, it limits the need for raw materials, and saves energy.
In fact, in the UK, recycling saves a whopping 18 million tonnes of CO₂ a year!
All these factors reduce greenhouse gas emissions helping to fight climate change. Find out more ways your recycling makes a difference.
And learn about all the work that's going into improving our recycling system in the UK so we can recycle more things better in the future.
Watch our Recycle Week 2022 film to meet some of the real people behind our recycling
What's happening this Recycle Week 2022?
Well known faces spread the word
Former Olympic swimmer and keen environmentalist, Mark Foster, joins the campaign as Recycle Week ambassador. Mark said “Every single one of us can make a real difference if we try”
Famous sites go green for Recycle Week
Buildings across the nations from the Blackpool Tower to Titanic Belfast are lighting up green in support of the week.
A giant QR code made from recyclables
Why did we build a giant QR code out of recyclables?
It's Recycle Week 2022! And this year we decided to raise awareness about a giant challenge with a giant QR code that leads people straight to the solution.
A whopping 80% of households put one or more things in the rubbish bin that could have been recycled. But luckily, there's a quick and easy way to get your recycling right - just use our Recycling Locator to check what you can recycle where you live.
Spotted an item on our giant QR code that you've missed before?
This QR code is built out of recyclable items that people in the UK forget to recycle most often - things like empty aerosols, perfume bottles and clean foil. If you've chucked one of these in the bin accidentally before, you're not alone - but many local authorities collect these so be sure to check if yours does before you put them in the rubbish bin.
Check out our list of the other most frequently forgotten items here.
Watch our behind-the-scenes building of the QR code film:
A big thank you to our Recycle Week sponsors
Thank you to this year’s sponsors: Coca-Cola, Danone, innocent, McDonald's, Ocado, Biffa, Natural Source Waters Association, Arla Foods, Britvic, Pepsico and British Soft Drinks Association.
