Recycle Week (22 – 28 September) is fast approaching. This year, Recycle Now is proud to announce the return of its popular Rescue Me! Recycle campaign, now featuring three new everyday items: shampoo bottles, foil, and *toothpaste tubes.
Thanks to industry-wide reform led by WRAP, Haleon, Colgate, and other sustainability pioneers, toothpaste tubes can now be recycled. However, they are still not widely collected at kerbside across England and Northern Ireland.
WRAP is calling on local authorities who are collecting these to help bridge this gap by updating their **collections data on WRAP’s LA Portal, as this data updates Recycle Now’s Recycling Locator where residents can search where to recycle their items.
Figures show UK recycling rates have risen since last year. While nine out of ten people regularly recycle, nearly eight out of ten put one or more items into the bin that could be recycled. In 2023, UK households produced 25,913,000 tonnes of waste of which 11,554,000 (44.6%) was recycled.
Catherine David, CEO, WRAP, “Recycle Week continues to be a powerful moment to inspire action across the UK, and this year’s ‘Rescue Me! Recycle’ campaign is no exception. By highlighting everyday items like shampoo bottles, foil, and toothpaste tubes—things we often overlook—we’re helping people see the real impact of small changes. Thanks to innovation and collaboration, more of these items can now be recycled than ever before. Together with local authorities and communities, we’re making it easier to do the right thing and keep valuable materials in use. Let’s rescue these items from the rubbish and give them a second life.”
Every year, UK households dispose of all these items which can be recycled:
- Foil
- Shampoo bottles
- Toothpaste tubes
- Trigger sprays
- Aerosols
- ***Yoghurt pots
- Aftershave and perfume bottles
- Toilet roll tubes
Recycle Now data shows that while 90% of UK households regularly recycle, 79% still miss one or more items that could be recycled through their kerbside collection.
WRAP’s Recycle Now Recycling Locator is a key tool to help residents check what is accepted as part of their kerbside collection, household recycling centres or at retailers.
Local authorities are at the heart of successful recycling. WRAP is committed to supporting them with updated resources, communications toolkits, and data to help them engage their communities. By working together, we can increase recycling rates and reduce waste across the country.
Recycle Now invites all councils, brands and trade partners to get behind Rescue Me! Recycle and make Recycle Week 2025 the most impactful yet. Whether it’s updating collection data on WRAP’s LA Portal, sharing campaign materials, or amplifying the message through local media, every action counts.
For campaign assets, guidance, and support, visit Recycle Now