August Recycling Newsletter

Now in its 22nd year, Recycle Week is the nation’s biggest annual celebration of recycling – a moment when citizens, councils, and communities come together to recycle more of the right things, more often.

This year’s event runs from 22-28 September, and Recycle Now, Recycle4Oxford and ODS are proud to support the Rescue Me! Recycle campaign. The focus is on “missed capture” items – things that too often end up in the rubbish 🗑️ when they could be recycled.

Last year’s campaign introduced the “recyclable crew” – Hube the toilet roll tube, Yogi the yoghurt pot, Dee Dee the deodorant, Fitz the perfume bottle and Rey the spray bottle – to remind us of the everyday items we can save from the bin.

Building on that success, three new items are joining the mission in 2025: shampoo bottles, foil, and toothpaste tubes✨. Here in Oxford, we’re putting these front and centre. Alongside your regular recycling, remember to rescue these new additions – and keep up the good work with cleaning product bottles, aerosols, yoghurt pots, aftershave and perfume bottles, toilet roll tubes, and food tins.

Not sure what goes where? Use the Waste Wizard 🔍 to check how to recycle trickier items like toothpaste tubes. Many Boots stores across the UK also accept toothpaste tubes and other hard-to-recycle items through their Recycle at Boots scheme.

Together, we can help Oxford recycle more and waste less 🌍.

👇 Click the button to find out more about Recycle Week. 

♻️ Your six-month supply of clear recycling sacks and lilac rubbish sacks will be arriving soon – no need to order! These supplies are calculated to last for three sacks per collection, the same capacity as a 240-litre bin.

👏 A huge thank you to all households recycling with sacks – your efforts have helped Oxfordshire become the best in England for recycling, reusing, and composting for the 10th year in a row, with residents recycling an impressive 57.2% of household waste.

Quick reminders:

• Clear sacks (recycling) and lilac sacks (rubbish) are provided free if your property can’t fit a wheelie bin.
• Crews will never take more than three lilac sacks per collection.
• If you have extra recycling, please use unbranded clear sacks (available from supermarkets or online).
• If you have extra recycling that won't fit in your sacks, consult the Waste Wizard 👇 for alternatives e.g. reuse.

This system helps us manage deliveries efficiently while keeping Oxfordshire’s recycling rates high. Let’s keep Oxfordshire green 🌍💚 – every sack counts! 

Take part in Oxfam’s Second Hand September 👗. Shop second hand to take a stance against fast fashion and dress for a fairer, greener world.

What is Second Hand September?
Second Hand September is a chance for us all to rethink how we shop ♻️. Today, too often, fashion reflects a throwaway culture and planet-wrecking waste. This September, reclaim what style stands for. Choose pre-loved over new, reduce your impact, and dress for the world you want to see.

Embrace Second Hand with Oxfam
Explore your local Oxfam shop to uncover one-of-a-kind treasures, or use Second Hand September as the perfect excuse for a wardrobe clear-out. 🛍️ Donating your pre-loved clothes gives them another life, supports Oxfam’s partners around the world, and keeps fashion circular.

Back to School? Think Second Hand!
With the summer holidays behind us, many families are facing the cost of new school uniforms 🎒. Choosing second hand is a smart and sustainable option. It saves money, supports your community, and keeps textiles out of landfill.

Many Oxford schools, including Spires Academy, The Swan School, and Cheney School, are signed up to online platforms where families can buy, sell, or give away uniform:

Uniformerly – Free marketplace for parents to share school uniform. uniformerly.co.uk

Old School Uniform – A national platform for free uniform exchange 🏫. oldschooluniform.co.uk

Uniformd – Affordable, gently-used school essentials. app.uniformd.co.uk/schools

🚪 Donate Other Textiles
If you have other clothes in good condition, you can book a free kerbside collection through Recycling Solutions. Donations support charity partners, including Thames Valley Air Ambulance.

🎉 We recently celebrated six fantastic months of our partnership with Recycling Solutions, which offers a FREE kerbside collection of textiles across Oxford!

🙌 Thanks to Oxford residents, we’ve already RECYCLED over 17 TONNES of textiles since February! That’s an incredible effort – thank you!

♻️ Recycling Solutions is a family-run recycling company, working with charities and councils nationwide since 2007. They divert at least 200,000kg of textiles from landfill every month and support IMPORTANT causes including Thames Valley Air Ambulance.

📈 Here’s how those SIX fantastic months add up – and we’re LOVING the upward trend:

👖 February – 2,591kg
🧣 March – 2,017kg
🧥 April – 2,726kg
👗 May – 2,797kg
🩳 June – 3,369kg
👚 July – 3,804kg

🧺 Remember: they accept CLEAN, DRY textiles in GOOD condition – clothes, shoes, linens, and more! Book your collection below.