 Celebrate Recycle Week 2023
Did you know it's Recycle Week (16 to 22 October)?
Organised by Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP), the campaign is now in its 20th year. This year's theme is 'The Big Recycling Hunt', focusing on things that can be recycled but are commonly missed in our homes.
During this week, you're encouraged to track down the hidden recyclables waiting to be rescued from your bin, like empty aerosols, cleaning bottles, food tins, butter tubs, yoghurt pots and more.
Visit our website to find a complete list of what to put in your green bags and food waste caddy, or use the online Recycling Locator tool to check what to recycle where.
 Recycle more this Halloween
Halloween is on its way!
Some Halloween traditions can be quite wasteful. For example, millions of pumpkins, costumes and decorations are binned every year in the UK.
Reducing Halloween waste isn't difficult. Here are some tips to help you recycle more this Halloween while saving money.
Eat your pumpkin
Hubbub, a UK environmental charity, estimates that 15.8 million carved pumpkins will go to waste this Halloween, so they're giving out these suggestions on how to avoid your pumpkin going to waste:
- Choose a smaller pumpkin, as it's tastier to eat.
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Decorate your pumpkin instead of carving it, so it will stay fresh until you eat it. For example, icing pens and sprinkles are easy ways to add flair to your pumpkin.
- Eat your pumpkin - check out their e-recipe book for some tasty ideas.
Recycle your pumpkin
If you can’t eat your pumpkin, add it to your compost heap and it will break down quickly.
If some of it needs to be thrown away, all the insides can go straight into your food waste caddy. If your pumpkin is too big, chop it up first. Alternatively, you can sit it next to your black food waste bin on your collection day. Our crew will take it away and it will be turned into energy and fertilizer.
 DIY Halloween costumes and decorations
Making your own Halloween costumes and decorations is easy. You can use many things already in your house, like old clothes, bedsheets and cardboard, to patch a costume together. Check out some simple ways to make bats, skeletons, cats, ghosts and wizard costumes from the Mum in the Madhouse website.
If you have some outgrown costumes, take them to your local charity shop and hunt for something pre-loved to save buying new.
Treat baskets
You may also want your children to gather their trick or treating haul in a more sustainable way - swapping plastic treat baskets with metal or wicker ones, or reusing those from previous years.
You can also be crafty to create unique Halloween baskets with your children. Do a quick search online and you will find loads of DIY ideas. We find the paper baskets on the BBC website very easy to make, and turning old pillowcases into treat bags could be quite fun.
 Did you know?
Can electricals with batteries inside be recycled?
Yes. Electrical items with batteries inside, such as smart watches, vapes, laptops and toys, are recyclable. You don't need to remove the hidden batteries before taking these unwanted electrical items to re3 recycling centres.
Batteries, when binned and crushed, can cause fire. It's confirmed that the recent fire at re3 recycling centre in Reading was caused by batteries being put out with other waste.
All kinds of batteries are recyclable. Take your old batteries to the collection points at local supermarkets, electrical stories or recycling centres. Learn more about recycling batteries.
Reminder: protect your recycling from getting wet
Please make sure your green recycling bags are sealed tightly whenever they're put out in this wet season. If you live in a flat and use a bin store, make sure the lids of the recycling bins are closed if they're out in the open.
Recycling, especially paper and cardboard, has to be disposed of as rubbish, if it's soggy.
If you find your green bags too full to seal, pick up more from one of our collection hubs or order them online. They are free of charge. Visit our website for more information.
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