Blue/Green Bin

Council joins the 2025 ‘Rescue Me! Recycle’ campaign 

Now in its twenty-second year, Recycle Week (organised by Recycle Now) is the biggest national annual celebration of recycling. The campaign continues to shine a spotlight on missed items that too often end up in the black bin but can, and should, be recycled.

Following the success of last year’s campaign, “Rescue Me! Recycle” returns with two new characters joining the recycling mission – shampoo bottles and tin foil. These items join the list from last year’s campaign which included trigger sprays, aerosols, yoghurt pots, aftershave, perfume bottles and toilet roll tubes.

The campaign runs from Monday 22 to Saturday 27 September to celebrate the efforts of people in our district and help save key packaging items from the black bin. The latest Recycle Now research shows that although nine out of ten people regularly recycle, nearly eight out of ten of us (79%) put one or more items into the black bin that could have been recycled.

A week of social media messages, “Rescue Me! Recycle” aims to empower residents in our district to look out for various items missed most often in the weekly recycling collection. We will be encouraging residents to keep them in circulation by recycling.

• Shampoo and Spray Bottles – Empty, rinse, and replace the cap before recycling
• Tin Foil – Clean, scrunch into a ball (bigger than a tennis ball) before placing in recycling
• Toilet Roll Tubes – Flatten and place in recycling
• Yogurt Pots – Empty, rinse, and place in recycling (lids and film go in general waste unless marked recyclable)
• Aerosols – Empty, do not pierce or squash, place in recycling with the lid on if possible
• Glass Bottles and Jars – Rinse and place in recycling, remove lids (recycle separately if accepted)
• All Items – Must be clean, dry and loose (no bags or liners)

Do good. Feel good. Keep up your recycling efforts, remember you’re supporting our district to be more sustainable.

These bins are for recycling only. Recycling helps us make savings on disposing of waste, which means we can do more for you and your family, as well as helping the environment. To download our latest blue bin leaflet please click here. 

Recycle Right! 

We need your help to ensure that we can recycle all the materials collected properly. Here are some important things you can do to help:

• put all your materials clean, dry and loose into the bin
• make sure all food and liquid is removed
• separate out recyclable components eg separate an Easter egg box into plastic, foil and cardboard

Below is a detailed guide to the materials that can be recycled in your blue bin.

Mixed Paper

Yes please

All clean paper including newspapers, magazines, brochures and catalogues, white paper, telephone directories, leaflets and flyers, envelopes.

No thanks

Wet or dirty paper including napkins, tissues, kitchen roll and wallpaper. shredded paper, cards or wrapping paper with glitter, takeaway coffee cups, wrapping paper.

Cardboard

Yes please

All cardboard from around the home, including: cardboard boxes (eg cereal boxes, dishwasher tablet boxes), corrugated cardboard (eg online delivery boxes, cardboard envelopes), greetings cards without glitter.

No thanks

Wet or dirty cardboard food contaminated cardboard ie pizza, cards or wrapping paper with glitter, wallpaper. 

Plastic Bottles and Containers

Yes please

All clear and coloured plastic bottles from around the home eg (milk, drink, shampoo, detergent etc), pots (eg yogurt, soup, etc.), tubs (eg margarine, ice cream, etc.), trays/punnets (eg raw meat or ham trays; take-away trays; fruit/veg trays), chocolate and biscuit tubs and trays, other clear plastic packaging, plant pots.

No thanks

Plastic bags film or wrapping eg bread bags and bubble wrap, polystyrene cups, trays and protective packaging. Crisp and sweet wrappers, plastic toys, medicine blister packs, toothpaste tubes.

Top tip 1: remove any film lids and absorbent pads in the bottom of trays, and put these in your general rubbish.

Good to know: some supermarkets have collection points for recycling your plastic bags.

Top tip 2: squashing will increase space in your recycling bin.

Metal Cans and Areosols

Yes please

Drinks cans, food tins, biscuit/chocolate tins and their lids, empty aerosols, clean foil.

No thanks

Laminated foil (eg cat food/coffee pouches), crisp packets and sweet wrappers, general kitchen ware eg cutlery, pots and pans. Any other metal items eg kettles, irons, pipes and white goods.

Good to know: larger metal and plastic items can be recycled at Household Recycling Centres across the district.

Cartons

Yes please

Drinks cartons (eg juices), food cartons (eg soups), tetrapaks.

No thanks

Laminated plastic food/drink pouches (eg baby food pouches, cat food pouches, coffee pouches).

Glass Bottles and Jars

Yes please

All glass packaging from around the home, including, Bottles of any colour (eg wine, beer, spirits), Jars (e.g. sauces, jam, baby food), Non-food bottles (eg perfume, aftershave, face creams).

No thanks

Drinking glasses, glass cookware (eg pyrex), ceramics (eg crockery), vases, nail polish bottles, microwave plates, mirrors, window glass, light bulbs and tubes.

Good to know: other types of glass do not melt at the same temperature as bottles and jars. If they enter the glass recycling process, it can result in new containers being rejected.

Helpful Tips

•to prevent odour build up, remember to empty and wash all tins, cans and plastic containers

•to achieve best use of space in your bin, squash plastic bottles, tins and cans

•remove lids from all plastic bottles.

Top tip: you can recycle light bulbs and tubes at your local Household Recycling Centre.

Remember if in doubt, leave it out!

Contamination is a serious problem and can lead to tonnes of recyclable material being landfilled. Blue bins containing the wrong material will not be emptied.

Contact Details

If you need any further information, please contact:

Waste Department Customer Services Section

Telephone: 0330 137 4047

Email: environment@nmandd.org