Hull City Council is proud to support this year’s Recycle Week (22–28 September), the UK’s biggest annual celebration of recycling, now in its twenty-second year.
Organised by Recycle Now, the campaign promotes sustainable waste management and aims to rescue recyclable materials from the black bin.
This year’s theme, ‘Rescue Me! Recycle’, continues to shine a spotlight on everyday recyclables that too often end up in the black bin, but can, and should, be recycled.
Following the success of last year’s campaign, three new items have joined the recycling mission:
- Shampoo bottles
- Foil
- Toothpaste tubes
These items join last year’s list of commonly missed recyclables:
- Trigger sprays
- Aerosols
- Yoghurt pots
- Aftershave and perfume bottles
- Toilet roll tubes
Hull City Council is putting these items in the spotlight during Recycle Week, encouraging residents to keep them in circulation and out of the black bin.
While Hull City Council does not currently collect toothpaste tubes through kerbside recycling, they can still be recycled through alternative schemes – use the Recycle Now Locator Tool to find your nearest drop-off point. Many Boots stores across the UK accept toothpaste tubes and other hard-to-recycle items through their Recycle at Boots scheme, where you can even earn Advantage Card points for participating.
The council will be supporting Recycle Week by hosting a range of activities:
- The Love Your Neighbourhood team have organised an assembly about recycling to be delivered to Clifton Primary School on Tuesday 23 September. The team will then be reattending on Wednesday 1 October to deliver a ‘Recycle me a City’ workshop’.
- The team will be attending the Vegan Market at Trinity Market between 10am and 3pm. Visit their reuse shop for high quality items!
- The team, in partnership with the children, young people and adults service (CYPFS), have organised a reuse donation drive, encouraging council staff to donate items to create new home starter kits for young people leaving care. At the end of the week, the team will give the new home starter kits to CYPFS for distribution.
The councils top tip for recycling is ‘keep it dry, keep it loose, keep it clean’ — encouraging residents to give food containers a quick rinse in their washing-up water if needed, let them dry, and to avoid bagged waste in the blue recycling bin.
Councillor Charles Quinn, portfolio holder for environment at Hull City Council said: “Recycle Week is a vital opportunity to raise awareness about the importance of recycling and its positive impact on our environment.
“It is our collective responsibility, as a city, to protect the environment and preserve it for future generations. By rescuing items that are often missed, we can reduce waste and preserve resources for future generations.
“This year’s theme ‘Rescue Me-Recycle’, continues to underscore the critical importance of keeping recyclable items in circulation. By ensuring items such as aerosols, trigger sprays, and toilet roll tubes are continuously recycled, we can significantly reduce the strain on our planet’s natural resources.
“I encourage all residents to join us in this campaign by recycling as much as possible and remember while we don’t collect toothpaste tubes at the kerbside, they can be recycled elsewhere – so please don’t throw them in the bin.”
Catherine David, CEO, WRAP, said: “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.”
Residents are encouraged to take part in the campaign by using the hashtags #RescueMeRecycle and #RecycleWeek, and to follow @recycle_now on X and @recyclenow_uk on Instagram for tips and updates.
To find out more about Recycle Week, visit: www.recyclenow.com/RecycleWeek
