Come to the rescue once again for Recycle Week 2025
Oxfordshire residents are being asked to go that extra mile for Recycle Week 2025.
For the second year, the theme of Recycle Week, which is running from 22 - 28 September, is ‘Rescue Me! Recycle’.
The county has a 57.69 per cent recycling and composting rate, making Oxfordshire residents the best in England for 11 years in a row.
However, to continue to tackle the climate emergency, Oxfordshire County Council is calling on people to try to increase that figure as around half of the average rubbish bin is made up of items that could have been recycled.
Recycle Week aims to highlight common types of recyclable waste that residents often don’t recycle and ask them to rescue at least one of these items from their rubbish bin.
These could include toilet roll tubes, empty aerosols, old toothpaste tubes, trigger sprays, shampoo bottles, foil, yoghurt pot and toilet roll tubes – all of which can be collected in kerbside waste collections throughout Oxfordshire.
Councillor Judy Roberts, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Place, Environment and Climate Action, said: “We know that Oxfordshire residents are already great at recycling, but there is always room for improvement.”
Oxfordshire County Council’s online Waste Wizard search tool can help people put the right items in the right bin. Available on the council’s website, residents can type in their postcode and the item they no longer need to find out where it could be repaired or donated, or which kerbside bin or recycling centre skip it can go in.
“With busy lives and so many different types of items, packaging and materials, we appreciate there are times when householders can be unsure if something is recyclable or not,” added Cllr Roberts. “But if everyone can check the Waste Wizard and rescue at least one more recyclable item from general waste, it will make a big difference across the county.”
More advice and information about reducing the amount of waste produced can be found through Oxfordshire Recycles, which provides updates through different channels including Facebook and X/Twitter.
The partnership, which is made up of the county, city and district councils, works together to improve Oxfordshire’s recycling performance.
Recycle Week is organised by Recycle Now, part of international climate action charity WRAP, and is now in its 22nd year.
Catherine David, Chief Executive of 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.”
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