recycle week 2024. unwrapped.

Recycling has come a long way in recent years, but did you know it had its very own week!? 

It’s called (unsurprisingly) Recycle Week, and it’s finally here for 2024!

This will be its 21st year, but if you haven’t heard of it before, don’t worry. We’re here to give you the lowdown on this all important yearly event.

so, what is it?

Recycle Week is Recycle Now’s flagship campaign across the UK to celebrate the nation’s recycling and strengthen the determination of businesses, governments and the general public to recycle more of the right things, more often.

and when is it?

For 2024, Recycle Week lasts from 14 to 20 October.

And while you’re waiting for the week to roll around, check out our ultimate guide to recycling symbols so you’re primed and ready to improve those recycling habits!

because recycling has never been more important.

Thankfully, more and more of us now routinely recycle. 

Recycling our waste helps to reduce the need for more landfill and other expensive forms of disposal. It also reduces the need for extracting, refining and processing raw materials which in turn leads to less air and water pollution. It means we’re helping save energy, cutting greenhouse gases and helping to tackle climate change.

Over 75% of us now believe recycling is important,1 but what keeps us from doing more is a lack of recycling programs and services plus the confidence to know what can be recycled and where it can be recycled.

how can YOU get involved?

This Recycle Week there are several ways to get involved.

1. recycle!

Most obviously, keep recycling! Try to check each piece of packaging that comes into your home and learn if, where and how they can be recycled.

And if you haven’t yet started the practice of recycling then Recycling Week is a great time to start! So many everyday items like newspapers, magazines, aluminium cans, and plastic bottles can be recycled on your doorstep. Your local authority will be able to advise you and there is a ton of information on Recycle Now. 

2. share on social media.

Let everyone know the importance of Recycle Week. Share any recycling discoveries or good-to-knows across your social media accounts online. Encourage your friends and family to do the same. How about these 10 amazing did-you-knows?:²

• Glass can be recycled indefinitely without any loss in quality.
• Every Christmas, the UK throws away 227,000 miles of wrapping paper. 
• Recycling plastic uses 80% less energy than making it from scratch.
• Recycling 1 aluminium can saves enough energy to power a TV for 3 hours.
• It takes 60% less energy to recycle paper than it does to make it from raw materials.
• 50% of the food waste we throw in the bin could be composted.
• The UK only recycles around half of its glass.
• Only 27% of UK batteries are recycled; that’s 20k tonnes of batteries into landfill.
• Every year, we throw away enough plastic to circle the world 5 times.
• UK households throw away around 7 million tonnes of food every year.

3. get learning.

Read more about recycling and sustainable development. There’s a lot to learn about the negative impacts of poor recycling rates and failing waste systems on our planet. Educating ourselves as to how we can reduce waste goes a long way towards sustainable development.

And you can start right now! Discover why your recycling might be being rejected… and how to ensure it isn’t!  

Happy Recycling!