Somerset is delighted to join this year’s Recycle Week (14 – 20 October), celebrating the efforts of residents to recycle and help save five packaging heroes from the rubbish bin.

Now in its twenty-first year, Recycle Week (organised by Recycle Now) is the UK’s biggest celebration of recycling.

Somerset has a recycling record to be proud of with a recycling rate of nearly 56% in 2023-24, putting them in the top 20% of waste authorities in England. Waste going to landfill is at a record low and nearly 96% of recycling stayed in the UK to be turned into new products and packaging, including more than 99% of plastics.

But there still much more to be done, with analysis showing that 48% of what’s in our rubbish bins could have been recycled at the kerbside and a further 7% at a recycling site.

For Recycle Week 2024, Somerset Council joins an urgent crusade to save five packaging heroes from being rubbished and keeping them out of the bin and living the circular life, through recycling.

The latest Recycle Now research shows that while we’re a nation of recyclers – nine out of ten people regularly recycle – nearly eight out of ten of us (79%) put one or more items into the bin that could have been recycled.

To highlight the plight of the five ill-fated packaging heroes, Recycle Now has created a team of characters to bring the campaign to life and is asking everyone to Rescue Me – Recycle.

The condemned containers include Dee Dee the deodorant, Rey the plastic trigger spray, Yogi the yoghurt pot, Fitz the perfume bottle and humble Hube – the toilet roll tube. The group will feature on recycling and refuse lorries in parts of the UK, in school education packs and on social media. Life-size characters have been produced to highlight the key message and will feature in media throughout Recycle Week.

Somerset’s recycling rate is in the top 20% for England at 56%. The council publishes what happens after each tonne of waste is collected to show that the reprocessing companies used are legitimate – no recycling is burned, dumped or ends up in the ocean.

However, although Somerset is a county of recyclers a recent participation survey (in 2023) showed that 48% of what’s in the rubbish bin could have been recycled at the kerbside (and a further 7% at a recycling site).

Recycling in Somerset could become anything from cardboard boxes and plastic pipes, to soil conditioner and car parts. It’s simple to recycle the five items highlighted by Recycle Now:

• Aerosols (such as deodorant) should be recycled in via bright blue bag
• Plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays (remove trigger sprays) should be recycled via the bright blue bag
• Toilet roll tubes can be recycled with cardboard via the black box.

Councillor Richard Wilkins, Executive Member for Transport and Waste Services said:

Somerset’s recycling rate remains high, and although this shows a great effort from residents we know there is always room for improvement.

Recycling is important as it means valuable materials can be recaptured – recycled – and used again. It reduces the need to extract oil (for plastic) or metal from the Earth.

We’re delighted to support Recycle Week and help residents recycle like heroes.

Craig Stephens, Senior Campaign Manager for Recycle Now, said:

We are delighted that Somerset is supporting Recycle Week. While a light-hearted campaign, recycling is essential to limit the impact what we buy has on the environment. Keeping these materials circulating means we can reduce emissions linked with our weekly shop.

Most people are recycling, and the material we capture has a multitude of uses, so the next step is to ensure everyone captures everything they can. Every aerosol, every trigger spray bottle, every plastic pot, perfume bottle and toilet roll tube. Rescue – recycle!

If you would like to follow the action on social media and take part in your own rescue missions, please use the hashtag #RescueMeRecycle and #RecycleWeek. Follow on Twitter/X @recycle_now and Instagram @recyclenow_uk for updates on how you can get involved and make an impact this Recycle Week.