Residents in North Yorkshire are being encouraged to build on their strong recycling record by checking that all recyclable items are being placed in the correct container.
Householders across the county already recycle more than 42 per cent of their waste, helping to save valuable resources and reduce the amount sent for disposal.
As part of Recycle Week 2026, which runs from 14 September to 20 September, we are highlighting how a few simple changes at home could help even more recyclable materials stay in circulation, as some everyday items that could be recycled are still ending up in rubbish bins.
Council leader, Cllr Carl Les, said: “Every year, billions of recyclable items are placed in the wrong bin across the UK. By taking a little extra time to recycle correctly, residents can help save energy, reduce waste and ensure materials can be turned into new products rather than being lost to disposal.”
To help spread the message across the county, a recycling mascot called Deo, whose appearance is based on a deodorant can, will be attending community events.
They are:
- Tuesday, September 15: New Recycling Service Roadshow, Hawes Market Place, 9.30am to 3pm.
- Thursday, September 17: New Recycling Service Roadshow, Co-op, Colburn, Catterick Garrison, 11.30am to 2.30pm.
Cllr Les added: “At these events, residents can pick up advice and put their recycling questions to the council's waste and recycling team, such as ‘which container does it go in?’ and ‘what happens to my recycling once it's collected?’
“Simple changes at home can make a real difference, and I would encourage anyone with questions about recycling to come along and speak to our team at one of the Recycle Week events.”
Residents can recycle the following items at the kerbside, regardless of where they live in the county or which recycling container they use:
- Paper, cardboard and magazines.
- Envelopes including windowed envelopes.
- Greeting cards and wrapping paper - those with glitter or foil on them cannot be recycled.
- Shredded paper contained in used boxes, for example cereal box/shoe box.
- Food and drink cartons.
- Metal food and drink cans.
- Empty metal aerosol cans.
- Aluminium foil and aluminium food trays.
- Plastic bottles - including trigger sprays.
- Plastic pots, tubs and trays - including yogurt pots, margarine tubs, ready meal trays, plastic punnets.
- Glass jars and bottles including perfume bottles.
- Plastic tubes, such as toothpaste tubes.
- Aluminium tubes, such as tomato puree tubes.
- Plastic plant pots, no soil and not black.
Cllr Les said: “Residents across North Yorkshire already do a fantastic job recycling, but there is always more we can do.
“By putting the right items in the right bin, we can all play a part in reducing the amount of waste being thrown away and help to protect the environment.”