Building on the surge in public interest in recycling spearheaded by the BBC’s Blue Planet II back in 2017, this year’s Recycle Week is focusing on ways to keep the momentum going.

Now in its 15th year, Recycle Week is an annual campaign aiming to raise awareness of, and encourage participation in, recycling in the UK.

Kicking off today (24 September) and running until Sunday, the week of events is organised by the Recycle Now team from the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) under the theme: ‘Recycling. We do. Because it matters.’

‘We do’ is the message WRAP is keen for everyone to get behind, both as individuals and as a nation – and the organisation has been touring the UK with an eight metre ‘WE DO’ sign to highlight this idea around the country. Images from this tour will form part of a new advertising campaign encouraging people to make recycling part of their everyday routine.

A number of big name organisations are getting involved in the Recycle Week campaign, including Coca Cola, Unilever, H&M, John Lewis, P&G and some of the UK’s major supermarkets. Tesco and Danone will be teaming up to run in-store customer engagement activities, while Coca-Cola is launching its new #CokeDunks campaign to encourage the recycling of its bottles through social media and TV interactions. In addition, buildings around the country will be lit up green to show their support for the campaign

Craig Stephens, Recycle Now Campaign Manager, commented: “Recycle Week is the perfect opportunity to remind people why recycling is worth it. And this year, more than ever, we have people’s attention and we’re going bigger than ever before! I’m delighted by the support we’re getting from partners. I’m now looking forward to seeing the impact we make with the week.

“We know recycling can’t answer all the waste issues we are facing, but it’s a key part of the puzzle. It’s important citizens know that if they recycle then their waste has the best chance of being dealt with in the most environmentally friendly way.”

Recycling Tracker reveals continued confusion about collections

Coinciding with Recycle Week is the publication of WRAP’s annual Recycling Tracker Report, a survey of UK households and their attitudes, knowledge and behaviour around recycling.

Missed capture and contamination are the key elements of recycling behaviour examined in the report, showing that there is room for improvement for both dry and wet recycling. Of the more than 3,000 people surveyed, 54 per cent stated they still put one or more items in their general waste bins that are collected for recycling in their area (missed capture), while 76 per cent admitted to adding items to their recycling bins that are not collected in their area (contamination). Both of these figures represent little or no change from the 2017 report, but an increase from 2016 results.

The report goes into detail about the age and location of respondents, revealing that Wales has the lowest level of missed capture, but a higher rate of contamination (83 per cent of Welsh respondents put at least one item into the recycling that is not accepted by their local authority). In addition, young people (18-24) are the most likely to put their waste and recycling in the wrong place.

The huge disparity in food waste recycling services over the country is also highlighted by the Recycling Tracker, with 71 per cent recycling their food waste in Wales compared to only 25 per cent in England. In Wales, a food waste collection service is mandatory for all local authorities, while English councils can choose whether or not to offer this service – and many choose not to in light of continued cuts to waste and recycling budgets. This is further highlighted within England, with a noticeable difference between London (at 30 per cent) and Greater Manchester (60 per cent).

To read the Recycling Tracker Report in full, visit the WRAP website. More information about Recycle Week can be found on Recycle Now.