Climate Column - Recycle Week and E-Waste Day

Climate Column - Recycle Week and E-Waste Day

Now in its 22nd year, Recycle Week stands as the UK’s largest and most impactful annual celebration of recycling, and in 2025 it’s more powerful than ever. Running from 22nd to 28th September, Wigan Council are backing the campaign led by Recycle Now, supporting the vibrant Rescue Me! Recycle initiative. 

The campaign shines a spotlight on missed items - those everyday recyclables that often end up in the general waste bin. 

Following the success of last year’s campaign, Rescue Me! Recycle returns with fresh energy and new characters joining the recycling mission. This year, the spotlight falls on: 

• Shampoo bottles 
• Foil.

These newcomers join last year’s line-up of recyclable heroes, which includes: 

• Trigger sprays
• Aerosols
• Yoghurt pots
• Aftershave and perfume bottles
• Toilet roll tubes. 

Together, these items represent a wide range of household packaging that can, and should, be recycled. Many of them are commonly overlooked, but with a little awareness, they can easily be rescued from the bin and given a second life. 

Top Tips: 

• Get a small bathroom recycling bin, repurpose a basket or hang a bag on the back of the bathroom door, and pop your empty bottles, aerosols and toilet roll rubes in there for recycling
• Shampoo, conditioner and shower gel bottles all go in the brown bin
• Toilet roll tubes go into your blue bin. 

International E-Waste Day is also coming up, on 14th October 2025. Now in its 8th year, this global initiative highlights the hidden value in our old electricals. By recycling old phones, laptops or other electricals sitting forgotten in a drawer, these vital materials can be re-used and play their part in a sustainable future. 

Let’s not allow these valuable resources to go to waste. In support of E-Waste Day, here’s how you can help: 

• Check your home for unused electronics like phones, chargers, cables, and other small devices
• Take them to one of Wigan’s three recycling centres: Kirkless (Ince), Chanter’s (Atherton), or Slag Lane (Leigh). Alternatively, visit a participating retailer like Currys, which offers incentives for recycling old tech
• If your electricals contain batteries or bulbs make sure you take them out before you recycle them, and remove any personal data from phones or laptops, including any old memory cards
• Pop a bag in a cupboard and store all your old electricals until your next trip to the tip. 

Recycling doesn’t have to be complicated. Whether it’s a shampoo bottle, or an old mobile phone, every item rescued from the bin contributes to a cleaner, greener, and more sustainable future.