Easter recycling
If you're lucky enough to be visited by the Easter Bunny, you may notice that you create more waste than usual this Easter.
Easter is the biggest chocolate-selling period of the year after Christmas. Approximately 80 million chocolate eggs are sold in the UK, generating almost 5,000 tonnes of card, foil and plastic - equivalent to the weight of around 600 double decker buses.
Thankfully, the majority of this waste can be recycled in your blue-lidded bin. We're urging residents to hatch a plan and recycle as much as possible. Here are our top recycling tips this Easter:
Unscramble whether your packaging is recyclable or not
The most common packaging materials for Easter eggs are cardboard, aluminium foil and firm plastic, all of which are recyclable in the blue-lidded bin.
- If you’re not sure if you can recycle some foil packaging, watch the Alupro video below. (If possible, it’s best to try to roll pieces of foil together into a ball - roughly the size of a tennis ball - so it can be sorted more easily.)
- Soft, scrunchy plastics and materials, such as sweet wrappers and crisp packets, can now be recycled at many local supermarkets. Look out for a soft plastic collection on your next food shop. These cannot be recycled at the kerbside and must be disposed of in your grey bin at home.
Bin collection changes
Due to the bank holidays, there are changes to your bin collections. Collections will be as normal on Good Friday 15 April 2022. However, there will be no collection on Monday 18 April 2022. All collections that week will be one day later than usual.
You can check your bin collection date on your waste collection calendar or by using our bin collection postcode checker.
Please ensure that your bins are left on the boundary of your property by 6.45am on your collection day, and bring them back to your property after the collection. Your bin collection will return to normal from Monday 25 April 2022.
Having a spring clean?
Extra recycling is always accepted if it is left out with your blue-lidded bin on your collection day in a sturdy container. Extra waste with your grey bin is not accepted.
Visit our Recycling Centres page to see what can be recycled at your nearest neighbourhood recycling bank, as well as what can be taken to the recycling centres and when.
You might also want to make use of our Bulky Waste Collection Service.
Preparing your garden for an egg hunt?
Only garden waste should go in your green bin. Visit our green-lidded bin page to make sure that you are recycling the right items in the right bin (no cardboard, food or plastic should go in your green bin).
If you are regularly creating lots of extra garden waste, you might want to subscribe to our Additional Garden Waste Service so that you can have a second bin collected.
Disposing of Easter waste
If you want to double check what materials can be recycled in each bin, check out our guides:
If you end up with lots of leftover food after, why not try Love Food Hate Waste's recipe guide for ideas on what to do?
Planning an Easter picnic?
Remember not to leave your rubbish behind. Take separate bags to sort out your general waste, recyclables and food waste that can’t be re-eaten so that you can dispose of these in the right bins at home.
Planning ahead by taking your own food and drinks in reusable containers can help save money as well as reduce the amount of packaging used. You might find these other green top tips useful.
Thank you for recycling all that you can, and have a cracking Easter!
