Recycle Week: Dudley Council is joining the 2025 Rescue Me! Recycle campaign

This Recycle Week, which is running from 22 – 28 September, Recycle Now and Dudley Council is proud to support the Rescue Me! Recycle campaign.

Councillor Damian Corfield, cabinet member for Neighbourhoods, joined children from Russell’s Hall Primary School to learn about what can and can’t be recycled and which items are often overlooked and mistakenly thrown into the bin. His visit was part of a series of educational activities and visits by the recycling team being rolled out to primary schools across the borough, supported by resource and activity packs for schools to share with their pupils.

The national campaign continues to shine a spotlight on missed capture items that too often end up in the rubbish bin but can, and should, be recycled.

Following the success of last year’s campaign, Rescue Me! Recycle returns with three new characters joining the national recycling mission: shampoo bottles, foil and toothpaste tubes. Dudley Council currently accepts shampoo bottles and foil in its collection, with some local chemists accepting empty toothpaste tubes – check the facility location Recycle Now Locator Tool to find your nearest recycling point. Many Boots stores across the UK accept toothpaste tubes and other hard-to-recycle items through their Recycle at Boots scheme, where you can even earn Advantage Card points for participating.

These items join last year’s list of most missed items: trigger sprays, aerosols, yoghurt pots, cleaning product bottles, plastic toiletry bottles, aftershave and perfume bottles and toilet roll tubes.

Councillor Damian Corfield, cabinet member for Neighbourhoods, said:

“We continue to make great strides in recycling, but there are still items that end up in the bin which could be recycled. By rescuing those missed items, we can make our recycling efforts even more impactful. Let’s keep up the great work and make our recycling better than ever before.

“It was great to meet with some of the children at Russell’s Hall Primary School who clearly already know so much about recycling and really care about the environment.”

Alison Foy, Headteacher, Russell’s Hall Primary

“The children really enjoyed taking part in the recycling session, sorting items into the right receptacles and learning about the importance of recycling. This feeds into the year five geography topic of energy and sustainability, but is a message we reiterate to all years.

"Our Junior PCSO took part in a litter pick just last term, collecting five bags of rubbish from nearby streets and the local park while our year twos learnt about the importance of keeping rivers free from litter and the risk of microplastics. Our pupils really care about the environment and it was great to take part in the session.”

Catherine David, CEO, WRAP “Recycle Week continues to be a powerful moment to inspire action across the UK, and this year’s ‘Rescue Me! Recycle’ campaign is no exception. By highlighting everyday items like shampoo bottles, foil, and toothpaste tubes—things we often overlook—we’re helping people see the real impact of small changes. Thanks to innovation and collaboration, more of these items can now be recycled than ever before. Together with local authorities and communities, we’re making it easier to do the right thing and keep valuable materials in use. Let’s rescue these items from the rubbish and give them a second life.”

Recycling doesn’t have to be confusing.
To find out more about Recycle Week, visit: www.recyclenow.com/RecycleWeek