Bedford Borough Council is supporting Recycle Week 2026 (14th – 20th September), the UK’s biggest annual recycling campaign, delivered by Recycle Now. This year, Recycle Week is showing people how their recycling truly makes a difference, and that it’s worth doing properly. The campaign shows how everyday items put in the right bin can be turned into new products, save energy and keep valuable materials in circulation.
Councillor Nicky Gribble, Portfolio Holder for Environment at Bedford Borough Council, said, “Our residents are already making a real difference – recycling almost 12,000 tonnes of household waste last year – but there’s still more we can do together. Recycle Week is a reminder that what we put in our orange‑lidded recycling bin and food waste caddy really does count. By recycling more of the right things, more often, we’re cutting carbon, protecting our local environment and making the most of every item we use.”
This year’s campaign features recyclable characters whose stories show why they’re worth rescuing from the black bin.
- Shampers the shampoo bottle – can become a plastic garden chair
- Spritz the glass fragrance bottle – could come back as a new bottle
- Rolly the toilet roll tube – can be turned into a notebook
- Deo the aerosol – could become part of a bike
- Trigger the cleaning spray bottle – can be recycled into a new spray bottle
- Yogi the yoghurt pot – can come back as another yoghurt pot
- Ally the kitchen foil – can be recycled into part of a car engine
- NEW for 2026: Neil the banana peel – can create green energy and fertiliser through anaerobic digestion.
Bedford Borough’s weekly food waste collections, launched in March 2026, have already diverted over 1,900 tonnes of food waste to anaerobic digestion in the first four months, creating renewable energy for the National Grid and fertiliser for local farms.
Recycle Week is also a prompt to think beyond the bin – to reduce the waste we create in the first place, and to reuse, donate or sell more of what we no longer need. Practical tips on how to reduce, reuse and recycle can be found at www.bedford.gov.uk/ReduceWaste
Top tips to boost recycling in Bedford Borough
Use your orange‑lidded bin correctly – Put in dry, clean and loose recycling: plastic and metal food and drink packaging, aerosols, fruit juice and milk cartons, paper, cardboard, and glass bottles and jars. Rinse food containers and squash bottles to save space and keep your bin clean.
Put all food waste in your weekly caddy – Include peelings, leftovers, tea bags and coffee grounds. This becomes green energy and fertiliser, and helps keep your black bin cleaner.
Recycle batteries safely – never in bins – Place household batteries in a small, clear, sealed plastic bag and put on top of your black or orange‑lidded bin on collection day. Never put batteries or vapes inside any bin.
Check before you bin – Double‑check what can go in household bins and use the Recycle Now Recycling Locator to find out what can be recycled at home and where to take other items locally at www.bedford.gov.uk/MyBins
Find out more about Recycle Week 2026: www.recyclenow.com/recycle-week-2026
