This year, during national Recycle Week 2023 (16 to 22 October) Hampshire County Council is challenging people to hunt around their homes for items no longer needed and rediscover ‘missed opportunities’ to recycle items that cannot be reused or repurposed – either in their kerbside collection, at their local Recycling Centre or community recycling point.

Once used, many consumables end up being thrown away leading to costly disposal and avoidable impacts on the environment.

Councillor Nick Adams-King, the County Council’s Executive Lead Member for Universal Services, said: “During this Recycle Week, we’re asking Hampshire’s residents to take a little time to look around at home and consider the best way to dispose of their unwanted things – either by repurposing, giving them to someone else to make use of, donating to charity, or, if they’re not suitable for reuse, look to recycle them responsibly.

“Understanding what can be recycled and finding out how, when and where to recycle these items, is a practical way to reduce our carbon footprint, help tackle climate change and conserve our planet’s scarce resources. It also helps us to manage taxpayer-funded services efficiently.”

Local recycling facilities keep disposal to a minimum and help protect the environment. Hampshire already only landfills less than 5% of all household waste, but there is always more that can be done to reduce waste in the first place. Many items regularly thrown away can easily be recycled, these include:

  • Aluminium cans – recycling one can save enough energy to power a TV for three hours.
  • Paper – the average British family throws away six trees worth of paper every year, which together equates to a forest 35 times the size of the New Forest.
  • Plastic bottles – these can be recycled into new clothes; it takes just 25 to make a fleece jacket.
  • Glass bottles – recycling one glass bottle saves enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.

Councillor Nick Adams-King added: “After reusing, donating or repurposing, recycling the items we no longer need is the next best thing to avoid disposal. Knowing which items can be recycled through kerbside collections, and where various items can be recycled locally at a Household Waste Recycling Centre or a community recycling bank, can have a hugely positive impact in helping to protect the environment.”

A-Z of recycling

  • Check online for recycling options by item – from foil and freezers to tyres and textiles.

Kerbside collections

Like household refuse collections, local district or borough councils provide kerbside recycling collections.

The items collected in kerbside recycling can vary depending on location. However, most local councils collect glass in a separate box and all Hampshire residents can recycle five key materials in their recycling bin or sack:

  • paper
  • cardboard
  • plastic bottles
  • cans
  • tins

Residents can search ‘recycling’ on their local council website to check details about what is accepted and when their kerbside collections take place.

Items accepted at Hampshire Waste Recycling Centres

Visit the County Council’s website to check which items can be accepted before arrival, please remember all visits need to be booked in advance at a hants.gov.uk/wasteandrecycling

Batteries and single use and reusable e-cigarettes and vapes are now accepted at all Hampshire Waste Recycling Centres. Each site has designated bins where all batteries and single use vapes and reusable e-cigarettes and vapes should be placed. Batteries or battery products should never be placed in household waste as they create a serious fire risk. Many local shops and supermarkets also accept used batteries for safe disposal.

Community recycling banks

  • Community recycling banks are places where some items of recyclable household waste which are not accepted in kerbside collections can be deposited, such as textiles and books.
  • Locations of community recycling banks can be found on local borough and district council websites along with what each can accept, for example glass, textiles, shoes, food cartons and card containers with metal ends, for example crisps or ready-made dough containers.
  • Recycle Now provides an online service showing options by postcode search to find out what can be recycled at home or locally.

Recycling cartons

Doing more to reduce household carbon footprint

Other ways to reduce carbon emissions and help tackle the impacts of climate change can be found online.