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Waste and Recycling

Recycling

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Recycling

Recycle More From Home

We’ve expanded Wychavon’s recycling service so you can recycle even more of the items you use every day. From 31st March, you can now put clean aluminium foil and empty plastic tubes (such as toothpaste and cosmetic tubes) in your green recycling bin.

Your collection day remains the same. Check your collection calendar or use our online collection day finder for up‑to‑date information.

Collection Calendar

How to Recycle Foil

  • Make sure foil is clean and free of food
  • Rinse foil trays and remove plastic lids
  • Scrunch clean foil into a ball
  • Place it loose in your green bin

How to Recycle Plastic Tubes

  • Squeeze out any remaining product and rinse if possible
  • Leave the cap on
  • Place tubes loose in your green bin

Why This Matters

Recycling foil uses 95% less energy than making new foil, and many plastic tubes are now made from widely recyclable materials. Recycling them helps conserve resources and support UK manufacturing.

What Happens Next

Your recycling is sorted at EnviroSort near Worcester before being sent to UK reprocessors, where it is cleaned and transformed into new products.

Recycling Service

We collect thousands of tonnes of recycling from homes every year but we know we can do more.

Research shows about 55% of homes across the UK put one or two items in their general rubbish which could be recycled.

Recycling is important to help protect our planet’s natural resources and to help fight climate change.

Making sure you put the right type of item in your green recycling bin or clear sack also matters. If you put something in your green bin or clear sack that can’t be recycled this is called contamination.

In 2023/24 contamination cost Wychavon taxpayers £185,000. If a recycling bin is heavily contaminated then this could affect everyone else’s recycling when it is tipped in the back of the collection truck.

The information on this page will help you get your recycling right and to recycle a much as you can.

    Recycling using your green bin/clear sack

    Find out what can go into your green bin/clear sack on the let's waste less website. If you have a green recycling bin, recycling should be placed in the bin loose. Any bins containing black sacks (even if the black sacks contain recycling) will not be collected.

    Our A to Z recycling guide

    If there is a specific item you would like to know how to recycle then check out our A to Z recycling guide.

    Other recycling

    There are many other items that can be recycled even though they cannot go in your green bin. Some of these are listed on this page.

    If you have a question about a particular item then you can search the A to Z recycling guide.

    (Clean) Alumunium Foil and Plastic Tubes

    Currently you can only dispose of this at your local Household Recycling Centre or in your black waste bin.

    However, from April 2026, you will be able to recycle (clean) aluminium foil and empty plastic tubes in your green recycling bin!

    Coffee pods

    We removed our coffee pod recycling bins. These were originally created to allow people to recycle the traditional style coffee pods. But as coffee pod technology has moved on, we have struggled in recent years to find companies to recycle them through our usual routes. Most modern coffee machine/pod manufacturers now provide their own coffee pod recycling schemes or they can be accessed through www.terracycle.co.uk, meaning there is less demand for our coffee pod recycling bins.

    We are working with our contractor to look at how we can provide an alternative coffee pod recycling service, possibly from the kerbside.

    If you would like more information about how to recycle your coffee pods in the future then please use our Right Waste, Right Place search tool at www.wychavon.gov.uk/recycling-search.

    Please do NOT put coffee pods in your green recycling bin at home as this will contaminate the rest of your recycling

    Soft plastics

    You can only recycle plastic pots, tubs, bottles and trays in your green bin/clear sack. But other types of plastic are accepted at in the carrier bag recycling points at larger supermarkets. The types of plastic accepted include frozen food packaging (such as the type used for frozen chips), toilet roll packaging, bread bags and more. Check in-store for details. From April 2027, residents will be able to present soft plastics from the kerbside. We will commuicate this to residents nearer the time.

    Supermarket recycling

    As well as soft plastics your local supermarket accepts all sorts of other recyclable items. These include light bulbs, printer ink cartridges and crisp packets. The type of item accepted is different in each store. The next time you go shopping look out for what can be recycled or ask a member of staff.

    Terracycle

    Terracycle is a company that specialises in recycling a range of items that cannot be accepted in your green bin/clear sack. Many of these schemes have local collection points. Visit the terracyle website for more information.

    Batteries

    Batteries can be recycled in most supermarkets and some larger retailers. You can also put them in a plastic bag on top of your black bin. Our collection crews will then put them in a separate cage on the collection vehicle and take them for recycling.

    Find out more about recycling your batteries from the kerbside.

    Electrical items

    Anything with a battery, plug or a crossed out wheeled bin logo on it can be recycled.

    Electrical items should never be put in with your rubbish or recycling.

    Small electrical items can be placed on top of your black bin. Our collection crews will then put them in a separate cage on the collection vehicle and take them for recycling.

    Find out more about recycling small electrical items from the kerbside.

    Textiles

    Good quality clothing and other textiles should be sold online or donated to charity shops, friends or family.

    You can also use textile banks at Household Recycling Centres (Tips). Textiles such as clothing, bed sheets and towels can be put in a carrier bag next to your black bin and our Textiles such as clothing, bed sheets and towels.

    Find out more about recycling textiles from the kerbside.

    Sharps Disposal

    Where a person treats themselves in their home, it is their responsibility to dispose of any clinical waste in a responsible way.  This should be by using a sharps bin and taking this to a disposal point. There are 3 pharmacies within the Wychavon district that will accept Sharps boxes up to 9 litre, including purple lidded or “toxic” Sharps. These are listed below, as well as other pharmacies in Worcestershire who will accept the same.

    Sharps bins are plastic containers designed for the safe disposal of hazardous waste. Sharps bins are available on prescription from your doctor. They can take needles, empty syringes, empty insulin cartridges and lancets. Some patients use ‘B-D safe clip' devices to remove the needle from the syringe. This does not need to be done if the needle and syringe are put straight into the sharps bin.

    Where patients are prescribed sharps boxes by their GP they can take the full boxes back to their GP for disposal provided the practice is registered with Worcestershire County Council to accept this waste.

    A list of sites within Wychavon (and surrounding districts) where Sharps boxes can be taken to, can be found here: Clinical waste (sharps) | Worcestershire County Council

    Please note, this is managed by Worcestershire County Council, as the Waste Disposal Authority, and Wychavon District Council has no involvement in the approval of pharmacies. 

    Recycling banks

    Our recycling bank sites are below: (please remember that if you have a wheeled recycling bin at your property, you can recycle paper, glass, card and aluminium cans in your bin and there is no need to use a bring site). Recycling bring banks are for domestic use only. Businesses are not permitted, by law, to use the bring banks to dispose of their waste.

    • Morrisons Car Park Covercroft Road, Droitwich (Glass, Cans)
    • Oat Street, Oat Street, Evesham (Glass, Cans)
    • Morrisons Car Park  Springfield Drive, Evesham (Glass, Cans)
    • Tescos Car Park, Worcester Rd, Evesham (Glass, Cans)    
    • The Fish & Anchor, Evesham Road, Offenham (Glass)
    • Asda Car Park, off High Street, Pershore (Glass, Cans)
    • Horticultural College, Avonbank, Pershore (Glass)
    • Co-Operative Car Park, Racecourse Road, Pershore (Glass)

    Activities to download

    We have created some fun activities for our younger residents to help get them interested in recycling and learning more about living sustainably.