Easter recycling

If you're lucky enough to receive a visit from the Easter Bunny this year, you may notice that you create more waste than usual.

Easter is the biggest chocolate-selling period of the year after Christmas. Around 80 million chocolate eggs are sold in the UK, generating almost 5,000 tonnes of card, foil and plastic. That's equal 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 you 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. You can recycle all these materials in the blue-lidded bin.

  • If you’re not sure if you can recycle some foil packaging, watch the Alupro video below. (If possible, try to roll pieces of foil together into a ball - roughly the size of a tennis ball - so it's easy to sort.)

  • You can now recycle soft, scrunchy plastics and materials, such as sweet wrappers and crisp packets, at many local supermarkets. Type "soft plastics" into the Recycle Now recycling locator to find your nearest drop-off point. You cannot recycle these in your blue-lidded bin. You must put them in your grey bin.

Bin collection changes

Due to the bank holidays, there are changes to your bin collections. Collections will be as normal on Good Friday 29 March 2024. However, there will be no collection on Monday 1 April 2024. 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 you leave your bins on property's boundary by 6.45am on your collection day, and bring them back in after the collection. Your bin collection will return to normal from Monday 8 April 2024.

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-lidded 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 wish to receive fortnightly green-lidded bin collections, you will need to buy a subscription. Find out more on our Garden Waste Subscription Service page

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!

warning signChanges to services over Easter: Due to the bank holidays, our Customer Service Centres will be closed on Friday 29 March and Monday 1 April 2024. There are also changes to your bin collections.  ×

Page Last Updated: Monday, 18 March 2024 at 03:26 PM