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Don’t let your good recycling go to waste
North Ayrshire Council is calling on residents to continue putting effort into recycling by ensuring they use the right bins for the right waste.
Recycle Week 2026 kicks off on Monday, 14 September, and the Council is encouraging everyone to avoid contaminating their recycling bins.
Each year, millions of items that could be recycled are put in the wrong bins across the country.
Contamination happens when people put the wrong items into recycling bins, meaning they can’t be recycled at all, or recycled material is soiled and therefore unusable.
Each item that is recycled correctly helps save energy, and keeps valuable materials in circulation to be used again and again, playing a simple, yet essential role in tackling the climate crisis.
Simple things you can do to help avoid contamination include rinsing your cans, bottles and food containers so that they don’t impact on other materials.
Quote: We are delighted to support Recycle Week 2026 and to encourage everyone across North Ayrshire to play their part. Recycling correctly is one of the simplest actions we can take to reduce waste, protect valuable resources and help tackle climate change. By taking a few extra moments to make sure the right items go into the right bins, residents can make a real difference. I would encourage everyone to take a fresh look at what they recycle at home and join us in making this year’s Recycle Week a success.”
Quote from: Councillor Eleanor Collier, Cabinet Member for Green Environment and Economy
Catherine David, of environmental action organisation WRAP, said: “Recycling is one of the easiest ways we can conserve scarce natural resources and cut carbon emissions.
“Each year millions of shampoo bottles, aluminium foil, toothpaste tubes and other recycling are binned when they could be recycled, so this Recycle Week we're asking people to be a hero at home and rescue more recycling.
“Together with local authorities and communities, we’re making it easier to keep these valuable materials in use and give our recycling a second life.”
Recycling arrangements for the mainland and the islands of Cumbrae and Arran can be found on the Council website.
Published: 11 September 2026