It’s almost time for the biggest moment in the recycling calendar: Recycle Week!
Recycle Week is Recycle Now’s annual flagship moment, bringing together local authorities, businesses, public services, and national government to show people how they can recycle better, and why it matters. Recycle Week returns for 2026, helping more people to rescue recyclables from their rubbish, and keep valuable materials in circulation.
WRAP
This year, we are maximising our impact with a longer run up and continuation of behaviour change communications before and after Recycle Week. While Recycle Week runs from 14-20 September this year, we know schedules can be tricky, so we welcome you to get involved whenever suits your audiences and households best from 7-27 September.
Our latest insights
WRAP’s latest research shows that feelings of trust that things are recycled, and that recycling efforts are worthwhile, are declining.
The latest Recycling Tracker data revealed that the percentage of people who see their recycling efforts as worthwhile has remained static from 2025 at 69%, which is still down from highs of 81% in 2021. What’s more, 1 in 4 people have some level of distrust that what they put out for collection gets recycled.
This is having a direct impact on people’s recycling behaviours, with a clear correlation between recycling rates and perceptions of worthwhileness. Coupled with ongoing feelings of uncertainty about what can and can’t be recycled, the nation is throwing away billions of items that could be recycled.
With nationwide policy changes, this is the perfect opportunity to show people what they can recycle, and the positive impact it has.
Our focus this year
This Recycle Week, we’re evolving our proven campaign Rescue Me, Recycle! Launching brand new characters and evolved storylines, backed by behaviour change theory. Rescue Me, Recycle! brings many of the most missed items to life, giving them engaging personalities and storylines to encourage people to rescue them from their residual waste bins.
Using Recycling Tracker and audience testing insights, our main all-star item line-up this year is:
- Deo the aerosol
- Spritz the perfume bottle
- Shampers the shampoo bottle
- Rolly the toilet roll tube
- And NEW for this year, Neil the banana peel, our brand new food waste character.
Supported by our back up cast who will still feature in our toolkit for you to use on your channels:
- Minty the toothpaste tube
- Yogi the yoghurt pot
- Al the kitchen foil
- Trigger the cleaning spray bottle
WRAP
Be part of making Recycle Week a success
We had over 200 local authorities take part in Recycle Week 2025, and this year we are aiming to get even more of you involved. We know that local authorities are at the heart of making Recycle Week a success, with many of you using Recycle Week as a platform to raise the profile of recycling communications to residents. All assets are free to use and editable for you to share across your communication channels.
WRAP’s research shows that frequent, consistent communication from local authorities is key to helping people have confidence in recycling.
Here are just some of the ways you can help make Recycle Week a success, and change recycling behaviours in your area:
- Invite households into the recycling process: offer virtual or in-person tours of your Materials Recovery Facility or depot to show how materials are sorted before being sent for reprocessing and share updates on social media.
- Celebrate your collection and sorting crews: Use the week to spotlight local recycling champions and collection teams who make recycling possible every day and can prove that recycling is real! A simple picture carousel can be quick to produce and have a big impact.
Your Recycle Week prep checklist
Follow these steps to get ready for Recycle Week:
- Watch our first Recycle Week 2026 webinar to find out our latest recycling insights and theme for this year’s campaign here: Recycle Week 2026 webinar | WRAP - The Waste and Resources Action Programme
- Register for our second Recycle Week webinar here: Webinar Registration - Zoom. We’ll be revealing the full toolkit, sharing more tips and insights on how to get involved, and a chance to hear from Defra on how Recycle Week fits in with wider national recycling plans.
- Download the FREE Recycle Week 2026 toolkit (available from 18 August) here: Campaign assets. It’ll feature digital assets, posters, social media graphics, videos, and suggested social copy. Please share with your communications and engagement colleagues.
- Update WRAP’s LA Portal with any changes to your collection services, including new or updated items such as toothpaste tubes and perfume bottles, so it’s accurate for citizens searching for the right information on the Recycling Locator.
Remember to tag Recycle Now, and use #RecycleWeek2026 when sharing assets through your channels.
Without local authorities, Recycle Week wouldn’t be possible – thank you for being part of the nation’s biggest recycling moment. Get in touch to tell us what you’re planning, email us at RecycleNow@wrap.ngo.
