Recycle Week 2025 will be taking place from the 22nd to the 28th of September, with businesses across the UK gearing up for the nation’s biggest annual celebration of recycling. The campaign is in its 22nd year and is led by Recycle Now, with this year’s theme and slogan being “Rescue Me! Recycle.”
The simple focus of the campaign is to raise awareness of ‘Missed Capture Items’ that can be recycled, but still regularly end up in the general waste bin. Through educating and sharing the knowledge of where these recyclable items belong, the campaign aims to save valuable resources, cut business costs and keep reusable materials in use for much longer.
At a time when improving company sustainability is as important as ever, your business can easily get involved in Recycle Week to step up its recycling efforts, and improve its green initiatives. In this Parry & Evans blog, we guide you through how you can help spread the Recycle Week message throughout your business and make small changes that make a big difference!
What Are Missed Capture Items?
‘Missed capture items’ are the materials we all use daily that are often forgotten to be recycled, or perhaps people are unaware that they can be recycled, or the correct recycling category in which they are accepted.
This year’s Recycle Week Missed Capture Items are:
- Shampoo Bottles
- Foil
- Toothpaste Tubes
- Trigger Sprays
- Aerosols
- Yoghurt Pots
- Aftershave & Perfume Bottles
- Toilet roll tubes
Individually, these may not seem like much. But across the thousands of homes and workplaces all over the UK, this quickly adds up. In your office bathrooms, think about how many toilet roll tubes, handwash bottles or aerosol cans are ending up in the general waste each week? Or in your canteens or staff rooms, how much foil and how many yoghurt pots are likely being thrown away each break or lunchtime rather than recycled? Then you can see how surprisingly fast it mounts up.
Why Workplace Recycling Matters More Than Ever?
The volume of everyday waste generated in commercial settings is huge – from offices and schools to hospitality and healthcare, workplaces are at the centre of the UK’s recycling efforts.
In March 2025, the ‘Simpler Recycling’ rules came into effect in England (and were already in place in Wales from 2024), making businesses legally required to separate recyclable materials, including food waste, paper, cardboard, glass, and more.
The Recycle Week initiative offers a great opportunity to raise awareness within your organisation about the new regulations and generally improve your workplace recycling efforts as you enter the third quarter of the UK business year.
Benefits of Improving Workplace Recycling Systems Include:
✅ Compliance Made Simple – staying on top of new regulations ensures your company not only meets requirements but also leads the way in adapting to change.
💷 Cost Efficiency & Cash Generation – Reducing waste-to-landfill can lower disposal costs, whilst recycling quality separated materials can generate cash rebates, helping your business’s bottom line.
🌍 Sustainability – with sustainability becoming a top priority for people today, your business should ensure it is able to demonstrate environmental responsibility to staff, customers and stakeholders.
⭐ Employee Engagement – with education around recycling gathering momentum, staff want to work for businesses that care about the planet, and can become very aware of companies not making it a priority within their workplace.
Practical Tips to Improve Workplace Recycling
If you want your business to make the most of Recycle Week 2025, here are some simple, actionable steps that the experts at Parry & Evans have put together:
🔍 Rescue Missed Capture Items
Display reminders in bathrooms, kitchens, and communal spaces about recycling hand-wash bottles, aerosols, foil, and other focus items. Keep these reminders eye-catching and informative, letting your staff know the best recycling or disposal option for different items.
🗑️ Make Recycling Simple
Reducing the number of general waste bins nearby and increasing recycling points in common areas will make it more convenient and easier for people within the workplace to recycle. Place clearly labelled recycling bins next to every general waste bin. Add posters to help educate those who are unsure what category their recycling falls within. Strategic placement of recycling points can make a huge difference.
🍴 Reduce Single-Use Plastics
Encourage reusable water bottles, coffee cups, food containers, cutlery and more. Small workplace incentives can help to make a big difference overall.
🥦 Separate Food Waste
Introduce food waste bins in staff kitchens and canteens. Not only does this reduce contamination in recycling streams, but it’s also now a legal requirement within the new Simpler Recycling Regulations.
👥 Engage Your Staff
Run awareness campaigns, competitions, or even team challenges to make recycling a positive workplace habit. You could have a delegated recycling nominee within each team to help drive these campaigns and initiatives.
📝 Review Your Setup
Carry out a quick waste audit to identify what’s working and where recyclables are being missed. Not sure where to start? You can request a Parry & Evans Waste Management Audit Today!
Closing the Loop with Parry & Evans
At Parry & Evans, we don’t just do simple collections. We provide a ‘closed loop’ recycling solution, meaning that most of the materials we process are reused to make products of the same type, which helps keep resources in circulation for much longer.
As part of our Total Waste Management Solutions, we handle everything from paper, cardboard, plastics, metals, and glass to food and general waste. That means one reliable partner for all your recycling needs, not only making compliance easier but also maximising the value of your waste. We pay top rebates for high-quality recyclable materials, helping you turn waste into revenue.
Make Recycle Week 2025 Your Turning Point
Recycle Week 2025 is the perfect opportunity to improve and boost your business’s sustainability. This September, make a stand on saving ‘Missed Capture Items’ and let’s rescue those overlooked recyclables and improve workplace recycling together.
We’re committed to helping businesses save money and improve their recycling efforts, and we’re always eager to support more organisations on their sustainability journey. Whether you need new bins on-site, need some guidance on keeping staff informed on compliance, or a full waste management audit, our experienced team is here to help!
