Recycling Week 2025: Help Milton Keynes rank first in England for recycling
Milton Keynes residents are urged to help the city rank number one in England for recycling by giving commonly binned items a second chance.
To kick off Recycling Week in Milton Keynes, the city council is asking locals to give a special push to find items that are often overlooked for recycling - items like the humble toilet roll.
The week is a national event from September 22 to 28 which brings businesses, governments and citizens together to raise awareness about the importance of recycling.
Milton Keynes’ residents are already superstar recyclers.
The city ranks 7th in England for recycling, jumping an impressive 76 places since last year.
This impressive rise came after the city council’s introduction of separate wheelie bins for paper recycling, and for glass, plastic and cans in 2023.
These introductions made it easier to avoid paper and card getting wet or covered in food, making them unrecyclable.
The city council is asking residents to help MK get to number one on the recycling leadership board next year.
One of the simplest ways to help is to think about commonly overlooked recyclables.
“Rescue Me! Recycle Me!” is the theme of this year’s national Recycle Week campaign, giving commonly binned items a second chance by recycling them properly.
Nationally, 57% of households miss recyclable items.
Milton Keynes’ most commonly overlooked recyclables are cardboard toilet roll tubes (too often put in the bathroom bin), deodorant cans and yoghurt pots.
Also, old electronics, including cables and cords - these should be taken to one of MK’s household waste recycling centres, where booking a space is quick and easy.
Deputy Leader of Milton Keynes City Council, Councillor Lauren Townsend said: “Recycling is good for the city and obviously for the environment. We’re so pleased local people have helped MK get into the top ten for recycling and we really think we can reach first place next year.
“Recycle Week is a good opportunity to remind yourself to recycle more, and especially to think about these simple overlooked items. If you need a refresher on what goes in which bin, there’s lots of advice on our website.”