Recycle Week 2026: Ards and North Down Borough Council encourage residents to rescue more recyclables

Ards and North Down Borough Council encouraged residents to make the most of the Borough's recycling services as part of Recycle Week 2026 (14-20 September).

Delivered annually by Recycle Now, Recycle Week is the UK's biggest celebration of recycling and highlights the difference that everyday recycling actions can make for communities and the environment.

The Council was proud to support this year's campaign, which focused on helping people recycle more of the right items, more often. Every item recycled correctly helps conserve resources, reduce waste and keep valuable materials in circulation so they can be transformed into new products.

Residents across Ards and North Down already make a significant contribution through the Borough's recycling services, including household recycling bins, food waste collections, glass recycling and Household Recycling Centres. Recycle Week provides an opportunity to build on these positive habits and help rescue even more recyclable materials from general waste bins.

To bring the campaign to life, Recycle Week 2026 featured a cast of recyclable characters that demonstrate what happens when items are recycled correctly. From shampoo bottles becoming garden furniture to kitchen foil finding a new life in car components, the campaign highlights the value of everyday items that might otherwise be thrown away.

The recyclable characters include:

• Shampers the shampoo bottle - who can be recycled into a plastic garden chair
• Spritz the perfume bottle - who could come back as a champagne bottle
• Rolly the toilet roll tube - who can be turned into a notebook
• Deo the aerosol - who could become part of a bike
• Trigger the cleaning spray bottle - who can be recycled into a new spray bottle
• Yogi the yoghurt pot - who can come back as another yoghurt pot
• Ally the kitchen foil - who can be recycled into part of a car engine
• New for 2026, Neil the banana peel - who can be recycled into nutrient-rich fertiliser

Top tips for residents

To help residents get the most from local recycling services, Ards and North Down Borough Council recommends:

• Make full use of all available recycling services, including your blue bin, brown bin, glass box and Household Recycling Centres.
• Download the Bin-ovation app for information about local waste and recycling services, collection schedules and practical recycling advice.
• Use your kitchen caddy for all food waste before transferring it to your brown/green bin.

Mayor of Ards and North Down, Councillor Craig Blaney said:

"Residents across Ards and North Down already do a fantastic job recycling, and Recycle Week was an opportunity to remind ourselves that every item recycled correctly makes a difference. By making full use of the recycling services available, including food waste collections and Household Recycling Centres, we can all help reduce waste, protect resources and contribute to a cleaner, greener Borough."

Fiona McKilligan, Assistant Director, Bryson Recycling said:

'All recyclable materials collected in blue bins across Ards and North Down are transported to Bryson Recycling where we proudly ensure recyclable materials are processed to the highest standard.

By prioritising quality and supporting local reprocessors wherever possible, we help keep valuable resources within Northern Ireland, turning everyday recyclables into new products, while delivering environmental and economic benefits for local communities."

For more information about Recycling, to view the Recycling Guide and to download the Bin-ovation App - please visit - Bins and recycling - Ards and North Down Borough Council

To find out more about Recycle Week, visit: www.recyclenow.com/recycle-week-2026