Overview
- The Simpler Recycling framework, which took effect March 31, sets separate streams for food and garden waste, paper and card, and dry recyclables and requires weekly food-waste pickups.
- DEFRA’s lists bar many common items from household recycling, including drinking glasses, Pyrex-style cookware, ceramics, mirrors, cutlery, pots and pans, and coffee pods.
- Bathroom and hygiene items stay out of recycling under the rules, such as nappies and other absorbent products, cotton wool, makeup pads, tissues, and wet wipes.
- To cut contamination, guidance says to rinse containers and to put metal lids back on glass jars so sorting equipment can capture them.
- Implementation varies as some councils hold exemptions until at least 2040 and set their own pickup frequencies, with some areas moving black-bin collections to every 21 days, and households risk missed collections if they ignore local rules.