How to recycle more and reduce waste

We’d like to see 55 percent of household waste recycled – but we need your help.

Below are some tips to help you reduce the amount of waste your household produces and help make Newcastle a greener place to live.

Remember some of these tips and hints can help save you money, or in some cases even make a bit of money too!

Love your blue bin

You may be surprised by the amount of waste you can recycle in your blue bin. Did you know you can recycle clean foil trays, yoghurt pots, biscuit tins and empty aerosol sprays?

You can  check items for recycling on our A-Z of Recycling page.

Love Food Hate Waste

The average person in Newcastle could save up to £200 a year simply by not throwing away good food and drink. Find out how you can reduce food waste and save money.

Small Electrical Items

Did you know that Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) can be recycled at some local shops? This can be useful if you cannot get to one of our Household Waste and Recycling Centres.    Recycle Your Electricals can help you find participating  local shops for recycling electrical items. They also give advice about the kinds of items you can recycle. 

Greener gardens

Sign up for garden waste collections and we can collect your garden waste for you. Garden waste is used to produce high quality soil conditioner for local gardens, allotments and farmland. Please visit our garden waste collection page. Please note this is only open for sign ups during certain periods of the year.

You could also try home composting – 20% of an average household waste bin is made up of food waste. Home composting is the best environmental option for dealing with food waste. For more information on home composting, including how to get a reduced price compost bin, visit the home composting webpage.

Use a Household Waste Recycling Centre

You can take your extra recycling and rubbish to one of our three Household Waste Recycling Centres in Newcastle. At the Centres you can recycle fluorescent lights and energy saving lightbulbs, waste wood, vegetable oil and much more. Alternatively, find your nearest supermarket recycling point where you can take metal tins and cans, paper, plastic bottles, cartons, clothes, shoes, glass bottles and jars. Please note that these sites do not accept general waste.

Donate or re-use unwanted furniture

Use free websites such as Freecycle to give away or get unwanted furniture locally. There are also local charities who will collect your unwanted furniture or household items to help local people in need.

You can find more details here about other organisations who may be able to help.

Support local charity shops

Donate your unwanted textiles, clothes, shoes, books, toys and bric-a-brac to shops or door-step charity collections. Find your nearest charity shop.

Donate unwanted food to a Food Bank

Food banks accept donation of usable food. The received food is sorted, stored and made available to people who are in crisis.

• Newcastle East End Food Bank
• Newcastle West End Food Bank

Some supermarkets also have donation points for usable food and pet supplies.

For everything else…

Visit the Recycle Now website for a comprehensive list of where and how you can recycle household items such as carrier bags, printer cartridges, mobile phones, spectacles, bicycles and more.

You could also:

• Register with the Mailing Preference Service to reduce the amount of junk mail you receive.
• Try to buy items that don’t have a lot of packaging. For example, buy loose fruit or vegetables in supermarkets or buy items in bulk or family packs.
• Around 20% of rubbish in a general waste bin is food waste. In addition to composting, why not sign up to Love Food Hate Waste for top tips on understanding food labels, portion sizes and clever recipes.
• There are lots of websites and groups where you can share and trade items. You can also sell items that you may no longer need.