New items for your recycling bin

Great news – your bins just got better!  From 31 March 2026 you will be able to put more into your mixed recycling bin. Wherever you live in Surrey, foil, aerosol cans, squeezy metal and plastic tubes, cartons and non-black plastic plant pots will be able to go in your mixed recycling bin.  Just follow these simple steps and then add to your bin:

• Scrunch clean foil into a ball no smaller than a tennis ball.
• Clean foil trays.
• Empty aerosol cans.
• Empty squeezy metal and plastic tubes, such as toothpaste and tomato puree tubes.
• Clean non-black plastic plant pots.
• Empty, rinse and, if possible, remove lids of Tetra Pak cartons such as juice and soup cartons.

By recycling, you’re helping to reduce waste, increase recycling rates and protect our environment. And don’t forget, Surrey’s recycling rate is the joint second highest of comparable areas in England!

The new items are being added as part of the national Simpler Recycling changes, which aim to make recycling more consistent across the country.   Some items could previously go in mixed recycling bins in some areas of Surrey, however, all areas have at least one new item.

If you want to know which bin to put virtually any item you can think of in, use the Surrey Recycles search tool. Just enter your postcode then an item and the tool tells you what to do with it.

Surrey Environment Partnership