Recycle

After prevention and reuse, the next best thing you can do with items you no longer need is to recycle them.
Recycling turns old materials into new products, reducing our need to extract raw materials which is resource and emission intensive.
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A food waste caddy, recycling box and textile recycling bag on a driveway.

Kerbside recycling

Find out what goes in your recycling bin at home.

This service is run by your local council, and may vary according to where you live.

Find your local council
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Recycling centre with containers.

Recycling centres

There are 21 recycling centres managed by Essex County Council which accept a wide range of materials for recycling.

Find a recycling centre
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A trolley pictured in front of an aisle of food

Recycling at shops

Lots of materials that aren’t accepted for recycling at kerbside can be recycled at supermarkets and retailers across the county.

Find out what's on offer
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Hand placing a banana skin in a food recycling caddy.

Food recycling

When food waste is recycled at the kerbside it is transformed into energy and fertiliser.

Food recycling in Essex
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Hand placing a plastic bottle into a recycling bin.

Plastic recycling

Find out about recycling different types of plastic in Essex.

Plastic recycling in Essex
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Textile recycling bins at a recycling centre.

Textile recycling

Recycle your clothes and textiles if they are unable to be repaired or reused.

Find out how to recycle clothes and textiles
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Man repairing an electrical device with a screwdriver.

Electrical recycling

Electrical items contain valuable resources, such as copper, aluminium, gold, and steel, which can be rescued and reused through recycling.

Find out how to recycle electricals, batteries and vapes
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Stamps

Recycling with charities

Lots of materials that aren’t accepted for recycling at kerbside can be recycled via charities across the county.

See where you can recycle
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Hands holding compost in a heart shape.

Composting at home

Composting is a natural process that turns your food and garden waste into soil improver for your garden.

Get started with home composting

Where does your recycling go?

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Illustration of different types of waste with a question mark

In Essex, your kerbside waste and recycling is collected by your local district, city or borough council. Once collected, Essex County Council is responsible for disposing of the waste.

Essex County Council is also responsible for managing the 21 recycling centres across the county.

Find out what happens to the different types of recycling and waste collected in Essex.

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Did you know?

There are some easy ways to improve your recycling and to make sure you're recycling all you can!

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