New purple lidded glass recycling bins now being collected across Rushcliffe
Last updated: 1/12/2025
Thousands of new purple lidded glass recycling bins are now being collected across Rushcliffe from today(December 1) as residents continue to play their part and drive up the Borough’s recycling rate even further.
Rushcliffe Borough Council (RBC) have distributed over 55,000 of the new bins to households which means kerbside glass collections can take place for the first time and mean a simpler method to recycle used glass into new glass bottles and jars.
The new collections have been detailed on a new collection calendar the authority has now distributed to households and the bins will be collected on the same day as residents’ current grey bin collections, every six weeks.
Under this new service, the glass collected can be mixed of any colour thanks to significant improvements in separation technology, which now allows glass to be colour sorted at the reprocessor, saving energy and resources.
The new 180 litre bins, smaller than existing grey and blue bins and more information on the changes and a list of frequently asked questions are available at www.rushcliffe.gov.uk/simplerrecycling.
Existing bring and recycle bank sites for glass will also be reviewed and scaled back in January as it is appreciated most residents will want to recycle their glass from home meaning trips to the recycling sites will no longer be necessary.
It’s all part of Simpler Recycling changes that are part of central government’s plans announced in 2023 which intends to ensure all homes in England recycle the same materials from the kerbside.
Further work has been undertaken on options for communal bin stores and flat complexes where different receptacles for glass and other recyclables have been introduced.
Leader of RBC Cllr Neil Clarke MBE said: “This is the first week of collections of the glass recycling bins to households across the Borough and it’s been heartening to see so many residents welcome their arrival. Our waste teams will collect the bins every six weeks for recycling into new glass products.
“It’s all part of the national simpler recycling project and this will enable everybody in Rushcliffe to recycle their glass in a dedicated separate bin. Please play your part at home to drive up recycling rates even further.”
RBC’s Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Environment and Safety Cllr Rob Inglis added: “This is an important service change that affects everyone and aims to standardise what materials are collected for recycling across all local authorities to further improve recycling rates locally and nationally.
“You can now place clean and empty glass bottles and jars of any colour into your new bin, including food jars, drink bottles, toiletry jars, perfume bottles and reed diffuser bottles.
“All the glass collected is then sent to a reprocessor, where it is colour separated by machines and recycled back into glass bottles and jars.
“Even if only one glass item is placed in the bin a week, across 55,000 households, that’s 2.8 million items of glass a year we are recycling.
“Thank you to everyone who has used our bring and recycle banks for many years which have helped Rushcliffe have the best recycling rate in the county. These will now be reviewed and we hope many people can now recycle their glass even more conveniently at home.”