From 31 March 2026 you can add the following items to your recycling:

• Clean and empty cartons such as juice and plant milk cartons
• clean foil scrunched into a ball no smaller than the size of a tennis ball
• clean foil trays
• clean, non-black plastic plant pots
• empty squeezy metal tubes such as tomato puree tubes
• empty squeezy plastic tubes such as toothpaste tubes
• empty aerosol cans care also part of the changes although EEBC already collect those for recycling. You can continue to add empty aerosol cans to your recycling.

This is part of Simpler Recycling which is part of the UK government’s Collection and Packaging Reforms, and will introduce changes to how recycling and waste is collected across England.

Why is Simpler Recycling happening?

Currently, bin collections across England vary between areas, which can create confusion and misinformation among residents. The changes are designed to make recycling the same across all households, reducing confusion and improving recycling rates.

The reforms shift costs to producers to fund improved local authority waste and recycling services and are also expected to lead to the production of fewer hard-to-recycle items.

How should I recycle the new items?

The new items should go in mixed recycling bins in the following ways:

• cartons should be clean and empty
• foil should be clean and scrunched into a ball no smaller than the size of a tennis ball
• foil trays should be clean
• non-black plastic plant pots should be clean
• squeezy metal tubes should be empty
• squeezy plastic tubes should be empty.

Find out more about weekly recycling in Epsom & Ewell here: Simply Weekly Recycling