14th August 2025
South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils are calling on residents to change the way they deal with litter on the go
Up to 70 per cent of the things that are put in public litter bins could be recycled if taken home. Unfortunately, once recyclables are mixed with food waste and other rubbish in litter bins they can’t be recycled and must be thrown away.
This summer’s Take It Home campaign is delivering a clear message: — please take your empty bottles and cans home for recycling, instead of placing them into public litter bins.
On the go? Here’s what people need to know:
If you want to recycle,please take these items home and put them in your green bin instead:
- Empty cans and bottles*
- Plastic food containers*
- Newspapers and magazines
*please just give it a rinse first to ensure no mess gets in your recycling bin.
What’s suitable for public litter bins:
- Sandwich packaging – please ignore the label, these can be messy or include a mix of different materials which may not be recyclable
- empty crisp packets and chocolate wrappers
- fast food packaging
- disposable coffee cups
- film lids from food packaging
- bagged dog waste
The campaign supports the councils’ new Rethinking Waste strategy, which focuses on reducing waste overall, improving recycling and supporting residents to make more sustainable choices.
To support the ‘Take it home’ campaign, the council already provides some street recycling bins in the towns and larger villages. However, they are often contaminated by food waste, liquids and dog mess bags which means that items cannot be recycled.
To make sure your empty bottles, cans and plastics are recycled – please take them home, give them a rinse and then put them in your recycling bin.
For more information, please visit southandvale.gov.uk/litterbins
Don't forget, if you have a refillable water bottle you can fill it up outside the Town Hall.
