CORNWALL’S recycling rate has increased by more than 20 per cent since the new collection service was introduced.

Weekly food waste and fortnightly recycling and rubbish collections were rolled out across Cornwall in 2024 and 2025.

This has had a significant impact on the Duchy’s household recycling rate, which has already increased from 31 per cent to 52 per cent.

So far, residents across the Duchy have recycled 20,000 tonnes of leftovers, teabags and everything else that goes in your food caddy, which is the equivalent weight of more than 66 million pasties.

Cornwall Council is urging everyone to check what is going in their bin and rescue any recyclable items during Recycle Week, which is held between September 22 and September 28.

A recent analysis of Cornwall’s household waste found that many items that can be recycled, were still ending up in people’s rubbish bins. Food waste accounted for 22 per cent of black bag rubbish and 43 per cent of that food was still in the packaging.

Other items that could have been recycled using the household collection service, such as aluminium tins, plastic bottles and glass jars, accounted for 16 per cent. Recyclables that could have been taken to a Household Waste and Recycling Centre made up seven per cent.

Councillor Loic Rich, cabinet member with responsibility for Environment and Climate Change, said: “Cornwall’s recycling rate has improved significantly but we’ve still got more work to do.

“Our recent compositional analysis found that 45 per cent of black bag waste could have been recycled, and around half of that was food waste.

“Next year people will be able to recycle soft plastics and cartons from home. In the meantime, Recycle Week is the perfect time to think about what’s ending up in the bin and how we can all recycle more.”

Anyone not sure what can be recycled more information on the Cornwall Council website.

People can also find helpful advice on what goes in your food waste caddy and how to order more recycling bags.