Simpler recycling for Woking borough residents

From 31 March 2026, you can also put these items into your mixed recycling bin:

• cartons, such as juice and plant milk cartons
• empty aerosol cans
• foil and foil trays
• non-black plastic plant pots
• squeezy metal tubes, such as tomato puree tubes
• squeezy plastic tubes, such as toothpaste tubes

How to recycle the new items

Before putting these new items into your mixed recycling bin, please prepare them as follows:

• cartons should be clean and empty
• empty aerosol cans should be fully 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 and plastic tubes should be empty

Recycling search tool

If you are unsure of how to dispose of an item, use the Surrey Recycles search tool on the Joint Waste Solutions website. You will get instant advice tailored to your postcode. 

Check the Surrey Recycles search tool

Items which cannot be put in your recycling bin

You still cannot put the following items in your recycling bin:

• food
• textiles
• electricals
• nappies

You can be given a fixed penalty notice of between £60 and £80 if you repeatedly put items that cannot be recycled in your recycling bin. 

Fixed penalty notices will only be issued after a written warning has been issued.

What happens to your recycling

Mixed recycling is taken to a materials recycling facility (MRF) where it is separated into material types, such as glass, metal, plastic and paper. 

These materials are then sent to reprocessors to be recycled and turned into something new. If there are no reusable options for a material, some items may be used to generate energy instead.

About the Simpler Recycling campaign

Simpler Recycling is part of the UK government’s collection and packaging reforms – GOV.UK. 

It is designed to make recycling services more consistent, so it is clearer what you can recycle and how.