Cornwall’s recycling rate has increased by more than 20% 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% to 52%.
So far, residents across the Duchy have recycled a staggering 20,000 tonnes of leftovers, teabags and everything else that goes in your food caddy - that’s the equivalent weight of more than 66 million pasties!
During Recycle Week (September 22 - September 28) Cornwall Council is urging everyone to check what’s going in their bin and rescue any recyclable items.
Watch the video above to see what happens to Cornwall's rubbish and recycling
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% of black bag rubbish - and 43% 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%.
And recyclables that could have been taken to a Household Waste and Recycling Centre made up 7%.
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% 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.”
If you’re not sure what can be recycled, you can find more information on the Cornwall Council website.
You’ll also find helpful advice on what goes in your food waste caddy and how to order more recycling bags.
Press release issued on September 22, 2025