Residents should make sure they’ve squeezed out as much as possible and check that their toothpaste tubes have the recycling logo on it before putting it into their burgundy bin.
It is estimated that nationally, we use 300 million tubes of toothpaste every year and if you spread them end-to-end that's about 75,000 kilometres of plastic, almost twice around the world.
Bolsover District Council’s Leader, Councillor Jane Yates said, “We are once again leading the way when it comes to recycling. We are constantly looking at what new materials can be recycled through our burgundy bins and toothpaste tubes is just the latest.
“I would urge people to start doing this straight away so we can continue to reduce the amount of waste we send to landfill and give materials like toothpaste tubes a second life.”
Since the Council launched the burgundy bin recycling scheme in May 2011, they have led the way in recycling and have implemented the following changes:
- 2011 – Introduced kerbside collection of plastic bottles, tubs and trays.
- 2015 – Introduced waxed carton recycling.
- 2021 - Brought the service in-house after the collapse of the contractor being used, saving 15 jobs.
- 2022 - Expanded the types of plastic you could recycle to include flexible plastics – a move which came five-years ahead of the government mandate to recycle this type of waste.
- 2023 – Improved customer convenience by removing the need to segregate paper from the rest of the recycling materials.
- 2025 - Started using YouTube shorts to promote recycling habits and raise awareness.
- 2025 – Started collecting toothpaste tubes.
Bolsover District Council provides a fortnightly kerbside recycling collection service through its burgundy bin scheme, where a wide range of materials can be recycled including (but not limited to) glass, plastic (soft and hard), cardboard, aluminium and paper.
Residents can check what can be recycled in their burgundy bins on the Council’s website at www.bolsover.gov.uk/recycling