Kent’s ‘Shake It Out’ campaign gains momentum as residents embrace cleaner recycling

Kent County Council’s (KCC) Shake It Out recycling campaign is continuing to gain momentum, with residents across the county taking on the simple but important action that makes a big difference: shaking recyclable items out of plastic bags and placing them loose into the recycling bin.

Launched earlier this winter, Shake It Out encourages residents to take this small but mighty step to help reduce contamination, improve recycling quality, and keep the county’s waste‑sorting machinery running smoothly.

Soft plastics and bagged waste are among the biggest contributors to contamination in Kent’s recycling system, creating blockages and lowering the quality of materials that can be recovered. By putting recycling into bins clean, dry and loose, residents are helping ensure materials can be identified, sorted and recycled properly.

Kent’s recycling facilities cannot currently process plastic bags or soft plastics. When bags enter the system, they jam machinery, slow down sorting lines, and can cause whole loads of recycling to be rejected. Last year alone, around 4,000 tonnes of recycling in Kent were contaminated, costing an estimated £400,000 in avoidable disposal costs and reducing the environmental benefits of residents’ efforts.

The Shake It Out campaign forms part of Kent’s wider long‑term behaviour‑change strategy to support households, improve recycling quality and meet upcoming national waste reforms. KCC is also working closely with district and borough councils to provide consistent messaging and support for residents across the county.

The Shake It Out campaign is all about making recycling easier, clearer and more worthwhile for everyone. Most residents want to do the right thing - and this simple action helps make sure their efforts count. By shaking out items and keeping them clean, dry and loose, we can recycle more, waste less and keep Kent’s recycling system running smoothly.

The campaign will run through the coming months as Kent works towards its goals of reducing waste, supporting national recycling reforms and maintaining a cleaner, more sustainable environment for all.

Find out more: Recycling at home - Kent County Council