What can and cannot be recycled

Yes please. If they are empty domestic aerosols (e.g. deodorant, body sprays, hairsprays) please place with your tins and cans for recycling.

If the aerosol is not a household item, such as car paint, WD40 insecticide etc. please take to your nearest Household Recycling Centre and place in the Hazardous Aerosol container. These must not be placed in your general waste as they can be harmful to the environment.  Check the label of your aerosols for safety symbols. 

Yes please, as long as they are clean (no grease / food residue).  Rinse them out, scrunch them up and place them in your recycling bags with cans and tins 

All household batteries including 'button' watch batteries can be recycled at the kerbside with the rest of your recycling waste. Put your batteries in a clear bag and put them out with your recycling waste on your collection day.

We also accept household batteries at our Household Waste Recycling Centres. Laptop battery packs, mobile phones, power tools, remote control and car batteries should be recycled at our Household Waste Recycling Centres.

Yes please, we accept Tetrapaks (soup, juices, smoothies etc.) and these can be placed in with the plastics.

Sorry, this can’t be recycled currently and should be placed in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin).  

Yes please. Broken household crockery and pottery plant pots can be taken to your local Household Recycling Centre and placed in the Soil & Rubble container and used as aggregate.  Sorry we cannot accept Pyrex type crockery in this container. Please consider offering any unwanted items that are in a good condition to a charity shop. 

Sorry, this can’t be recycled.  This is because they are heat-treated so do not melt at the same temperature as other glass items. Carefully wrap the item in paper and put it in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin).  Please consider offering any unwanted items that are in a good condition to a charity shop.

Sorry, this can’t be recycled. This is because they are heat-treated so do not melt at the same temperature as other glass items. Carefully wrap the item in paper and put it in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin). Please consider offering any unwanted items that are in a good condition to a charity shop.

Sorry, this can’t be recycled currently, but it can be reused for posting items safely It can also be reused as insulation to protect sensitive plants during cold weather.

Sorry, these cannot be accepted with your paper and card for recycling, as they can be heavily contaminated, but they can either be composted at home or placed in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin). Please don’t put them in your garden waste or food waste bins. 

Sorry, this can’t be recycled. Plastic films such as magazine packaging, cling film, and carrier bags cannot currently be recycled due to the mixed plastics being used.  Please place these in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin).

Carrier bags can be used again and also reused as bin liners.

Bread bags can be recycled through Terracycle®.  TerraCycle® and Hovis® have partnered to create a free recycling programme for bread bags. You can drop-off your bread bags at public drop-off locations across the UK.  For more information, please visit: https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB/brigades/breadbag

Yes please, as long as they are clean (no grease / food residue). Rinse them clean and place them in with your recycling with the plastics pots, tubs and trays. 

Black trays cannot currently be recycled and should be placed in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin)

We accept waste cooking oils at our Household Recycling Centres, as long as the oil is taken to the centre in a sealed container with a closable lid on it.

We do not currently accept crisp packets or baby food pouches for recycling, as crisp packets and other metallised plastic film products like baby food pouches can't be recycled because of the grease and crisp residue that clings to them.  The scrunch test is a simple way of checking whether something is recyclable. If the item springs back into shape after you have scrunched it up, then it can’t be recycled. 

Walkers® is partnered with Terracycle to offer a simple and free crisp packet recycling scheme, which now accepts all brands.  For more information, please visit: https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB/brigades/crisppacket

Terracycle® and Ella's Kitchen® have partnered to create EllaCycle, a free recycling programme for any brand of baby food pouches and Ella’s Kitchen’s snack wrappers, and a fundraising opportunity for participants. For more information, please visit: https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB/brigades/ellacycle

Alternatively, please place them in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin)

Not all greetings cards can be recycled. If the card has glitter, stickers or other items attached, they cannot be included with your paper and card recycling as they contaminate the paper making process. All other cards can be recycled and should be placed in with your paper and card collection bags.

Yes please.  You can recycle energy efficient light bulbs and fluorescent tubes at your local Household Recycling Centre.

Old style incandescent bulbs are not recyclable and will need to be wrapped carefully and put in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin) 

Yes please.  We accept newspapers, office paper, magazines, junk mail, white/coloured envelopes, directories, catalogues, grey/white card, books without spines or covers.  Please place them in your paper and card collection bags

Sorry, these can’t be recycled.  The ones printed on shiny, thermal paper, are not recyclable because they are coated with a substance called bisphenol A (BPA) or bisphenol S (BPS).  These chemicals can be harmful if they are released into the environment or ingested in large quantities. Please place them in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin)

We do not currently accept pet food pouches for recycling.

TerraCycle®, Whiskas® and James Wellbeloved® have partnered to create a free recycling programme for all pet food plastic pouches & flexible plastic bags.  The programme operates through a network of private and public drop-off locations throughout the UK

For more information, please visit:

https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB/brigades/petfood

Alternatively, please place them in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin)

Sorry, these can’t be recycled. Pre-prepared bags of salad can't be recycled because they combine different types of plastic, making them difficult to separate and process.  Please place them in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin)

Yes please, these can be placed in with the recycling with the plastics pots, tubs and trays. These are made from a plastic known as HDPE. You should see a number 2 in the recycling symbol on the bottle. As HDPE is easy to turn back into new milk bottles, it's in high demand and valuable to recycling companies. 

We do accept some types of plastic toys for recycling at our Household Recycling Centres, but is best to check first.  Unfortunately, they cannot be collected as part of your household recycling.  If your toys are in good working order you could try to sell them, donate them to a charity shop or a local church, toy library or playgroup.  If your toys and games are beyond repair, it may still be possible to recycle some of the parts if you dismantle them. This includes batteries and battery packs from remote controls which should be removed and recycled.

Sorry, these can’t be recycled.  Please place them in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin)

Sorry, these cannot be recycled with your paper and card, as they contain different materials including a metal base, tear-off foil top, a plastic lid, silver foil lining inside and a cardboard outer sleeve.

They can be reused to store opened bags of crisps, biscuits or other household goods or children can decorate them to be used for storage. Otherwise, please place them in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin)   

Sorry, these can’t be recycled. Unfortunately, we can’t accept post-it or sticky notes in our paper kerbside recycling collections, as the glue on the adhesive strip can't always be removed during the recycling process.  Please place them in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin)

Toothpaste, suncream and other squeezable tubes are difficult to recycle because they combine different materials.  Toothpaste tubes can often contain a thin layer of aluminium and be made of various types of plastic - making it challenging for recycling plants to separate and process them.

Colgate® is partnered with Terracycle®, a firm that moulds items into new products, such as park benches, to offer a free recycling scheme for toothpaste tubes, toothbrushes, outer packing and electric and battery toothbrush heads. For more information, please visit:

https://www.terracycle.com/en-GB/brigades/colgate-uk 

For other products, please place them in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin)

Yes please. You can take these to your local Household Recycling Centre.

Not all wrapping paper can be recycled.  The scrunch test is a simple way of checking whether something is recyclable. If the item springs back into shape after you have scrunched it up, then it can’t be recycled.  If it doesn’t spring back into shape, then it can be recycled and you can put it in with your paper recycling.

Yes please, as long as they are clean (no grease / food residue). These can be placed in with the recycling with the plastics pots, tubs and trays. Black trays cannot currently be recycled and should be placed in your general waste bin (black wheelie bin)