A to Z of Recycling

A

• Abandoned vehicles
  If the vehicle is abandoned on the public highway, please contact your local council who will arrange for it to be collected. See contacts for details
• Aerosols
  Aerosols can either be recycled as part of your fortnightly kerbside collection service with your cans or can be taken to your local HWRC. Please ensure that aerosols are empty and are not pierced
• Aluminium cans
  Aluminium cans can either be recycled as part of your fortnightly kerbside collections with your tins and cans or can be taken to your local HWRC. Aluminium can be recycled indefinitely as reprocessing does not damage its structure.
• Aluminium foil
  Clean aluminium foil can be recycled as part of your fortnightly kerbside collection service.
• Asbestos
  Asbestos is a hazardous substance and requires handling in the correct manner. If the asbestos is from a domestic property it can be taken to some of Lancashire's HWRC's. Click here for more details of which sites are able to accept asbestos. Asbestos will only be accepted if it is in the correct protective wrapping, which you can get in advance from any HWRC's.
• Ash
  Wood ash can be spread around your garden or added to your finished compost from your home compost bin just before you spread it on your garden. Coal, mixed ash and ash from treated wood, which has been completely cooled down can be disposed of with your general waste.

B

• Batteries
  Household and car batteries can be recycled at your local HWRC.
  A number of primary and secondary schools in Lancashire also collect household batteries for recycling.
  Have you thought about using rechargeable batteries? They are better for the environment as they can be used many times and can save you money! They also save energy because it takes 50 times more energy to make a battery than the energy it produces.
• Bicycles
  Why not pass your unwanted bicycle to a friend or neighbour to use?
  Some charities and community groups will accept donated bicycles which are in good condition. Click here for more information about donating your bike.
  Bicycles can also be taken to the HWRC.
• Books
  Why not give the books you have read to friends or family for them to read?
  Alternatively most charities accept books that are in good condition, or unwanted books are also collected at the HWRC.
• Bottles
  See "plastic" and "glass"
• Bric-a-Brac
  If you are having a clear out and have lots of good items to dispose of, why not take part in a car boot sale and make some money?
  Alternatively, if they are in good condition why not take unwanted items to your local charity shop.
  Bric-a-Brac is also collected at your local HWRC.

C

• Cans
  Cans can be recycled as part of your fortnightly kerbside collection service. Please only use this collection for food and drink can, aerosols and clean tinfoil. For all other scrap metals see "Metal"
  They can also be taken to your local HWRC.
  Every steel can is 100% recyclable. It can be recycled over and over again into products like bicycles and, of course, new cans.
• Cardboard
  Cardboard can either be recycled as part of your fortnightly kerbside collection service or can be taken to your local HWRC.
  Small pieces of cardboard can be put in a home compost bin.
• Cartons
  Including tetrapak containers. There are containers for recycling beverage cartons used for liquids like juice, soup and milk, at the Preston, Lytham, Fleetwood, Burscough, Carnforth and Lancaster Recycling Centres
• Carrier bags                                                                                                                                                                            When going shopping why not take a reuseable bag, or reuse a carrier bag that you already have? Many supermarkets and shops now sell reuseable bags which are cheap and durable.
  Old carrier bags can be recycled at the HWRC's, or at your local supermarket where they may offer collection points for carrier bags.
• Carpets and rugs
  If your carpet or rug is in good condition it may be suitable to be reused. See "Furniture" for more information about reuse groups in your area.
  You can also take carpets and rugs to any HWRC in Lancashire, although this will be sent to a landfill site.
• Cars
  Also see "Abandoned cars".
  If your car has reached the end of its life, please ensure that you dispose of it responsibly. Take it to a registered car dismantler and ensure that you notify the DVLA.
  Local scrap yards reclaim and sell car parts. See you local telephone directory for details.
• CDs, tapes and records
  If in good condition these can be donated to charity shops. Alternatively they can be taken to the HWRC.
• Christmas Trees
  Your local waste collection authority may collect Christmas trees in the New Year. See contacts for details
  Real Christmas trees can also be taken to the HWRCs for composting.
• Clothes
  Give unwanted clean clothes, textiles and shoes to charity shops or put them in a textile recycling collection point. Any items which cannot be resold are recycled into cloths for use in industry.
  Clothes are also collected as part of your fortnightly kerbside recycling collection.
  They are also collected at the HWRC.
• Composting
  Most kitchen and garden waste can be composted at home. Go to our composting pages to find out more. Cooked food and meat waste should not be placed in a compost bin, but can be put in a wormery.
• Computers
  Unwanted computers and monitors can be taken to your local HWRC. We advise our customers to fully erase the hard disk(s) so that any personal information is completely erased. Simply deleting files is not enough to permanently erase them. Instead, we advise that customers purchase software to completely wipe the hard drive, or physically destroy the hard drive to render it unusable (ie with a hammer) prior to disposal at the recycling centre.
• Cookers
  See "White goods"

E

• Electrical appliances
  If the electrical goods are in good condition then a reuse group may take them. See "Furniture"
  You can take unwanted electrical appliances to the HWRC.
• Energy saving light bulbs
  Energy saving light bulbs should be taken to the HWRC
• Engine Oil
  See "Oil"

F

• Flytipping
  If rubbish has been tipped onto the public highway you should contact your local council who will arrange for it to be collected. Click here for more details.
• Food waste
  See "Composting"
• Fridges and Freezers
  You can take domestic fridges and freezers to any HWRC free of charge. Your local council will also offer a special collection for large items or "bulky waste". Click here for more details.
  There a number of reuse groups in Lancashire that may take fridges and freezers, see "Furniture" for more details.
• Furniture
  Furniture and appliances can be donated to reuse organisations, and a list of those organisations that are members of the Lancashire Community Recycling Network can be found here. Some groups also accept donations of bedding and other household goods.
  Furniture that is unsuitable for reuse can also be taken to the HWRC, or you can arrange for a special collection from your local district council. For more details of these collections, click here.

G

• Garden waste
  If you have a home compost bin you can put green garden waste in this. See our composting page for more details
  All of Lancashire's district councils offer a kerbside collection of green waste to those households with gardens.
  Alternatively you can take garden waste to any HWRC for composting.
• Gas bottles
  You can return gas bottles to the original supplier where they will be refilled.
  You can also take unwanted gas cylinders to you local HWRC so that they can be refilled and reused by industry.
• Glass
  Glass bottles and jars are collected as part of your kerbside recycling collection. They are also accepted at any of the HWRCs.
  Don't forget to include perfume bottles and other cosmetics containers that are mage of glass.
  Other types of glass such as sheet glass, pyrex and drinking glasses should not be included in these collections. This type of glass should be taken to the HWRC and disposed of in the hardcore skip. Find out more about glass recycling.

H

• Hazardous waste
  Household hazardous waste is defined as "any material discarded by a household which is difficult to dispose of or puts human health at risk because of its chemical or biological nature"
  All of Lancashire's HWRCs will accept domestic hazardous waste, with the exception of asbestos. Click here for more information regarding the disposal of asbestos.
• Hardcore
  See "Rubble and Hardcore"

I

• Ink cartridges
  See "Printer cartridges"

J

• Junk Mail
  Unwanted junk mail can be included with your paper recycling which is collected from you household by the district council. This can also be recycled at the HWRC.
  To prevent direct mail (unwanted mail addressed to a named person) being sent to your home you can contact the Mailing Preference Service. www.mpsonline.org.uk or write to:
  Mailing Preference Service
  Freepost 29
  Lon 20771
  London W1E 0ZT

M

• Medicines
  You can return unwanted or unused medicines to most pharmacies for safe disposal.
• Metal
  See "Scrap metal"
• Mobile phones
  Many charities and schools collect mobile phones as a way of raising money. Look out for charity envelopes at supermarkets and charity shops too.

N

• Nappies
  Disposable nappies are not currently recycled in the UK. No-one knows how long they take to break down in landfill sites but estimates suggest that they could take between 200 and 500 years.
  Today the choice is not just between disposables and terry nappies but there are a whole range of easy to use, attractive alternatives available. Modern fabrics and designs, coupled with the fact that 90% of households now have a washing machine, means that real nappies are an easy and practical alternative.
  For more information about real nappies, click here

O

• Oil
  Please do not pour any kind of oil down the drain.
  You can take waste oil to any HWRC

P

• Paint
  Please do not pour paint down the drain.
  Paint can be disposed of at any HWRC. Empty metal paint containers may be left to dry out and then put in the scrap metal skip.
  Alternatively if you have unwanted tins of paint that are suitable to be reused and at least half full, there are community organisations that will accept it. For more details, click here.                                                   
• Paper
  Paper is included in the fortnightly recycling collection carried out at the kerbside by your local council.
  Alternatively you can recycle paper at any HWRC or at your local recycling bank.
• Plastic bottles
  At present in Lancashire we can only recycle plastic bottles made from PETE or HDPE. If you are unsure, look for the triangular symbol on the bottom. If the symbol contains either a number 1 or 2 then it is the correct kind of plastic. Remember to check all your plastic bottles as even those containing, for example, shampoo, fabric softener and washing up liquid may be made from PETE or HDPE.
  Plastic bottles are collected at the kerbside as part of your fortnightly recycling collection, or can be taken to any HWRC.
• Printer cartridges
  There are a number of charities which collect used printer cartridges – look out for freepost envelopes in charity and computer shops. Don't forget that many printer cartridges are now refillable which can save you money.
  Used printer cartridges are now collected and recycled at you local HWRC.

R

• Radios
  See "Electrical appliances"
• Rubble and Hardcore
  If you are carrying out work on you own home and have rubble and hardcore that has resulted from this work then you can take this waste to the HWRC. However, please bear in mind that this is not the case if you are carrying out extensive renovations to a property. In this case you should hire a skip to dispose of the rubble and hardcore.

S

• Scrap Metal
  Check your local phone directory for details of scrap metal dealers.
  You can also take scrap metal to any HWRC.
• Shoes
  Unwanted shoes can either be put into the shoe bank, or the textiles bank at your local recycle centre. They can also be taken to the HWRC.
  Remember to tie shoes together: part of the 6% of textiles which is wastage for merchants is from single shoes.
• Soil
  Clean soil from your home garden can be deposited in the hardcore skip at any HWRC.
• Spectacles
  Many charities now collect spectacle and glasses.

T

• Telephones
  Also see "Mobile phones"
  If you phone is in good working order a charity shop may take the phone for resale. Unwanted/ broken telephones can be taken to the HWRC. 
• Tetrapak
  See "Cartons"
• TV/Hi-Fi's /Video recorders
  Also see "Electrical appliances"
  Old TV's Hi-Fi's and video recorders can be recycled at any HWRC.
• Textiles
  See "Clothes"
• Tools
  Good quality tools are collected by Tools for Self Reliance, who ship refurbished tools and sewing machines to Africa.
  To find out about donating tools call 023 8086 9697 or email info@tfsr.org
  Old or broken tools can be taken to any HWRC.
• Toys and games
  Pass toys onto family and friends for them to enjoy.
  Charity shops will accept donated toys and games which are in good condition.
  Doctors' surgeries, playgroups and hospices may also like to receive donated toys.
  Broken toys can be taken to any HWRC. Remember to remove and recycle the batteries.
• Tyres
  Old Tyres can be taken to your local HWRC for recycling.
   

V

• Video tapes
  Old video and cassette tapes can be placed in the hard plastic skip at any HWRC.

W

• White goods/Washing machines/Tumble dryers
  Furniture reuse groups accept white goods which they then refurbish , and sell on to raise funds for the group or pass onto people in need. See "Furniture" for further details.
  Your local council will offer a special collection for large items such as white goods. For further information click here
  White good can also be taken for recycling at any HWRC.
• Wood
  As it is so durable, timber is ideal for reusing, so donate unwanted wood to friends or to a reclamation yard.
  Wood can also be recycled at any HWRC.
• Wool
  Unwanted balls of wool can be donated to your local charity shop.
  For woollen clothes see "Clothes"