A - Z of Recycling
A-Z of recycling in North Warwickshire
Use the A-Z of recycling to find details about how to reduce, reuse and recycle items in North Warwickshire.
You may find the following links useful:- The kerbside recycling service
- Recycling bank locations
- Household Waste Recycling Centre's
- Bulky household waste collection service
- Community re-use websites Freecycle, Freegle
- 2nd Chance, a local furniture reuse project
- Home Composting
A
Aerosols
- Recycle using the red box or take to a can recycling bank
B
Batteries
- See Household Batteries
- See Car Batteries
Books
- Instead of buying books and then throwing them away borrow books from a library or share books amongst people you know
- Donate to charity or a library
- List items on community reuse websites
- Recycle paperback books in the blue bag - no hardback books.
- Recycle using a recycling bank
Bottles and Jars
- See Glass Bottles and Jars
- See Plastic Bottles
Bubble Wrap
- Reuse for posting items
- Reuse to keep plants warm in winter by wrapping around plant pots
- Reuse in the fridge drawer to prevent bruising of fruit and vegetables
- Donate to charity or local businesses
- List on community reuse sites
- Can not be recycled at kerbside
Bulbs
- See Light Bulbs
Biscuit Tins
- Reuse to store items like cookies, buttons or photos
- Recycle metal biscuit tins using the red box or take to a can recycling bank
C
Cans/Tins
- Recycle using the red box or take to a can recycling bank
Car Batteries
- Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
Cardboard
- Reuse to store items such as clothes or ornaments
- Recycle using the yellow bag or take to a cardboard recycling bank
Cards
- See Greetings Cards
Carpets
- List on community reuse websites
- Reuse if you have a cat by using carpet to create a scratch post
- Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
Carrier Bags
- Use a reusable cotton bag or bag for life
- Reuse carrier bags again
- Recycle at some supermarkets
Cartons (Tetrapak)
- Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
CD's, DVD's and Videos
- Try selling items online or through classified ads
- Donate to charity or people you know
- Reuse for craft activities e.g. glue glitter and other materials to the CD and tie some string through the hole to make a decoration
- List on community reuse websites
- Can not be recycled
Cereal Boxes
- Recycle using the yellow bag or take to a cardboard recycling bank
Christmas Trees
- Reduce waste by buying a real Christmas tree with roots which can be planted in the garden
- Buy a fake Christmas tree and reuse year after year
- Recycle real Christmas trees at local garden centres in January or cut up into pieces and place in the green bin
Chocolate Tins
- See Biscuit Tins
Cling Film
- Reduce waste by using a reusable container instead
- Can not be recycled
Clothing
- See Textiles
Coins
- Donate foreign or old coins to charities, such as RNIB.
- Sell valuable coins
Computers
- Sell online or through classified ads
- Pass on to someone you know
- List on community reuse websites
- Donate to charities. Some charities will even accept broken computers
- Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
Corrugated Cardboard
- See Cardboard
Curtains
- See textiles
Crockery (plates, ornaments etc....)
- Donate to charity
- Pass on to someone you know
- List on community reuse websites
- Reuse saucers by placing them under plant pots to hold water
- Can not be recycled
D
Drinks Cans
- Recycle using the red box or take to a can recycling bank
Duvets and Pillows
- Donate clean duvets and pillows to charity
- Reuse as pet bedding
- Can not be recycled
DVD's
- See CD's, DVD's and Videos
E
Egg Boxes
- Recycle cardboard egg boxes in the yellow bag or take to a cardboard recycling bank
- Recycle plastic egg boxes in the orange bag
Electrical Appliances
- See Large Electrical Appliances
- See Small Electrical Appliances
Envelopes
- Recycle using the blue bag or take to a paper recycling bank
(please remove the film window before recycling)
F
Fat
- Reuse by cooling and shaping into a ball. This is great for bird food.
- Can not be recycled
- Also see Oil
Flowers
- Recycle flowers in your green bin
- Recycle flowers in a home composting bin
Foil containers
- Reuse to grow seedlings
- Recycle using the red box or take to a can recycling bank
Foil Wrap (Kitchen Foil)
- Reduce by using a reusable container to store items instead
- Recycle clean foil using your red box or take to a can recycling bank
Food Waste
- Reduce your food waste with advice and tips from the Love Food Hate Waste campaign
- Recycle food waste using a home composting bin. Green Cone and Green Johanna bins even accept cooked and uncooked meat and fish
- Food waste is not accepted in the green bin.
Furniture
- Donate to '2nd Chance Furniture', a furniture reuse project covering North Warwickshire and Nuneaton and Bedworth. Visit their website or call 02476 326 189 for more information.
- List items on community reuse websites
- Reuse by donating to charity e.g. The British Heart Foundation will collect saleable items for free
- The council also operates a bulky household waste collection service
Fridges and freezers
- See Furniture
- Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
Fruit Peelings
- See Food Waste
G
Glass Bottles and Jars
- Reuse to store items like pasta, herbs or homemade jam
- Recycle using the red box or take to a glass recycling bank
(the lids should be removed and not placed in the red box. See Lids)
Glass - Pyrex
- Donate to charity
- List items on community reuse websites
- Can not be recycled
Glasses
- See Spectacles
Grass Cuttings
- Recycle using a home composting bin
- Recycle using your green bin for garden waste (turf is not accepted in the green bin)
Greetings Cards
- Reuse by cutting up to make gift tags
- Recycle using the yellow bag or take to a cardboard recycling bank
H
Household Batteries
- Reduce and reuse by using rechargeable batteries
- Recycle at larger shops and supermarkets
- Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
I
Ink Cartridges
- Reduce by only printing items when you need to
- Reuse by using refilled ink cartridges from shops such as Cartridge World in Nuneaton or Tamworth
- Recycle empty ink cartridges. There are a number of ways you can do this e.g. large shops such as Tesco or through a charity e.g. British Red Cross. Local schools also often collect empty ink cartridges for recycling.
J
Junk Mail
- Reduce junk mail by registering free with the Mail Preference Service online or by calling 02072913310
- Recycle using the blue bag or take to a paper recycling bank (please remove film wrap from brochures and film windows from envelopes).
K
Kitchen foil
- Reduce by using reusable containers to store food
- Recycle clean foil in the red box or take to a can recycling bank
Kitchen Towels/Tissue
- Reduce and reuse by using reusable napkins
- Recycle using a home compost bin
- Tissue paper can not be recycled at kerbside
- Recycle the cardboard inner tube using the yellow bag or take to a cardboard recycling bank
Kitchenware
- See Furniture
L
Large Electrical Appliances (e.g. washing machines, large televisions)
- Donate to '2nd Chance Furniture', a furniture reuse project covering North Warwickshire and Nuneaton and Bedworth. Visit their website or call 02476 326 189 for more information.
- Donate to charity
- List items on community reuse websites
- Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
Leaves
- Recycle using the green bin for garden waste
- Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
Lids
- Recycle plastic bottle lids using the orange bag or take to plastic recycling bank (squeeze air out of a plastic bottle and then re-attach the lid).
- Metal lids from glass jars and bottles should not be recycled at kerbside.
- Metal lids can be recycled at a Household Waste Recycling Centre.
Light Bulbs
- Reduce by switching to energy saving light bulbs
- Energy saving light bulbs and florescent lights should not be put in the black bin
- Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre.
M
Margarine Tubs
- Recycle using the orange bag
Magazines
- Reduce by unsubscribing from free magazines you no longer read
- Recycle using the blue bag or take to a paper recycling bank
Mattresses
- See Furniture
Medicine
- Unfinished medicines should be returned to a chemist
Medicine Bottles
- See Plastic Bottles or Glass Bottles
Metal
- Recycle scrap metal at a Household Waste Recycling Centre or contact a licensed metal collector to collect items.
- Recycle tins, cans, aerosols and foil using the red box or take to a can recycling bank
Mirrors
- Donate to charity
- List items on community reuse websites
- Mirrors can not be recycled
Mobile Phones
- Sell online. There are a number of websites which pay money for old mobile phones
- Donate to charity
- List items on community reuse websites
- Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
- Recycle at some high street stores
N
Nappies
- Reduce and reuse by switching to cotton nappies
- Disposable nappies can not be recycled
Newspapers
- Recycle using the blue bag or take to a paper recycling bank
O
Oil
- Take engine oil and cooking oil to a Household Waste Recycling Centre
- It is illegal to pour engine oil down the drain
Office Furniture
- Donate to charity or a local business
- List items on community reuse websites
- Recycle items such as desks by separating wood from metal and recycling both separately at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
P
Paint
- Reduce the amount of leftover paint by planning ahead for how much you will need
- Donate left over paint to community projects
- List on community reuse websites
- Can not be recycled. Seal paint securely before disposal at a Household Waste Recycling Centre.
Paper
- Reduce by printing only what you need
- Reuse by printing or writing on both sides
- Recycle using the blue bag or take to a paper recycling bank
Pet Food
- Pass on unwanted pet food to someone you know
- Donate unopened pet food to an animal shelter or pet shop
Photocopier Cartridges
- See Ink Cartridges
Pie Trays
- See Foil Containers
Plastic Bags
- See Carrier Bags
Plastic Bottles
- Reduce waste by carrying drinks, like water, in a reusable bottle instead of buying new ones each day.
- Recycle using the orange bag or take to a plastics recycling bank
Plastic Trays & Rigid Plastic Packaging (yoghurt pots, fruit punnets etc...)
- Recycle using the orange bag or take to a plastics recycling bank
- Also see Yoghurt Pots
Polystyrene
- Also see Bubble Wrap
- Can not be recycled
Printing Cartridges
- See Ink Cartridges
Pruning's
- Recycle using the green bin for garden waste
- Recycle using a home composting bin
S
Shampoo Bottles
- See Plastic Bottles
- Also see Paper
- Reuse as small animal bedding
- Recycle using the blue bag (it is advised to put shredded paper in a separate carrier bag to prevent spillages) or take to a paper recycling bank
Shoes
- Reuse by passing on to someone you know
- Donate to charity
- List on community reuse websites
- Recycle paired shoes using the pink bag or take paired bagged shoes to a textile recycling bank
Shopping Bags
- See Plastic Bags
Spectacles
- Recycle. Most opticians will accept old spectacles and recycle them for you
Stamps
- Reuse stamps by donating them to a charity, such as Oxfam
- Sell valuable stamps
- Recycle unwanted stamps in the blue bag or take to a paper recycling bank
Small Electrical Appliances (e.g. toasters, kettles, radios, irons)
- Sell items
- Donate to charity
- List on community reuse websites
- Recycle at a WEEE bank (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment)
Please note WEEE banks are for small WEEE items only e.g. irons, kettles, games consoles, compact dvd players.
- Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
T
Takeaway Containers
- See Plastic Trays and Rigid Plastic Packaging
- See Foil Containers
- Reduce the number of tea bags used by making a pot of tea instead of individual cups
- Recycle using a home compost bin
Telephone Directories
- Also see Yellow Pages
- Recycle using the blue bag or take to a paper recycling bank
- Televisions can be adapted for the digital switch-over and do not need to be replaced
- Sell items
- Pass on to people you know
- Donate to charity or local community groups
- List items on community reuse websites
- Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
Tetrapak
- See Cartons
Textiles
- Pass on to people you know
- Donate to charity
- Recycle using the pink bag or take to a textile recycling bank
Even worn out clothing and rags can be recycled in the pink bag so long as they are not oily or heavily soiled
Tins (including chocolate & biscuit tins)
- Reuse large chocolate & biscuit tins to store items like cookies or sewing thread
- Recycle in the red box or take to a can recycling bank
Toner Cartridges
- See Ink Cartridges
Toilet Roll/Tissue
- Tissue paper can not be recycled
- Recycle the cardboard inner tubes using the yellow bag or take to a cardboard recycling bank
Towels & Blankets
- See Textiles
Toys & Games
- Donate to charity, local play groups or hospitals
- Pass on to someone you know
- Sell items
- List on community reuse websites
Plastic toys and furniture can not be recycled in the orange bag
Tracing Paper
- Recycle using the blue bag or take to a paper recycling bank
Turf
- Is not accepted in the green bin for garden waste
- Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
V
Vegetable Peelings
- See Food Waste
Videos
- See CD's, DVD's & Video's
- Reuse by purchasing reusable water filters
- Recycle BRITA filters at larger Tesco, Argos and Dunelm stores
- Check with the manufacturer of other brands for recycling advice
WEEE (Waste Electronic and Electrical Equipment)
- See Large Electrical Appliances for washing machines, large televisions etc..
- See Small Electrical Appliances for toasters, irons, kettles etc....
- Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
Wood
- List on community reuse websites
- Recycle at a Household Waste Recycling Centre
Wool
- Donate to charity
- Pass on to someone you know
- Wool can not be recycled
- Reduce by using reusable gift bags instead
- Reuse again for other gifts or for wrapping fragile items
- Recycle using the yellow bag or take to a card recycling bank - Please check it is made of paper before recycling by tearing it. The foil type wrap which does not tear cannot be recycled.
Y
Yellow Pages
- Reduce by opting out of receiving yellow pages by calling 0800 671 444
- Recycle using the blue bag or take to a paper recycling bank
- Reduce the number of individual pots you buy. If you eat a lot of yoghurt buy larger pots and use a reusable container to carry portions if you need to
- Reuse as paint pots for craft activities
- Recycle using the orange bag
