A-Z of Recycling
What goes where
We've put together a list of items and where in the borough they can be recycled.
Construction and demolition waste, also known as inert waste, can be disposed of at the Household Waste Recycling Centres with a free annual inert waste permit (external link).
A
Aerosols including deodorant and body spray, hairspray, air freshener and polish – Blue recycling wheelie bin.
Aluminium cans – Blue recycling wheelie bin.
Aluminium foil and foil trays – Blue recycling wheelie bin.
Anti-freeze – Local recycling centre.
Appliances – Local recycling centre or bulky household waste collection.
Asbestos – Local recycling centre (excluding Skelmersdale)- collect bag from centre first.
Ash from BBQs including disposable BBQs – Local recycling centre or when cold they can go in the grey general waste bin.
B
Baking tray / tin – Local recycling centre.
Batteries – Some shops will accept them, or your local recycling centre, or find your nearest battery recycling point here (external link).
Beauty products – Some empty beauty and makeup products can be recycled at participating stores which can be found on the Recycling Locator here (external link) or at participating John Lewis stores here (external link).
Bicycles – Donate through the Active Lancs Cycle Recycle Scheme (external link) where 5 local repair and resale businesses benefit from your donations (drop off locations can be found on their website), local recycling centres, bulky waste collection, check with your local charity shops.
Board games – Check with your local charity shops.
Books – Check with your local charity shops or grey general waste bin.
Boots – Textile banks or check with your local charity shops.
Bottles and jars – Blue recycling wheelie bin. Please remove lids and place them in the blue bin separately.
Branches and twigs – Brown recycling wheelie bin.
Bread wrappers / bags – Recycled at some local supermarkets or grey general waste bin.
Bric-a-brac – Local recycling centre or check with your local charity shops.
Bricks – Inert Waste- permit needed for local recycling centre.
Brushes, rollers and mops – Local recycling centre or grey general waste bin (ensure lid is closed).
Building material – Inert Waste - permit needed for local recycling centre.
Bubble wrap – Grey general waste bin.
Buttons – Check with your local charity shops.
C
Cans (food and drink cans) – Blue recycling wheelie bin.
Car batteries – Local recycling centre.
Carbon monoxide monitor – Local recycling centre or bulky household waste collection.
Cardboard – Green recycling wheelie bin.
Carpets and rugs – Local recycling centre or bulky household waste collection.
Cartons (e.g. TetraPak) including UHT, soya and goat's milk, fruit juice and sauces – Local recycling centre (excluding Skelmersdale) or grey general waste bin.
Carrier bags – Many supermarkets now have recycling points for carrier bags or grey general waste bin.
Cassettes – Grey general waste bin.
Catalogues – Green recycling wheelie bin.
Cat litter – Grey general waste bin.
CDs – Local recycling centre or check with your local charity shops.
Chipboard – Inert Waste- permit needed for local recycling centre.
Children’s toys – Local recycling centre or check with your local charity shops.
Christmas and birthday cards – Green recycling wheelie bin. Foil and plastic types to be placed in your grey general waste bin.
Christmas trees – Local recycling centre, bulky household waste collection or brown recycling wheelie bin if it is cut into small pieces.
Clingfilm – Grey general waste bin.
Clocks and watches – Local recycling centre or check with your local charity shops.
Clothing, textiles and shoes – Textile banks or check with your local charity shops.
Coat hangers – Local recycling centre or check with your local charity shops.
Coffee grounds – Composted or grey general waste bin.
Coffee pods – Grey general waste bin. Some coffee pods can be recycled with Podback- recycling bags can be ordered directly from any of the participating Podback brands online and will also be available in supermarkets soon. Find out more here (external link).
Cooking pans, trays and utensils – Local recycling centre or check with your local charity shops if they are clean and in good condition.
Cooking oil – Local recycling centre.
Computers and PCs – Local recycling centre or bulky household waste collection.
Cookers – Local recycling centre or bulky waste collection.
Cork – Composted.
Crockery and cutlery – Local recycling centre or check with your local charity shops.
Crisp packets – Terracycle drop-off scheme (external link) or grey general waste bin.
Crisp tubes (e.g. Pringles) without lids – Local recycling centre.
Curtains – Textile banks or check with your local charity shops.
D
Directories – Green recycling wheelie bin.
Dishwashers – Local recycling centre or bulky household waste collection.
Disposable nappies – Grey general waste bin, they cannot be recycled. Try reusable nappies- more information can be found here (external link).
DIY waste – Inert Waste - permit needed for local recycling centre.
Domestic appliances – Local recycling centre or bulky household waste collection.
Drinks cans – Blue recycling wheelie bin.
Drinks cartons – Local recycling centre.
Duvet – Grey general waste bin, local recycling centre, or check with local animal charities if donations are being taken.
DVDs – Local recycling centre or check with your local charity shops.
DVD players – Local recycling centre or bulky household waste collection.
E
Egg boxes (plastic) – Blue recycling wheelie bin.
Egg boxes (cardboard) – Green recycling wheelie bin.
Egg Shells – Composted or grey general waste bin.
Electrical goods – Local recycling centre, or bulky household waste collection, or find your nearest electricals recycling point here (external link).
Energy saving light bulbs – Local recycling centre.
Engine oil – Local recycling centre.
Envelopes – Green recycling wheelie bin once plastic window has been removed.
F
Fat / Oil for cooking – Local recycling centre.
Fluorescent tubes – Local recycling centre.
Flowers and plants (without soil) – Composted or brown recycling wheelie bin.
Foil - kitchen and aluminium – Blue recycling wheelie bin.
Food waste – Grey general waste bin.
Fridges and freezers – Local recycling centre or bulky household waste collection.
Frozen food bags – Grey general waste bin.
Furniture – Local recycling centre, bulky household waste collection, or if in good condition sell online or donate to your local charity shop.
G
Garden chemicals – Local recycling centre.
Garden waste – Brown recycling wheelie bin or composted.
Gas bottles – Local recycling centre.
Gift wrap – If paper, green recycling wheelie bin, if the wrap is glittered, foiled or plastic then it should go in the grey general waste bin.
Glasses and spectacles – Check with your opticians.
Glass bottles from health and medical products – Blue recycling wheelie bin.
Glass jars – Blue recycling wheelie bin. Please remove lids and place them in the blue bin separately.
Glasses (drinking glasses) – If reusable, check with your local charity shops; if not reusable, put in grey general waste bin.
Glue – Local recycling centre.
Grass cuttings – Brown recycling wheelie bin or composted.
Guttering – Local recycling centre.
H
Hairdryers – Local recycling centre.
Hardcore – Inert waste- permit needed for local recycling centre.
Healthcare waste – Non-contagious waste such as dressings, incontinence pads or dialysis waste can be double bagged and placed in your grey general waste bin. Any sharps or needles or contagious dressings must to be disposed of through a clinical waste collection. For more information on clinical waste collections please click here.
Hedge Clippings – Brown recycling wheelie bin.
I
Irons – Local recycling centre.
J
Jewellery – Check with your local charity shops, give away or sell online.
Jiffy bags – Grey general waste bin.
Junk mail – Green recycling wheelie bin - stop receiving junk mail by contacting the Mail Preference Service (external link).
K
Kitchen waste – Grey general waste bin.
Kitchen roll tubes – Green recycling wheelie bin.
Kitchen roll / tissue (used) – Grey general waste bin.
L
Lamps – Local recycling centre, donate to a charity, sell or give away online.
Leaflets – Green recycling wheelie bin.
Leaves – Brown recycling wheelie bin.
Light bulbs – Local recycling centre.
M
Magazines – Green recycling wheelie bin.
Makeup products – Some empty beauty and makeup products can be recycled at participating stores which can be found on the Recycling Locator here (external link) or at participating John Lewis stores here (external link).
Margarine tubs – Blue recycling wheelie bin.
Mattresses – Local recycling centre or bulky household waste collection.
Medicine – Return unwanted or out of date medicine to your nearest pharmacy for safe disposal.
MDF – Inert Waste - permit needed for local recycling centre.
Microwaves – Local recycling centre, bulky household waste collection, sell or give away online.
Mirrors – Local recycling centre, donate to a charity, sell or give away online.
Mobile phones – Local recycling centre or ask for trade-in service at phone shop.
Milk bottles (plastic and glass) – Blue recycling wheelie bin; return bottles to milkman where possible for reuse.
Musical instruments – Local recycling centre or check with your local charity shops.
N
Nappies – Grey general waste bin, they cannot be recycled. Try reusable nappies - more information can be found here (external link).
Needles – Any sharps or needles or contagious dressings must to be disposed of through a clinical waste collection. For more information on clinical waste collections please click here.
Newspapers – Green recycling wheelie bin.
O
Oil (cooking oil or engine oil) – Local recycling centre.
Ovens – Local recycling centre or bulky household waste service.
P
Packaging – If cardboard, green recycling wheelie bin. If plastic, grey general waste bin.
Pans – Grey general waste bin or check with your local charity shops.
Paper – Green recycling wheelie bin.
Paper, shredded – Green recycling wheelie bin.
Paint – Try to use up all paint. You can dispose of unused paint at your local recycling centre or donate leftover paint to your local Community Repaint Scheme (external link).
Paint cans – Local recycling centre.
Pesticides – Local recycling centre.
Pet litter – Grey general waste bin.
Phone directories - Green recycling wheelie bin.
Pillows – Local recycling centre.
Pill trays with foil – Grey general waste bin.
Plant pots and seed trays – If non-black plastic then recycle in the blue recycling wheelie bin; if black plastic then use grey general waste bin; check with your local garden centre for plant pot take-back schemes.
Plants without soil – Brown recycling wheelie bin or composted.
Plasterboard – Inert Waste- permit needed for local recycling centre.
Plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays – The following items can be recycled in your blue recycling wheelie bin:
- Plastic bottles including drinks and detergents
- Plastic bakery trays
- Plastic dessert pots
- Plastic egg boxes
- Plastic fruit punnets
- Plastic hand soap dispensers
- Plastic ice cream tubs
- Plastic margarine tubs
- Plastic ready meal trays
- Plastic sauce pots
- Plastic spray bottles from detergent and cleaning products
- Plastic tubs from laundry capsules
- Plastic tubs from personal care products (for example creams and hair gels)
- Plastic yoghurt pots (rinse and remove foil lids)
- Plastic noodle pots
- Plastic vitamin and supplement pots
Plastics – The following items cannot be recycled in your blue recycling wheelie bin:
- Carrier bags
- Buckets
- Pipes
- Toys (Local recycling centre or check with your local charity shops)
- Polystyrene packaging
- Clingfilm
- Inner wrap from cereals
- Bread wrappers
- Frozen food bags
- Black plastic plant pots
- Bubble wrap
- Crisp packets and sweet bags
- Electrical items
- Pill trays with foil
- Food sachets (e.g. powdered sauces)
- Toothpaste tubes (recycle with Terracycle's local drop off scheme (external link))
Plastics (flexible) – The following flexible or 'soft' plastics can be recycled at many supermarket recycling points. Check store details on the Recycling Locator to see what materials are accepted - www.recyclenow.com (external link)
Larger stores of major supermarkets accept:
- All plastic bags, except biodegradable or compostable bags
- Bread bags
- Breakfast cereal liners
- Delivery bags
- Dry cleaning bags
- Frozen food bags
- Magazine and newspaper wrappers
- Multi-pack wrapping
- Plastic marked as low-density polyethylene (LDPE) - resin ID code 4
- Toilet roll wrapping
- Fruit and Vegetable Nets
Selected stores of major supermarkets also accept:
- Baby, pet food, detergent and cleaning pouches
- Biscuits and chocolate wrapping
- Cheese, fish and meat wrapping
- Cling film
- Crisp and sweet bags
- Plastic film lids
- Bubble wrap
- Salad, pasta, and rice bags
Plastic carrier bags – Many supermarkets now have recycling points for carrier bags.
Plastic chairs – Local recycling centre, donate to a charity, sell or give away online.
Plastic toys – Local recycling centre, donate to a charity, sell or give away online.
Polystyrene – Grey general waste bin.
Pots and pans – Check with your local charity shops.
Prams and pushchairs – Donate to a charity, sell or give away online.
Printer cartridges – Local recycling centre.
Pyrex glass including jugs and cooking dishes – Not recyclable so check with your local charity shops.
Q
Quilts – Local recycling centre.
R
Radiators – Local recycling centre.
Radios – Local recycling centre, donate to a charity, sell or give away online.
Records, audio tapes, CDs – Check with your local charity shops.
Refrigerators – Local recycling centre.
Rubble – Inert waste- permit needed for local recycling centre.
S
Sanitary products – not currently recyclable so they will need to be put into your grey general waste bin. There are reusable alternatives available in your local health food store or find advice online.
Scrap metal – Local recycling centre.
Sewing machines – Local recycling centre, donate to a charity, sell or give away online.
Shoes – Textile banks or check with your local charity shops.
Small electrical appliances – Local recycling centre, or bulky household waste collection, or find your nearest electricals recycling point here (external link).
Sofas – Local recycling centre, bulky household waste collection, donate to a charity, sell or give away online.
Soil – Reuse it or offer it to someone who can. This cannot be put into your brown recycling wheelie bin. Excess soil is too heavy to be emptied from a wheelie bin and not considered household waste. You will need to contact a specialist company to dispose of this type of waste.
Spectacles – Opticians.
Stamps – You may be able to donate them to charity.
Steel cans – Blue recycling wheelie bin.
T
Takeaway food containers (plastic and foil) – Blue recycling wheelie bin.
Tea bags – Grey general waste bin or compost.
Television sets – Local recycling centre or bulky household waste collection.
TetraPak cartons (e.g. UHT, soya and goat's milk, fruit juice and sauces) – Local recycling centre (excluding Skelmersdale) or grey general waste bin.
Textiles – Textile banks or check with your local charity shops.
Timber – Inert Waste.
Tins – From food and drink place in blue recycling wheelie bin including:
- Infant milk and formula tins
- Baby food tins
- Pet food tins
Tissue / Toilet roll – Grey general waste bin.
Toilet roll tubes – Green recycling wheelie bin.
Tools – Garden hand tools can be taken to your local recycling centre.
Toothpaste tubes – recycle with Terracycle's local drop off scheme (external link).
Towels – Textile banks or check with your local charity shops.
Trees – If just trimmings, brown recycling wheelie bin. Large branches can be taken to your local recycling centre.
Toys and games – Donate to a charity, sell or give away online.
Tyres – Local recycling centre.
U
Umbrella – Grey general waste bin, local recycling centre.
V
Vacuum Cleaners – Local recycling centre.
Vegetable peelings – Grey general waste bin compost.
Video recorders – Local recycling centre, donate to a charity, sell or give away online.
W
Washing machines – Local recycling centre or bulky household waste collection.
Watches – If in working order, check with your local charity shops.
Water Butts – Local recycling centre.
WEEE – Local recycling centre or bulky household waste collection.
Weeds – Brown recycling wheelie bin or composted.
Wellington boots – Textile banks or check with your local charity shops.
Window glass – Local recycling centre.
Wood – Local recycling centre.
X
Xmas tree – Local recycling centre, bulky household waste collection or brown recycling wheelie bin if it is cut into small pieces.
Y
Yellow pages – Green recycling wheelie bin.
Yoghurt pots – Blue recycling wheelie bin.
Z
Zip lock bags – Grey general waste bin.
