How to recycle or dispose of common waste items

You can also put aerosol cans in can banks that district councils provide or into your recycling wheeled bin, but please remove the plastic lids if possible. Do not puncture, burn or crush aerosol cans as they may explode.

Animal waste, including horse manure and animal/pet bedding is not accepted at any of our recycling centres and should be disposed of in your waste wheeled bin.

Animal bedding (eg hay or newspaper) from herbivore (vegetarian) pets such as rabbits and guinea pigs can be put into your home compost bin, but not waste from cats or dogs. 

When walking your dog, please pick up your pet's waste in a plastic bag and dispose of it in a litter/dog waste bin or in your waste wheeled bin at home.

Ash is not accepted at any of our recycling centres. Once it has cooled down, put the ash from coal or wood fires into your waste wheeled bin instead. Small amounts of wood ash can be placed in your home compost bin.

You can take bathroom suites to a recycling centre if you have installed a new bathroom suite yourself in your own property and need to dispose of the old one.

If your new bathroom is installed by a tradesperson, it is their legal responsibility to dispose of your old suite.

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

Alternatively, you could hire a skip or contact your district council who may offer a chargeable bulky waste collection.

Used batteries including mobile phone batteries, rechargeable batteries, cordless tool batteries and vehicle batteries are all accepted at recycling centres.

Some district councils also provide a collection for smaller used household batteries from your home.

Clean sheets, duvet covers and pillowcases disposed of at recycling centres will be sent for reuse.

Clean bedding can also be put in textile banks that some district councils provide, or donated to charity shops.

Bicycles can also be donated to bicycle reuse projects. Some have facilities for repairing bicycles before reselling them.

If your new boiler is installed by a tradesperson, it is their legal responsibility to dispose of your old boiler.

You can take boilers, including back boilers, to a recycling centre if you have installed a new boiler yourself in your own property and need to dispose of the old one. If you are hiring a van to do so, temporary access can be arranged.

Alternatively, you could hire a skip or contact your district council who may offer a chargeable bulky waste collection.

Books in good condition can also be donated to charity shops.

You can put paperback books into your recycling wheeled bin, but not hardbacks.

Some district councils provide book banks. 

Please wash, squash and put the bottle top back on the plastic bottle before placing in your kerbside recycling bin. If they are placed in the bin separately they may not be captured for recycling as will slip through the sorting machinery at the Mansfield MRF.

Loose bottle tops can be take to any of the 12 recycling centres in the county.

Bricks, rubble and building materials can be disposed of at recycling centres in small amounts if you have carried out a minor repair yourself in your own property. Larger scale D.I.Y.jobs, renovations or refurbishments are not minor repairs and waste generated by such projects are not accepted at recycling centres even if you carry them out yourself to your own home.

If the work was carried out by a tradesperson, it is their legal responsibility to dispose of the waste.

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

Alternatively, you could hire a skip or contact your district council who may offer a chargeable bulky waste collection.

You can also put empty aluminium or steel drinks cans and rinsed out food tins in your recycling wheeled bin.

Some district councils also provide can recycling banks.

Only used engine oil and car batteries are accepted at recycling centres, not other car parts.

You can also put dry cardboard in your recycling wheeled bin but please do not put wet cardboard in as this makes it difficult for the machinery to sort mixed recyclables.

Some district councils also provide cardboard recycling banks.

Carpets and rugs in good condition can be donated to furniture re-use groups such as the Furniture Re-use Network or Freecycle.

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

Please do not put plastic carrier bags in your recycling wheeled bin. Some supermarkets provide plastic carrier bag recycling points in store. Try to reuse plastic carrier bags where possible or use a durable 'bag for life' instead.

Empty paper carrier bags can be placed in your recycling wheeled bin, but please do not put other items inside them as this can affect the recycling process.

Music or video cassettes in good condition can be donated to charity shops. 

You can also place them in your waste wheeled bin.

Soft-backed catalogues can also be put in your recycling wheeled bin but please leave hard-backed versions out. 

To avoid this type of waste, consider viewing or downloading online versions where possible rather than paper copies.

Music CDs and DVDs in good condition can be donated to charity shops, otherwise place them in your waste wheeled bin.

Consider cutting or shredding CDs containing data before disposing of them.

Please transport these carefully to one of our recycling centres and hand them to a member of staff.

Most recycling centres should be able to accept small quantities of most household chemicals in their chemical stores but if you have larger containers or larger quantities of chemicals, please contact our customer service centre who will be able to advise you. Please also contact our customer service centre if you have specialist chemicals that you need to dispose of.

Healthcare waste refers to any waste produced by, and as a consequence of, healthcare activities. It is very important that this type of waste is assessed by a healthcare professional in order to make sure it is disposed of appropriately. Healthcare waste is not accepted at recycling centres.

Only infectious healthcare waste and sharps/needles require a separate healthcare collection. If a healthcare professional has identified that you're producing non-infectious healthcare waste (such as incontinence pads) this can safely be placed in your general waste bin, but please place your waste in a plastic bag and seal it up first. 

Questions about healthcare waste can be answered by your local district/borough council:

• Ashfield
• Bassetlaw
• Broxtowe
• Gedling
• Mansfield
• Newark and Sherwood
• Nottingham City
• Rushcliffe

You can request a healthcare waste collection online.

Clothing and textiles disposed of at recycling centres that are in a good clean condition will be sent for reuse.

They can also be donated to charity shops or put in textile banks that some district councils provide.

Please do not put any clothing or other textiles in your recycling wheeled bin.

At our recycling centres metal hangers should go in the 'scrap metal' skip and plastic or wooden hangers should go in the 'household waste' skip.

Clothes hangers in good condition can be donated to charity shops. 

Hangers can also be put in your waste wheeled bin.

Data held on computer hard drives should be wiped before they are taken to a recycling centre. Computer monitors, keyboards and mouse devices are also accepted at our recycling centres.

Some district councils provide recycling banks for small electrical appliances like laptops, keyboards, cables and computer mouse devices. However, the opening on these banks is not big enough for large pieces of equipment like PCs or computer monitors. 

Please do not place these in your waste wheeled bin as they contain metals and/or components that could be recovered and reused. If these items are sent to landfill, these metals can contaminate the land.

There is a special container at all recycling centres for used cooking oil from householders as it can be recycled to create green electricity. Please do not pour cooking oil into the used engine oil container at recycling centres. Cooking oil from commercial properties is not accepted. 

Cooking oil/fat should not be poured down kitchen sinks as this can result in blocked drains.

Find out more about cooking oil recycling on the Veolia website, who are our waste management contractor.

Crockery that is still in good condition can also be donated to charity shops.

Please wrap broken pieces of crockery if placing in your waste wheeled bin.

If you see a dead animal on the road in a place that could cause an accident, please contact your district council who will arrange for the animal to be collected.

If your pet dies you may wish to contact a local pet crematorium.

You can also put cardboard egg boxes into paper and card banks that district councils provide, or in your recycling wheeled bin.

Cardboard (but not plastic) egg boxes can be put in your home compost bin.

Plastic egg boxes cannot be recycled and should be put in your waste wheeled bin.

If your electrical appliance is still in good working order, you could donate it to a furniture reuse group such as the Furniture Re-use Network or Freecycle.

Alternatively, you could use a retailer take back scheme if you are purchasing a new appliance or contact your district council who can offer a chargeable bulky waste collection.

Some district councils also have recycling banks for small electrical appliances like hairdryers, kettles, toasters and power tools etc.

Please do not place small electrical appliances in your waste wheeled bin as they contain metals and/or components that could be recovered and reused. If these items are sent to landfill, these metals can result in contamination of the land.

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

Residents who have changed their own engine oil can take the used oil to pour into a dedicated container at our recycling centres. You can also place your empty bottle in the household waste skip if you need to dispose of it.

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

Fire extinguishers up to 2kg in size from a household will be accepted at recycling centres.

Fire extinguishers larger than 2kg (such as 4kg/9litres) are not domestic fire extinguishers and originate from businesses. If you have one of these cylinders and are a business you should contact the cylinder supplier to arrange its disposal. If you are a householder and one has been left in your garage, shed etc the cylinder is still a business waste (commercial waste) and you will need to contact a fire extinguisher supplier and pay for its removal and disposal yourself.

Try to use all your fireworks at your event as they are not safe to store. Please contact the shop/retailer to find out how to return or dispose of surplus fireworks.

Please do not put fluorescent tubes or energy saving bulbs in your waste wheeled bin as they contain components or chemicals that need specialist treatment. 

However, broken ordinary (incandescent) light bulbs can be wrapped and placed in your waste wheeled bin.

Please do not put any type of light bulb into glass bottle banks as they are made out of a different type of glass and contain metal parts which can contaminate the glass recycling process.

Foil and aluminium food trays should not be placed in your recycling wheeled bin.

Some district councils provide metal banks where you can recycle foil and foil trays.

Try to keep food waste to a minimum by only buying and cooking what you need. More ideas for portion sizing and using up leftovers can be found on the Love Food Hate Waste website.

You can find out about Love Food Hate Waste in Nottinghamshire and view the Notts Sustainable Cookery Book on the Veolia website, who are our waste management contractor.

Some food waste such as potato peelings, fruit skins, tea bags and coffee grounds can be added to your home compost bin. For more details visit the Nottinghamshire Get Composting website to find out how you can purchase subsidised compost equipment, or the Recycle Now website.

Food waste can also be placed in your waste wheeled bin but please wrap it in a plastic bag before doing so to minimise any smells. 

If you have a large amount of food waste to dispose of eg from a freezer fault or power cut, you can take it to any recycling centre in a bin liner. Please hand it to a member of staff and explain that it is waste food as the staff often open bin liners to further sort and recycle mixed waste.

Most empty fridges and freezers (including non-commercial glass fronted fridges) are accepted at recycling centres. However, commercial glass fronted fridges, all glass topped fridges and fridges missing their motors are not accepted.

If your fridge or freezer is still in good working order, you could donate it to a furniture reuse group such as the Furniture Re-use Network or Freecycle.

Alternatively, you could use a retailer take back scheme if you are purchasing a new fridge/freezer, or contact your district council who can offer a chargeable bulky waste collection. 

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

If your item is in a good condition and has a fire safety label (for upholstered items) it could be donated to a furniture re-use group such as the Furniture Re-use Network or Freecycle.

Alternatively contact your district council who can offer a chargeable bulky waste collection.

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

Garden furniture should not be placed in the garden waste skip at recycling centres. 

Some garden waste can be composted at home. For more details visit the Nottinghamshire Get Composting website to find out how you can purchase subsidised compost equipment, or the Recycle Now website.

Some district councils offer a garden waste collection which they may charge for.

Please do not put diseased or invasive plants like Japanese Knotweed into any compost bin, garden waste wheeled bin or garden waste skip as this can cause environmental problems. Ragwort is also not accepted at recycling centres. These should be bagged and placed into your waste wheeled bin.

If you are hiring a van to transport garden waste to a recycling centre, temporary access can be arranged.

Gas bottles are not actually waste; they have a financial value and belong to the individual gas supplier marked on the bottle. This is why when you buy gas you have to pay a monetary deposit on the bottle to ensure its safe return to the owner.

Bottles should be returned to the local retailer/stockist that supplied it. Alternatively return bottles to one of the brand name's parent company's dealers [PDF].

Should you have a gas bottle with no supplier markings or from a supplier who no longer exists or is outside the UK, you can return it to one of the companies listed on this poster [PDF].

Do not place gas bottles in your waste wheeled bin as they are potentially explosive.

All glass bottles and jars including those from food, drink, medicines and toiletries can be recycled at any recycling centre.

District councils provide bottle banks for the separate recycling of clear, green and brown glass bottles and jars. Please do not mix the colours.

Some district councils also offer a separate collection of glass bottles and jars from your home.

Metal lids should be removed first and can be placed in can banks at recycling banks. Otherwise place them in your waste wheeled bin.

If the items are in good condition you could donate them to a charity shop, otherwise you can place them in your waste wheeled bin. 

Please do not put these glass items into bottle banks as they are often made from a different type of glass, eg Pyrex, white opaque glass, crystal etc that may contaminate the recycling process.

If you are having windows replaced by a tradesperson, it is their legal responsibility to dispose of the old windows.

You can also place small amounts of broken glass in your waste wheeled bin, but it should be wrapped first.

If you have replaced windows in your own property yourself, you can take a maximum of 2 windows as long as they will fit in the boot of a car to a recycling centre. If you are hiring a van to do so, you must arrange temporary access.

Use the household waste skip at recycling centres for wooden framed greenhouses and the scrap metal skip for metal framed greenhouses.

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

You can also put ice cream tubs made from plastic or waxed card in your waste wheeled bin. They should not be placed in your recycling wheeled bin.

Some district councils provide recycling banks that you can put plastic ice cream tubs in.

Check with the manufacturer or supplier if they will accept empty cartridges. Envelopes for sending cartridges back for recycling can be found in some shops and supermarkets. 

Otherwise, empty cartridges can be placed in your waste wheeled bin.

Insulation should be double bagged before being taken to a recycling centre and handed to a member of staff.

If your ironing board has a metal resting plate which contains asbestos, it cannot be taken to our recycling centres. We provide a free disposal service for ironing boards containing asbestos. Please ring our customer service centre to book an appointment.

Jiffy bags contain padding which contaminates the paper recycling process. Please do not put them in your recycling wheeled bin. They should be reused where possible or placed in your waste wheeled bin.

You can also put junk mail in your recycling wheeled bin or in paper banks provided by your district council.

If you would like to reduce the amount of unwanted mail that you receive, register with the Mail Preference Service.

This waste is usually disposed of by tradespeople carrying out renovations, for which it is their legal responsibility to do so.

If you have carried out refurbishments yourself, you can take small amounts to a recycling centre. If you are hiring a van to do so, you must arrange temporary access.

Knives should be securely wrapped and handed to a member of staff at one of our recycling centres for safe disposal.

Use the scrap metal skip for petrol or push mowers, and the electrical skip for electrical or battery powered mowers.

Alternatively, if the mower is in working order it could be donated to a furniture re-use group such as the Furniture Re-use Network or Freecycle.

Before recycling glass bottles and jars, please remove the metal lids and recycle them separately.

Metal lids can be placed in can banks provided by district councils or in the scrap metal skip at recycling centres.

You can also put empty clean margarine tubs in your recycling wheeled bin.

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

Alternatively, you could hire a skip or contact your district council who may offer a chargeable bulky waste collection.

Any unused medicines should be returned to your local chemist or pharmacy. Do not pass them on to other people. Empty glass medicine bottles can be recycled with your other glass bottles, but please remove and discard lids first.

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

Alternatively, you could hire a skip or contact your district council who may offer a chargeable bulky waste collection.

These are also accepted in your kerbside recycling bin. Please wash, squash and put the bottle top back on the plastic milk bottle before placing in your kerbside recycling bin.

Glass milk bottles should be returned to your milk delivery service.

Some district councils have recycling banks for small electrical appliances. 

You can also donate unwanted mobile phones to charity, or sell them to mobile phone recycling companies.

Please do not place mobile phones in your waste wheeled bin as they contain metals and/or components that could be recovered and reused. If these items are sent to landfill, the metals can contaminate the land.

Please ensure that any data held on mobile phones is wiped before they are taken to a recycling centre.

If you are clearing your own house then you can take unwanted items to a recycling centre, although some smaller sites may not be able to accommodate all of your waste. 

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

However, you will not be permitted to dispose of any waste from a house clearance if it is transported in a vehicle advertising house clearances. Items that arise from house clearances for commercial reasons will not be accepted at our recycling centres in any vehicle.

Disposable nappies should be bagged before being placed in your waste wheeled bin at home.

Find out more about real nappies, a natural alternative to disposable nappies, on the Veolia website, who are our waste management contractor.

Household newspapers and magazines can be put in your recycling wheeled bin, and small amounts of newspaper can be placed in your home compost bin. 

You can also put them in paper banks provided by district councils, but please do not put them inside carrier bags if doing so.

Newspapers from businesses cannot be taken to our recycling centres as they are for household waste only.

Healthcare waste refers to any waste produced by, and as a consequence of, healthcare activities, including needles and syringes. It is very important that this type of waste is assessed by a medical professional in order to make sure it is disposed of appropriately. Healthcare waste is not accepted at recycling centres.

You can request a healthcare waste collection online.

We are unable to accept oil central heating tanks at recycling centres.

Oil tanks should always be properly decommissioned by OFTEC or other appropriately qualified technicians. The technician will then arrange for safe and legal disposal of the tank. Do not attempt to carry this out yourself. 

Tins of paint should never be put in your bin at home unless they are empty or contain only solid dried-up paint residue. When tins of liquid paint are crushed in the back of a rubbish truck the paint can spill onto the street and cause problems. Never pour paint down your sinks and drains as it may pollute water courses.

Nottinghamshire residents can donate surplus tins of paint at Calverton, Newark, Beeston or Warsop recycling centres to Community Repaint Nottinghamshire, part of the national Community RePaint Network. Charities, community groups and Nottinghamshire residents, can collect the paint for reuse free of charge.

The following types of paint are suitable for reuse:

• Matt and silk emulsion
• Gloss paint – interior and exterior
• Eggshell and satin paint
• Kitchen or bathroom paint
• Undercoat - water or oil based
• Primer
• Masonry paint
• Varnish - water or oil based
• Wood stain
• Tile paint
• Floor paint

These paints cannot be reused in the scheme:

• Paint from business/decorators
• Paint not in its original container
• Paint tins with a hazardous symbol
• Any paint containing lead
• Paint thinners, eg white spirit
• Paint stripper or brush cleaners
• Wood preservative

Tins of paint that cannot be reused will be sent for specialist treatment, and the metal or plastic containers will be recycled where possible.

You will not be allowed to use a sign written vehicle to dispose of waste at one of our recycling centres if it has a connection to the waste, even if it is your own household waste, eg paint from a vehicle advertising painting and decorating services.

Paint tins that are empty or contain only dried up paint residues can be put in your waste wheeled bin or taken to any recycling centre.

You can take paper to any recycling centres or you can put it in paper banks that district councils provide.

You can also put dry paper into your recycling wheeled bin but do not put it into carrier bags before doing so.

Do not put shredded paper in your recycling wheeled bin as the small pieces often fall through the machinery used to sort recyclables. Shredded paper can be added to your home compost bin and is suitable as a bedding material for some animals. Otherwise it should be placed in your waste wheeled bin.

Some types of paper, eg laminated paper, tissues, wet paper or jiffy bags cannot be recycled and should be placed in your waste wheeled bin.

Small amounts of petrol, up to 5 litres carried in an approved SI 1982/630 plastic container, are accepted at recycling centres.

Please make the site staff aware that you are carrying petrol when you arrive on site and they will check your container and guide you to the correct disposal container on site.

Try to reuse plant pots where possible or choose biodegradable versions.

Some garden centres offer a free plastic plant pot recycling service and some district councils provide plastic banks where plastic plant pots can be recycled.

Plasterboard can be disposed of at any of our recycling centres apart from Mansfield in small amounts, if you have carried out refurbishments yourself in your own property.

If the work was carried out by a tradesperson, it is their legal responsibility to dispose of the waste.

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

Alternatively, you could hire a skip or contact your district council who may offer a chargeable bulky waste collection.

Please wash, squash and put the bottle top back on the plastic bottle before placing in your kerbside recycling bin. Bottle tops can be included but please remove any trigger spray bottle tops and place these in your general waste bin as these are still not accepted in the kerbside recycling bin.

Polystyrene is accepted at recycling centres, but not recycled. You can also dispose of it in your waste wheeled bin.

Radiators can be disposed of at any of our recycling centres if you have replaced a radiator yourself in your own property.

If the work was carried out by a tradesperson, it is their legal responsibility to dispose of the waste.

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

Alternatively, you could hire a skip if you have large amounts of radiators, or contact your district council who may offer a chargeable bulky waste collection.

Use the wood and timber skip at recycling centres for wooden sheds and the scrap metal skip for metal sheds.

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

Shoes, boots and trainers can be disposed of at recycling centres and are sent for reuse if in good condition. If they are not suitable for reuse, they can be recycled instead.

Footwear in good condition can also be donated to charity.

Small amounts of soil attached to plant roots or turf can be placed in the garden waste skip at recycling centres or be placed in your garden waste wheeled bin if you have this service, or in your home compost bin.

Larger amounts should be placed in the hardcore skip at recycling centres but must be considered a reasonable amount by site staff. Significant amounts generated through larger scale D.I.Y jobs, renovations or refurbishments will not be accepted at the recycling centres even if you have carried out this work yourself. In this case you should hire a skip or contact your district council who may offer a chargeable bulky waste collection.

There is a dedicated container for televisions and monitors at our recycling centres.

You can take tiles to a recycling centre if you have carried out refurbishments yourself in your own property and need to dispose of a small quantity.

If the work was carried out by a tradesperson, it is their legal responsibility to dispose of the waste.

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

Car tyres cannot be taken to recycling centres and they should not be put in your waste wheeled bin.

Most car repair garages will take your old tyres when they are replacing them with new ones. However if you have replaced your own tyres, a garage may charge you a fee for accepting your old tyres. Dependent on the quality of the tyre, they will either be sent for re-treading or disposal.

Washing machines (including twin tubs), tumble dryers and dishwashers are accepted at recycling centres.

If your washing machine or tumble dryer is still in good working order, you could donate it to a furniture reuse group such as the Furniture Re-use Network or Freecycle.

Alternatively, you could use a retailer take back scheme if you are purchasing a new washing machine or tumble dryer, or contact your district council who can offer a chargeable bulky waste collection.

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

If you are hiring a van to transport your own household waste to a recycling centre, you must arrange temporary access.

All recycling centres are currently accepting cartons/Tetrapak as part of an ongoing trial.

Please do not place these in your kerbside recycling bin.

Please ensure the root is no more than 6 inches in diameter. 

Some garden waste can be composted at home. For more details visit the Nottinghamshire Get Composting website to find out how you can purchase subsidised compost equipment, or the Recycle Now website.

Some district councils offer a garden waste collection which they may charge for.

If you are hiring a van to transport garden waste to a recycling centre, temporary access can be arranged.

Some charities will accept sofas and armchairs that are in a good condition and have their fire safety labels in place. If you wish to dispose of them at your local recycling centre please ensure that they remain in one piece and are not cut up. If there is any damage to the furniture please cover any rips with tape or with secured plastic bags or wrapping.