A – Z Recycling
To find out about asbestos in the home please click here.
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Bring your unwanted bicycles to any one of our Community Recycling Centres. They will either be recycled to recover the metal parts or re-used if in good working order. Please see one of our site attendants for advice. Alternatively, try contacting your local bicycle shop to see if they may be interested in purchasing second-hand bicycles for resale.
Most of our Community Recycling Centres accept bric-a-brac items such as crockery and ornaments for recycling or reuse. Please approach one of our site attendants for further advice.
We have household battery recycling banks at all of our Community Recycling Centres. We now have the facilities to recycle single-use batteries, for example from wristwatches, clocks, radios, smoke alarms and torches. Please collect your batteries at home and bring them to one of our sites for recycling.
Why not consider buying rechargeable batteries when your single use batteries run out? They are cost effective in achieving a longer life span and can help in reducing the number of batteries entering the waste stream. Remember to recycle your rechargeable batteries when they come to the end of their life.
Car engine batteries contain a high percentage of recyclable lead and plastic. All of our Community Recycling Centres accept car batteries for recycling. When they are collected from our sites the lead and plastics are reclaimed and reused to make new car batteries. Please note that our containers on site for car batteries are separate from the household battery bank.
Now you can fill the void by using an innovative website that allows people to swap books over the Internet. Read it Swap it is a free website that allows you to browse through the unwanted books of other users around the country. If you find a book you like, you can simply arrange a swap with the other person, the only cost being the postage. This method of waste reduction is sure to be a bestseller.
Boxes (see cardboard)
Bring your old plastic garden furniture or non motorised children’s toys to any of our Community Recycling Centres (Lyne Lane is temporarily closed). Please ensure that items such as wood, videotapes, window frames or electrical goods such as vacuum cleaners are not put in the same bank – our site attendants are on hand to provide assistance and advice.
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Did you know that 80 million food and drink cans get thrown away to landfill everyday? (Wastewatch). Aluminium is one of the most valuable materials to recycle, as virtually 100% of aluminium products can be recycled over and over again to make new cans and other products.
Steel cans are also used extensively in the steel industry to make new products such as cans, car parts, and building materials. We collect both aluminium and steel cans at most of our Community Recycling Centres.
Cars and Car Parts
Under the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive vehicles must be stripped of useful parts that can be reused or sold. The Environment Agency or your Local Council can provide you with the name of your nearest registered dealer. All of our Community Recycling Centres have the facilities to accept car batteries and used engine oil and filters. Please see a member of staff on site for further advice.
We accept brown cardboard at all of our Community Recycling Centres except the Bond Road centre. Please ensure that only cardboard that is brown in colour (i.e. not painted, bleached or laminated) is put into these containers. It is also important to flatten your boxes so that we can recycle more cardboard in each container.
Clothes (see Textiles and Shoes)
You can make your own compost at home and reduce the amount of organic waste that goes in your bin. Simply purchase a compost bin from your local council or garden centre and save your fruit and vegetable peelings, tea bags, fruit cores, and egg shells for your garden. You can also include small amounts of garden waste such as grass cuttings, dead flowers, sawdust and leaves. Please visit our home composting section to find out more.
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You can now recycle all electrical household waste items at any of the Surrey Community Recycling Centres. New legislation now requires electrical waste to be separated into the following categories:
Large domestic appliances such as electric cookers or washing machines
Fridges and freezers
Computer monitors and televisions
All other electrical and electronic waste
Next time you bring any electrical items to the Community Recycling Centres please look out for the specially marked areas or containers for the different categories. Please speak to site staff if you need any assistance.
Engine Oil and Filters
All of our Community Recycling Centres have the facilities to accept waste engine oil and filters in small quantities. Please contact a member of staff on site and they will be happy to help you. Used oil is refined and used as a secondary fuel for the steel making industry.
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Fire extinguishers must be appropriately disposed of as they are high-pressure canisters and can explode if handled improperly. We have facilities at all of our Community Recycling Centres to accept fire extinguishers for recycling. Please see one of our site attendants at any site and they will place it in a secure store for you.
Bring your empty, washed foil containers and foil sheets to any of our Community Recycling Centre. The money raised through foil recycling is donated to the Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice based in Farnham. The aluminium foil is 100% recycled to make car engine parts and numerous other metal products.
Fridges and Freezers (white goods)
Fridges and freezers are 100% recyclable under new legislation. Every part can be recovered and recycled to make new products. You can bring your household white goods to any of our Community Recycling Centres in Surrey where we will take care of them for you and ensure their valuable parts and materials are not wasted. Please note that in accordance with new legislation, residents will need to fill in a form.
Fruit and Vegetables
There is no reason to put uncooked fruit and vegetables in the bin, whether they are rotten or not! You can purchase compost bins from your Local Council or at your nearest gardening centres or build your own. This will help reduce the amount of organic waste sent to landfill and will provide you with an endless supply of compost for your garden! Please visit our home composting section for further information.
There are a number of furniture reuse projects in Surrey accepting unwanted furniture that is in reasonably good condition. Furniture re-use schemes provide a good disposal route for householders for items that would otherwise be sent to landfill, and at the same time help people in need who may be setting up a home for the first time.
Alternatively you can take your unwanted household furniture to one of our Community Recycling Centres. Your Local Council may be able to offer bulky waste collection services to residents.
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As a Surrey resident, you can take your garden waste to any of our Community Recycling Centres. It will be composted to make soil improver. Please ensure you do not place plant pots and plastic bags in the containers. Small amounts of garden waste can also be composted at home along with vegetable and fruit peelings from your kitchen. To find out more please visit our home composting section.
If you have a small amount of household garden chemicals to dispose of, take them to your local Community Recycling Centre where a site attendant can put them in the hazardous chemical store for you. These would then be disposed of accordingly. Unfortunately, empty chemical containers are not suitable for plastic recycling as they could cause contamination during the recycling process.
The key is to reduce waste arising from garden chemicals. Why not purchase biodegradable chemicals for your garden, and ensure you choose the size that you require. Garden chemicals degrade in quality during storage, therefore you only need to buy the amount you need for one season. When preparing a solution, only mix up enough for the job to the recommended dosage.
Gas cylinders are pressurised containers and need to be disposed of appropriately. They can be taken to any of our Community Recycling Centres if they are from your home. Please speak to one of our site attendants and they will be happy to put them in the storage unit. The relevant producers will collect the empty gas cylinders. Some outlets often accept the return of empty gas cylinders so it is worth contacting your supplier.
Glass Bottles and Jars
We have glass collection banks at all of our sites to accept all glass bottles and jars. Please make sure the lids are removed and they are rinsed before depositing them in the banks. Please note that blue glass can go in with green. The glass is sent for recycling, where it is sorted, crushed and cleaned. The clean cullet is then melted to destroy any contaminants such as paint and ink, and then fed through a feeder and formed into new glass bottles.
At present, we do not recycle glass panes, however you can take panes of glass to any of our Community Recycling Centres to put in the general waste containers.
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Hazardous Waste (household)
Hazardous waste from your home generally refers to chemicals such as white spirit, household chemicals and chemical treatments. These types of chemicals should NEVER be disposed of down the sink. Please bring small amounts of bottled household chemicals to any of our sites where they will be placed in our secure chemical store.
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You can reduce the amount of ‘junk’ mail you receive and help to save paper. Please visit our reduce junk mail section for further information.
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Scrap metal has very high value. Steel is 100% recyclable and is an essential part of the production process in making new steel. Aluminium is one of the most cost effective materials to recycle, as it can be recycled indefinitely without damaging its structure. You can bring metal items to ANY of our Community Recycling Centres. We are able to recycle any type of metals, for example copper piping, bicycles, cooking pans, and window frames, to name just a few! All metals can be smelted down and made into new products, which saves on raw materials and fossil fuels.
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Newspapers and Magazines
Is there any reason NOT to recycle newspapers and magazines? Every tonne of paper recycled saves:
At least 30,000 litres of water!
3000–4000 KWh of electricity (enough for a 3-bed house for one year!)
95% of air pollution! (Source: Waste Watch)
If your local council kerbside service does not accept newspapers and magazines, you can bring them to any of our Community Recycling Centres and put them into our Newspapers and Magazines banks.
Did you know that it could take hundreds of years for a disposable nappy to degrade in a landfill. Using washable nappies dramatically reduces the amount of nappy waste that needs to be landfilled. There is wide range of cloth nappies available with new Velcro and popper button designs. To find out more please visit our cloth nappies section.
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If you have any unwanted paint tins that you no longer require you can take them to your local Community Recycling Centre. If they have hazardous chemical labels they will be put in the secure store. Why not instead consider donating any leftover paint to friends, family and local charities?
You can now recycle plastic bottles at most of our sites. Please look up your nearest Community Recycling Centre to see if you can recycle your plastic bottles there.
For more information about plastics recycling, please visit the National Waste Awareness website Recycle Now.
Plastic Carrier Bags
Don’t accept carrier bags if you don’t need one. You may have a bag-for-life scheme at your local supermarket where you can use the same heavy-duty plastic bag over and over again. Reusing plastic bags will help to reduce waste. When they are beyond reuse, they can be taken to most local supermarkets, which now have the facilities for recycling plastic carrier bags.
Petrol and Diesel
Small quantities of petrol and diesel in secure containers from your own home can be taken to your local Community Recycling Centre and put in the hazardous chemical store. Please do not mix the two together as this makes it impossible to recycle. Please contact one of our site attendants for further information.
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If you have any unwanted pairs of shoes or trainers, please bring them to any of our Community Recycling Centres and place them in our textile banks. In order for the shoes to be reused, please make sure that they are paired by tying the laces together; secured with an elastic band; or placed in a tied carrier bag. The items will then be graded into material types and re-used or recycled.
We collect old spectacles in good condition for Vision Aid Overseas at all of our Community Recycling Centres. Vision Aid Overseas is a UK reuse charity dedicated to helping people in developing countries, ensuring that everyone has access to eye care and spectacles.
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Having a clear out? You can bring your old clothes, bed sheets, towels and curtains to any of our Community Recycling Centres. Please make sure the items are washed and unsoiled, and put into the textiles banks tied in carrier bags. The items will be sorted for reuse or recovered for reprocessing into wiping cloths or filling materials.
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We accept untreated wood at a number of our sites for recycling. This excludes MDF, chipboard, plywood and wood that has been painted or varnished.