A-Z RECYCLING GUIDE

Aerosols

Recycle your aerosol cans in your mixed recycling bin at home.

Please remove the plastic lids and put them in your general waste bin.

Make sure your aerosol cans are completely empty before recycling. Do not pierce, crush or flatten them. Aerosols can be stored for a long time, so there’s no need to throw away a half empty can.

Aluminium cans

Recycle your empty aluminium cans in your mixed recycling bin at home.

Aluminium foil

Recycle clean aluminium foil and foil trays in your mixed recycling bin at home.

Recycling Tip

To check whether something is made of foil or not, do the scrunch test.

Scrunch the item in your hand:

• If it stays scrunched – its foil! Recycle it in your mixed recycling bin
• If it springs back – its plastic! Put it in your general waste bin

Asbestos

You can take household asbestos to a waste transfer facility listed below.

Please visit the HSE website before you attempt to handle or remove asbestos.

If you have hired someone to remove the asbestos

If you have hired someone to remove the asbestos for you, it can’t be disposed of at any of our sites because this is classed as business waste. The tradesperson or builder should dispose of the asbestos according to the HSE guidance.

We do not accept asbestos from tradespeople at any of our facilities.

If you have removed asbestos from your own home

Take it to one of the waste transfer facilities listed below by using the entrance where council and high-sided vehicles go.

Asbestos must be double wrapped in heavy duty plastic wrapping. You can also use household rubble sacks as long as the cement-bonded asbestos is contained, double wrapped and sealed within the bags.

Important information before you visit

When you visit, you must:

Wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

For health and safety reasons, PPE must be worn when recycling or disposing of your household waste at the waste transfer facilities.

If you do not wear the correct PPE, you will not be able to dispose of your waste and recycling.

You must wear:

• • • A hard hat
    • Safety glasses
    • A high visibility jacket or vest
    • Safety gloves
    • Safety boots or shoes (steel-capped)

Provide a proof of address

Please take your recent council tax bill, annual water bill or utility bill (gas, electric or landline telephone) relating to the property where the waste is from. You can bring a printed copy or show it on your phone. Please note mobile telephone bills are not accepted.

Waste transfer facilities that accept asbestos opening times:

Arkwright Street, Oldham

Mon to Fri – 7am to 6pm
Sat and Sun – 7am to 5pm

Bank holidays – 7am to 6pm

25 Dec – Closed
26 Dec – Closed
1 Jan – Closed

Bredbury Parkway, Bredbury

Mon to Fri – 7am to 6pm
Sat and Sun – 7am to 5pm

Bank holidays – 7am to 6pm

25 Dec – Closed
26 Dec – Closed
1 Jan – Closed

Cobden Street, Salford M6 6NA

Mon to Fri – 7am to 6pm
Sat and Sun – 7am to 5pm

Bank holidays – 7am to 6pm

25 Dec – Closed
26 Dec – Closed
1 Jan – Closed

Longley Lane, Leestone Rd, Sharston

Mon to Fri – 7am to 6pm
Saturday – 7am to 1pm
Sunday – Closed

Bank holidays – 7am to 5pm

25 Dec – Closed
26 Dec – Closed
1 Jan – Closed

Baby items

You can now donate baby toys with a CE/UKCA mark at one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

Baby items such as clothes, toys and equipment that are in a reusable condition can be donated to your local charity shop.

You can take baby clothes to your local recycling centre.

Batteries

Batteries don’t go in any of your bins at home. 

You can take batteries to a recycling centre.
Regular household batteries can also be recycled at most supermarkets or electrical stores.

Keep your bin crew safe

Please do not throw any batteries in any of your bins at home. This is because they are a fire risk and contain hazardous materials.

Does your item contain hidden batteries?

There are hidden batteries in many electrical items such as electric toothbrushes, toys, e-cigarettes, vapes, phones, laptops, and many more. You can recycle them by doing the following:

1. Don’t throw it in any of your bins at home!
2. Store your items properly until you can take them to a recycling point.
3. Take your items to the nearest recycling centre to dispose of them properly. Alternatively, visit Recycle Your Electricals to find your nearest electrical recycling point.

Choose to reuse

When next replacing batteries, why not buy rechargeable batteries instead? You can use them again and again, which will save you money and help you waste less.

Or you can donate some electrical items at your local recycling centre (except for Chester Road) put them in the Renew donation container and help raise money for local good causes.

Bikes

You can now donate bikes at any of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

Got a new bike or one you don’t use anymore? You can donate bicycles for reuse at one of the many bike projects and organisations across Greater Manchester.

If your bike is beyond repair, please take it to a recycling centre.

Blankets

Some charity shops and homeless shelters accept clean reusable blankets and bedding.

Alternatively, some pet charities or animal shelters welcome donations of blankets, phone them first to check. Visit Dogs Trust and the Manchester and Cheshire Dogs Home or contact your local RSPCA or PDSA.

You can also take blankets to the recycling centre.

Books

What do I do with books?

Millions of books are printed and read every year. But what do you do once you’ve finished with them? 

Books are one of the easiest items to recycle – you could pass them on to family and friends, take them to a charity shop, or sell them online or at a car boot sale. 

Give your old books a ‘Renew’ lease of life

You can donate books to any of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester that help stock our three Renew shops and our online Renew Market selling pre-loved household items at affordable prices 

The aim of the shops and online portal is to reduce waste, reuse unwanted items and increase recycling rates. Many of the items donated by residents would have otherwise gone to waste. 

Here’s where you will find a Renew shop:

• Woodhouse Lane recycling centre, Altrincham, WA14 5TB
• Arkwright Street, Oldham, OL9 9LZ (the entrance is next to the recycling centre)
• Boysnope Wharf recycling centre, Liverpool Road, Eccles, M30 7RH

So far, residents have raised more than £1million for local good causes by donating their unwanted household items and buying second hand instead of new through the Renew project.

All the money raised by the shops will go to support local communities through two Greater Manchester initiatives. Each year money raised through sales made in the Renew shops will be donated as follows:

• £100,000 to the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity (link opens in new tab)
• £220,000 to the Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund (link opens in new tab)

You can also take your unwanted books to a recycling centre and put them in the media bank.

As a last resort, or if your books are damaged and unreadable, you can put them in your paper and card bin at home.

Bras

Some charities collect bras for recycling. Some lingerie retail outlets also run their own in-store bra recycling schemes.

Bravissimo

With the Bravissimo Bra Recycling Scheme, you can easily donate your old bras at their Manchester shop. By recycling used bras with Bravissimo, you help support Coppafeel’s amazing work!

Bread, cakes and pastries

Uneaten bread, cakes and pastries go in your food and garden bin.

You can also reduce your food waste by freezing these items, find out more by visiting Buy Keep Eat Repeat.

Using a kitchen food caddy? Only use compostable food bags with the seedling logo and code EN13432. Do not use paper, plastic or biodegradable bags.

Compostable food bags are available from some councils and most supermarkets.

Food waste can’t be recycled at any of our Recycling Centres. This is because they are not licensed to accept food waste.

Bric a brac

You can now donate bric-a-brac to one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

If you have unwanted crockery, pictures, ornaments, or other bric-a-brac items that are still in good usable condition, you could save them and take them to charity shops or local reuse organisations.

If they are broken you can put them in your general waste bin or take them to a recycling centre for disposal.

Building materials

You can take building materials from DIY projects to a recycling centre. Please sort into different materials.

Any waste produced by tradespeople or builders you hired to carry out improvements, repairs or alterations to your home is classed as business waste and can’t be disposed of at any of our recycling centres. Always ask a tradesperson to include waste disposal in their quote.

Asbestos is not accepted at any of our recycling centres.

Bulky household items

You can now donate some bulky items such as furniture and some electrics to one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here

If you have bulky household items that you want to get rid of, you can:

• Donate them to some charities or reuse organisations if they are in good condition.
• Arrange a collection with your local council. Some councils may charge for this service.

If your bulky household item is not reusable, you can take them to a recycling centre.

Buttons

Keep buttons to update your clothes or donate them to your local charity shop. They will use them to revamp clothes or replace missing buttons from donated items.

Unusable buttons go in your general waste bin at home

Bottles (plastic)

What do I do with plastic bottles?

Plastic bottles go in your mixed recycling bin. 

However, it is estimated that an average of 35.8 million plastic bottles are used EVERY DAY in the UK, but only just over half – 19.8 million – are recycled each day.

That means on average, there are 16 million plastic bottles not making their way into the recycling bin – every day.

Which plastic bottles can I recycle?

The simple answer is most of them. The only exceptions are those that have contained chemicals, such as antifreeze, for example. And check the labels on ready-to-use plant food and pesticides bottles.

That means all the following CAN be recycled:

• All clear and coloured plastic bottles from around the home.
• Cleaning product bottles, such as bathroom cleaners and bleach, with any triggers left on.
• Detergent and soap bottles, but minus the pump in this case.
• Fizzy and non-fizzy drinks and water bottles.
• Shampoo, shower gel and skin care product bottles.
• Milk bottles.

How to recycle plastic bottles

• Empty and rinse your empty plastic bottles. Any remaining liquids can contaminate other recyclables and if bottles contain liquid they may be deemed too heavy by the automated sorting process. Liquid can also damage the machinery.
• Leave the labels on – these will be removed in the process.
• Squash bottles to save space.
• Replace lids and tops. If they stay on the container they will get recycled.
• If the lid is already attached, leave attached as this will ensure the lid is recycled along with the bottle.

Why can’t I recycle other plastics like pots, tubs and trays in my recycling bin at home?

Unlike plastic bottles which are mainly made of two types of plastic (HDPE and PET) plastic pots, tubs, trays, bags and film are made of a range of different types of plastic.

All plastics in theory can be recycled but it is not always technically or economically viable. In Greater Manchester, we only collect plastic bottles because there is a sustainable market for them, and we can guarantee they will be recycled.

Blister Packs

Blister packs can’t be recycled at home – put them in your General Waste bin.

Alternatively, you may be able to recycle your medicine packaging at a local pharmacy. Superdrug Pharmacies offer a route for recycling, such as this blister pack take-back scheme. If you don’t have a Superdrug nearby, it’s worth checking with your local pharmacy, such as Lloyds, or your nearest hospital to see if they provide a take-back recycling service.

CDs

What do I do with CDs?

CDs and their cases are made of plastic, so tossing them in your recycling bin isn’t the best course of action for those you don’t want any more.

You could pass on your unwanted CDs to family and friends, take them to a charity shop, or sell them online or at a car boot sale. What you’ve grown tired of, could be a gem of a find for someone else!

However, if you are recycling your CDs, keep in mind what’s on them. In some cases, it might be worth erasing the contents of your old CDs before shipping them off in case there’s anything on there that you don’t want someone else to see.

Give your old CDs a ‘Renew’ lease of life

You can donate CDs to any of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester that help stock our three Renew shops and our online Renew Market selling pre-loved household items at affordable prices 

The aim of the shops and online portal is to reduce waste, reuse unwanted items and increase recycling rates. Many of the items donated by residents would have otherwise gone to waste. 

Here’s where you will find a Renew shop:

• Woodhouse Lane recycling centre, Altrincham, WA14 5TB
• Arkwright Street, Oldham, OL9 9LZ (the entrance is next to the recycling centre)
• Boysnope Wharf recycling centre, Liverpool Road, Eccles, M30 7RH

So far, residents have raised more than £1million for local good causes by donating their unwanted household items and buying second hand instead of new through the Renew project.

All the money raised by the shops will go to support local communities through two Greater Manchester initiatives. Each year money raised through sales made in the Renew shops will be donated as follows:

• £100,000 to the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity (link opens in new tab)
• £220,000 to the Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund (link opens in new tab)

You can also take reusable CDs, DVDs, console games, blu-rays in their original cases to a recycling centre – put them in the media bank.

Any damaged or incomplete discs, CD/DVD copies, cassette tapes that no longer work can go in your general waste bin or the general waste container at your local recycling centre.

Candle holders

You can either reuse glass holders, donate them to charity or put them in your general waste bin.

You can now donate candle holders to one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

Glass candle holders can’t be recycled in your mixed recycling bin with glass bottles and jars.

Car batteries

You can take car batteries to a recycling centre.

If you buy a new battery from a garage, ask them to take the old one.

Do not put car batteries in any of your bins at home.

Card packaging

Empty card packaging such as cereal boxes, egg boxes, and ready meal card sleeves can all be recycled in your paper and card bin at home. Please flatten cardboard to save space.

You can take card packaging to a recycling centre.

Choose to reuse

Shredded cardboard also makes great animal bedding.

Cardboard

Cardboard boxes and all others types of card can be recycled in your paper and card bin at home. Flatten them to save space in your bin.

This includes:

• Cardboard packaging (such as empty cereal boxes)
• Kitchen roll and toilet roll tubes
• Cardboard boxes
• Greeting cards (tear off any glitter)
• Clothes labels or tags

Make sure you remove all non-paper items like bubble wrap, plastic packaging and polystyrene and put them in your general waste bin.

You can take cardboard boxes to a recycling centre

Choose to reuse

Shredded cardboard makes great animal bedding.

Carpet

You can take carpets to a recycling centre.

Any waste produced by tradespeople or builders you hired to carry out improvements, repairs or alterations to your home is classed as business waste and can’t be disposed of at any of our recycling centres. Always ask a tradesperson to include waste disposal in their quote.

Carrier bags (plastic)

Check your local supermarkets for a plastic bag recycling point. Some accept other sorts of plastic packaging too.

If there is not a recycling point near you, plastic carrier bags go in your general waste bin.

You can also put them in the non-recyclable waste container at a recycling centre.

Find out what happens to your plastic here.

Choose to reuse

Use a reusable bag

Cartons (Tetra Pak)

Empty food and drink cartons (Tetra Pak) go in your paper and card bin at home.

Cat litter

Please put cat litter in your general waste bin. Cat litter can also be disposed of at your local recycling centre via the general waste container..

Cesspits and septic tanks

There are a number of companies offering services related to cesspits and septic tanks in Greater Manchester. Please search online for details.

Chemicals

Unwanted chemicals can be taken to a recycling centre for safe disposal. Please ask a member of staff for advice on where to put them.

Please ensure that container lids are secured and have a label where possible.

Christmas trees (artificial)

Disposing of your artificial Christmas tree

When the festive period is over and it’s time to pack away the decorations, you might be wondering what to do with an old artificial Christmas tree. Perhaps it’s losing branches or just looking beyond its best.

Artificial trees are made from a mixture of materials including polyvinyl chloride (PVC) metal and sometimes fabric, which make them totally unsuitable for your household wheelie bin – and even your recycling bins.

However easy it seems to just push your tree down into your household bin, don’t do it! Artificial Christmas trees discarded in this way end up in landfill, where they take up space and can leach harmful chemicals into the soil and groundwater.

However, you’ll be pleased to know that you can take your old artificial Christmas tree to any Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) Household Waste Recycling Centre, where it can be properly disposed of, at no cost.

Donate your artificial tree

If your tree is still in good condition, you might consider giving it to a friend or neighbour to us, especially if they’re just starting out or looking for a low-cost option. A local charity shop, community group, school or nursing home might also be very grateful of it.

Donating your tree is a simple and thoughtful way to give it a second life and reduce waste – and it could help bring a little extra joy to someone else.

Before you recycle

Bringing your tree in a van, pick-up truck, or on a twin-axle trailer? You’ll need to apply for a free permit at least two working days before you visit. You can apply for the permit here.

Bringing your fake Christmas tree to our recycling centre

When you arrive at one of the R4GM centres, our friendly staff will help you place your tree in the correct container so its various parts can be sorted and processed properly.

The materials that can be recycled will be, and the rest will be disposed of responsibly.

You can find a list of locations and apply for a permit at the R4GM website here: https://recycleforgreatermanchester.com/van-permit/

Christmas trees (real)

How to recycle your real Christmas tree

When the decorations are down, the turkey has been chomped and the festivities are over, it’s finally time to clear up those pesky pine needles.

But don’t just toss your real Christmas tree in the general waste bin. There are far better and greener ways to dispose of it in Greater Manchester.

When trees are sent to landfill, they take up space and decompose slowly, releasing methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas. Recycling helps avoid this.

The good news is you can take your Christmas tree to any of our Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) Household Waste Recycling Centres for free, along with any unwanted decorations.

But there are also a few ways you can recycle your real Christmas tree without bringing it to one of our centres.

Donate your real tree for charity collection

You can register to have it collected from your doorstep in exchange for a small donation to charity through the organisation Just Helping. You can sign up between November 15 and January 10 every year.

All trees collected are recycled into mulch for local green spaces, helping to reduce waste and emissions.

Before you recycle

If you’re transporting your tree in a van, pick-up truck or twin-axle trailer, you need a permit to enter our site. It’s free and quick to apply for, but do this in advance so you’re not held up when you arrive.

Bringing your real Christmas tree to our recycling centre

Once at the centre, our team will help you dispose of your tree correctly, so it can be recycled or composted.

Real trees are usually shredded into woodchips and used in local parks and gardens – a great way to give back to nature after the festive season.

If you’re not sure where to go when you arrive at our centre, one of our friendly staff will be on hand to direct you to the correct container.

You can apply for a permit at: www.recycleforgreatermanchester.com/van-permit/

Christmas wrapping paper (no glitter or foil)

You can recycle paper wrapping paper in your paper and card bin at home. You can only recycle Christmas wrapping paper if it’s entirely made out of paper.

Some wrapping paper is made out of foil, plastic and glitter. These can’t be recycled, so put them in your general waste bin.

Cleaning product bottles

Cleaning product bottles go in your mixed recycling bin. This includes bottles such as trigger spray bottles, shampoo and shower gel bottles, drinks and milk bottles.

Remove all lids from plastic bottles before putting them in your mixed recycling bin.

Find out what happens to your plastic bottles here.

Clinical waste

The following items are classed as clinical waste:

• Blood
• Human or animal tissue
• Syringes

Please seek advice from your GP or medical practice on how to dispose of clinical waste safely.

Please DO NOT put clinical waste in any of your bins at home or take them to any recycling centres.

Cloth nappies

Cloth nappies are much more environmentally-friendly and a cost effective alternative to disposable nappies.

Compare the cost of using reusable nappies and see how much you could save.

Don’t forget once your child is potty trained, you can either pass on or sell the nappies.

Live in Oldham?  You can claim a £30 voucher towards the cost of buying your own reusable nappies. For more information, email: waste@oldham.gov.uk 

Greater Manchester cloth nappy advisers and providers

Baba+Boo

Birth 2 Potty

Bolton Fluff is the Future NCT Nappy Library Facebook page

Bury and Rossendale NCT Nappy Library Facebook page

Tameside NCT Nappy Library Facebook page

Cloth Nappy Chat and Sales – Stockport, Manchester and Cheshire Facebook group

Clothes and textiles

You can donate clothes in a good condition to a charity shop.

You can take bagged clothes and textiles in any condition, including items not suitable for reuse i.e. ripped or stained to your local recycling centre and put them in the textile bin.

Please bag them for disposal.

Coat hangers

You can leave unwanted coat hangers at the shop when you make your new purchase. Some charity shops may accept them and reuse them.

Depending on whether they are made out of wood, wire or plastic, you can also recycle or dispose of them at your local recycling centre.

Coat hangers do not go in any of your recycling bins.

Coffee cups

Please put disposable coffee cups from high-street coffee shops in your general waste bin.

You can’t recycle coffee cups in any of your recycling bins. This is because they are often lined with plastic that is bonded to the cup to help them hold liquid and stop the paper cup going soggy. Compostable packaging such as coffee cups takes much longer to break down, sometimes it can take years. This means that they won’t be composted in the same time as your food and garden waste.

Choose to reuse

Reduce waste and save some money by using your own reusable coffee cup.

Coffee pods

What do I do with coffee pods?

If coffee pods are part of your daily routine, chances are you regularly have a lot of empty pods among your rubbish. Convenience shouldn’t come at the cost of our beautiful planet. Now you can have your coffee pods and recycle them too!

Most coffee pods contain four materials: plastic, aluminium, a paper filter and organic material in the form of coffee grounds. All four materials can generally be separated, sorted and recycled responsibly.

Own from home

If that’s too messy for your liking, some coffee pod brands have their own recycling schemes, where they will collect used pods from your home, or you can take them to back to the shop where you purchased them from.

And households across the UK can now recycle their Nespresso, NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto, Tassimo, L’OR and Starbucks at Home coffee pods using one recycling scheme.

‘Podback’ is a first of its kind recycling programme for coffee pods set up by Nestlé and Jacobs Douwe Egberts UK.

Consumers can recycle their Nespresso, NESCAFÉ Dolce Gusto, Tassimo, L’OR and Starbucks at Home coffee pods in two ways:

• Collect+ delivered by Yodel – consumers will be able to take their used coffee pods to their nearest drop-off point. There are thousands of drop-off points in local stores across the UK, open seven days a week.
• Consumers can order recycling bags directly from any of the participating Podback brands online and will also be available in supermarkets soon.

If there isn’t a recycling scheme near you, please put coffee pods in your general waste bin.

Choose to reuse

Did you know you can buy reusable coffee pods? An online search will provide all the information you need about which brands provide reusable options.

Ground to ground

Coffee grounds have many practical uses around the home and garden. They can be used a fertilizer in the garden or add them to your compost heap if you have one. An online search will also provide several, more unusual, uses for used coffee grounds such as odour neutralising, skin exfoliating and scouring pots and pans!

Coins

Foreign coins and out of date British currency can be taken to your local charity shop. Many banks will collect them too – ask your local branch for details.

You can now donate collectable coins to one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

Compostable packaging

Compostable or biodegradable packaging like cups, cutlery, straws go in your general waste bin.

Please do not put these sorts of compostable items in your food and garden recycling bin.

The food and garden waste you put in your recycling bin at home that is collected by your local council is delivered to an In-Vessel composting facility and made into compost in 6 -10 weeks. Compostable packaging takes much longer to break down, sometimes it can take years. This means that they won’t be composted in the same time as your food and garden waste.

To find out how you can get a discounted compost bin visit our home composting webpage.

Computers

Any electrical items large or small can be recycled at a recycling centre.

Before you throw away your tech, it’s worth searching online for repair shops to see if it can be fixed.

If your computer is in good condition, you can donate it. Try Donate a PC or Computers for Charities – just make sure to clear your hard drive before donating. For advice on how to remove your data from your computer, laptop or tablet, read this useful article from the National Cyber Security Centre.

Small electrical items can often be returned to the store from where it was purchased or some other local electrical shop, to find your nearest store visit Recycle Your Electricals.

Cooked and uncooked food

Cooked and uncooked food can be recycled in your food and garden bin at home.

Food waste can’t be recycled at any of the 20 recycling centres across Greater Manchester. This is because the recycling centres are not licensed to accept segregated food waste.

You will most likely have a kitchen caddy to collect your food waste in. Make sure the caddy has a compostable liner inside.

Do not use plastic or biodegradable bags in your kitchen caddy. Only use compostable liners with the seedling logo and reference code EN13432 to make sure they are compostable. Newspaper is not a suitable alternative to line your caddy as it inhibits the composting process.

Compostable liners are either available from your local council or most supermarkets.

Food waste that can be recycled at home includes:

• Raw or cooked meat and fish, including bones
• Raw or cooked fruit and vegetables
• Leftovers from your plate
• Rice, pasta and beans
• Bread, cakes and pastries
• Dairy including egg shells
• Teabags and coffee grounds

Find out what happens to your food and garden waste here.

Cookers

Any electrical items large or small can be recycled at a recycling centre.

You can donate electric cookers that are in good visual condition, with no items missing, to one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our Renew Market selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – Click here to find out more.

Often shops will collect your unwanted electricals when they deliver your new one – especially larger items like TV’s, fridge and freezers (please note that some retailers may charge to collect electrical items).

Check your local council website as they may operate a bulky waste collection service.

You also may be able to donate items that are in working condition to some local reuse organisations and charities.

Cooking oil

You can take used cooking oil to a recycling centre.

Put the cooled cooking oil in an empty sealed container and place it in the cage labelled cooking oil at the recycling centre.

Alternatively, you can put your cooled used cooking oil into a bottle. Make sure the lid is on tight and put it in your general waste bin.

Never pour oil down the drain.

Cotton wool and make up pads

Cotton wool, makeup pads and wipes go in your general waste bin.

Please do not put these in any of your recycling bins.

Crisp packets

What do I do with crisp packets?

A lunchbox staple, the humble crisp packet suffered some unwanted headlines when people started posting their empties back to the manufacturer in protest that they weren’t easy to recycle and could take up to 80 years to decompose in landfill.

Crisp packets can’t be recycled at home because although the inside of the packet is shiny and looks like foil, it is, in fact, a metallised plastic film.

Munch then scrunch

An easy way to discover if your snack packet is foil or metallised plastic film, is to do the scrunch test. Simply scrunch the item in your hand – if it remains ‘scrunched’ it is foil and can be recycled easily, but if it springs back (like crisp packets) it is probably metallised plastic film.

Crisp packet blankets

Did you know crisp packets are an ideal material for creating survival blankets? They are waterproof and the silver foil lining reflects heat, keeping the body warmer for longer.

Several schools and colleges across Greater Manchester have supported the idea having taken inspiration from the ‘Crisp Packet Project’ based in East Sussex. The blankets are commonly given to the homeless.

If there isn’t a recycling point near you, put your empty crisp packets in your general waste bin.

Crisp tubes

Child/baby car seat

You can take your child/baby car seat to your local recycling centre where an operative will advise you which container to put it in.

For safety reasons we do not take any donations of child/baby car seats.

DIY waste

You can take DIY waste to a recycling centre, this includes:

• Garden waste
• Hardcore and rubble (bricks, soil and tiles). You are limited to the amount of rubble you can take in one visit . The limit is five (900mm x 600mm) rubble sacks per visit.
• Plasterboard
• Scrap metal
• Wood and timber

Asbestos is not accepted at any of our recycling centres. Click here to find out what to do with asbestos.

Any waste produced by tradespeople or builders you hired to carry out improvements, repairs or alterations to your home is classed as business waste and can’t be disposed of at any of our recycling centres. Always ask a tradesperson to include waste disposal in their quote.

DVDs

You can donate CD’s, DVD’s, console games and blue rays that are still in a good condition to one of the 18 Renew donation containers which are at recycling centres across Greater Manchester or take them to a charity shop or put them in the media banks that are located at the recycling centres.

Any damaged or incomplete discs, CD/DVD copies, cassette tapes that no longer work can go in your general waste bin or the general waste container at a recycling centre.

Dairy

Dairy including egg shells go in your food and garden bin.

Using a kitchen food caddy? Only use compostable food bags with the seedling logo with code EN13432. Do not use paper, plastic or biodegradable bags.

Compostable food bags are available from some local councils and most supermarkets.

Food waste can’t be recycled at any of our Recycling Centres. This is because they are not licensed to accept food waste.

Disposable face masks

Put disposable face masks in your general waste bin.

Disposable gloves

Put disposable gloves in your general waste bin.

Dog waste

Please put dog waste in your general waste bin. Bag it first and then put it the bin.

Do not put dog waste in your food and garden bin at home.

Drinking glasses

Broken drinking glasses should be wrapped securely and placed into your general waste bin. They should not go in the mixed recycling bin.

Donate drinking glasses that are still in a good condition at one of the 18 Renew donation containers which are at recycling centres across Greater Manchester, or take them to a charity shop.

Drinking glasses or wine glasses can’t be recycled in your mixed recycling bin at home. This is because they are made out of toughened glass containing chemicals that can’t be recycled with your glass bottles and jars.

Drinks bottles

Plastic and glass drinks bottles go in your mixed recycling bin at home. You can also recycle other plastic bottles such as cleaning product bottles, trigger spray bottles, shampoo and shower gel bottles and milk bottles.

Remove all lids from plastic bottles before putting them in your mixed recycling bin.

Find out what happens to your mixed recycling here.

Duvets

Some charity shops and homeless shelters accept clean duvets and bedding.

You can also donate used bedding to some dog homes.

If your duvet can’t be donated you can dispose of it at your local recycling centre.

E-Scooters, E-bikes, E-skateboards

Electric scooters, electric bikes and electric skateboards can be recycled at a recycling centre.

Do not put electrical or battery powered items in any of your bins at home.

Do not put electrical or battery powered items in the scrap metal container at the HWRC they must go in the small electricals items container.

Batteries on these items can cause fires.

If unsure, please ask a site operative.

If you are replacing an electrical item, some retailers will collect your old electrical item when they deliver your new one, or you can return some electrical items to the retailer you originally purchased it from.

Choose to reuse

Non-working items in a reasonable condition can be donated at your local HWRC by putting it in them Renew donations container.

E-cigarettes

E-cigarette and vaping device waste should be taken to the recycling centre, where the batteries can be disposed of in the battery container.

Egg cartons

You can recycle cardboard egg boxes in your paper and card bin at home. Please ensure they are empty.

Plastic egg boxes must go in your general waste bin.

Egg shells

You can recycle egg shells in your food and garden bin at home.

Engine oil

You can take used engine oil to a recycling centre. Make sure your engine oil is stored in a sealed container. Upon arrival, ask a member of staff to direct you to the right container.

Do not pour used engine oil down any drains. It can cause considerable environmental damage if it leaches into watercourses or groundwater.

• Don’t mix engine oil with any other substance – as this makes it difficult to recycle
• The government website Oil Bank Line can tell you more about recycling your oil

Envelopes

You can recycle envelopes (including those with a window) in your paper and card bin at home.

Fabrics

Fabrics and textiles in good condition can be reused, passed onto friends and relatives or taken to charity shops. You can take fabrics and textiles to your local recycling centre.

Fire extinguishers

You can take fire extinguishers from your home to a recycling centre.

Please do not put them in any of your bins at home as they may explode if they are crushed.

You can contact the company that you purchased the fire extinguisher from, they will usually take it back so that they can refill it for reuse.

Fireworks

Safe disposal of fireworks

Hosting a fireworks display is a blast but knowing how to properly get rid of the used fireworks afterward is important. It’s all about keeping everyone safe from fires and protecting our local environment.

Firstly, never put anything hot in your bin! Always make sure your fireworks are completely cool and soaked in water before you even think about tossing them. And a major point – don’t try to recycle fireworks in your paper and card wheelie bin as they are full of chemical residue.

You can dispose of them safely at one of our Recycle 4 Greater Manchester sites.

After your display

Once your display has finished, here’s how to handle your fireworks safely:

Let them cool: Even if they look spent, fireworks can stay hot for about 30 minutes after they’ve gone off. Give them plenty of time to cool down completely.

Soak them: Carefully gather all your used fireworks and dunk them entirely into a bucket of water. Leave them to soak overnight. This is a crucial step that makes sure any hidden embers or unspent chemicals are totally extinguished and safe.

Wear gloves: When you’re handling the leftover bits, pop on some strong gloves. They’ll protect your hands from any chemical residue.

Bag them: After their good soak, wrap the wet fireworks in a plastic bag or seal them in one. This keeps them damp and stops them from drying out and potentially becoming a fire hazard again.

Bringing fireworks to our Household Waste Recycling Centre

For most fireworks that have fully gone off and been thoroughly soaked, you can simply put them in your general household waste bin. Just a reminder: they don’t go in any of your recycling bins.

Alternatively, you can bring your soaked, used fireworks to any Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) Household Waste Recycling Centre. We accept them in our general waste skips.

 If you’re not sure exactly where to put them when you arrive, just ask a member of our R4GM staff and they’ll be happy to help direct you.

What about unused fireworks?

If you have any fireworks that didn’t go off, or are old and unused, it’s best to handle these with extra care. Sometimes, the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service runs special fireworks amnesty schemes where they can safely collect and dispose of these. It’s always a good idea to check their website for the latest information on such schemes.

By following these simple steps, you’re not just safely clearing up after your display; you’re helping to keep your home, your community, and our waste collection teams safe.

Flowers and plants

Flowers and plants can be recycled at home in your food and garden bin. Please remove any packaging, film, plant pots and large amounts of soil.

Other garden waste that can be recycled at home includes:

• Leaves
• Grass cuttings
• Hedge clippings
• Twigs and small branches
• Weeds (no Japanese Knotweed or Himalayan Balsam)

You can also recycle garden waste at a recycling centre. If you are taking food and garden waste to a recycling centre, it must be separated. If you take a mixed bag of food and garden waste it will have to go in the non-recyclable containers. This is because the recycling centres are not licensed to accept food waste.

You can also compost your garden waste in a home compost bin. To find out more visit Let’s Compost Now.

Fluorescent tubes

What do I do with fluorescent tubes?

Fluorescent tubes can be very harmful to the environment, wildlife and humans. That’s because fluorescent lighting contains mercury, a highly toxic metal. If it’s not disposed of correctly, mercury can disperse into the atmosphere, allowing it to contaminate water supplies and harm wildlife.

The importance of proper disposal

The most important thing is NOT to put fluorescent tubes into your general waste or recycling bin – the mercury content means they are designated as hazardous waste.

There are several specialist recycling services, especially for commercial premises using lots of fluorescent tubes, although the majority of these do not accept broken or damaged tubes. 

Domestic users should take their fluorescent tubes to their local household recycling centre. Many supermarkets offer recycling facilities but not necessarily for fluorescent tubes. Check before you head out.

Safety first for broken lights

If your fluorescent lighting is damaged, you need to minimise the number of people and pets exposed to it.

Turn off any central heating or air conditioning you have on to prevent the toxins being spread from room to room. 

Open any windows and doors to air the room and use stiff paper, cardboard or a disposable wet wipe to transfer the fragments into an airtight container. Use sticky tape to collect any smaller fragments.

Do not vacuum unless all your attempts to clean up the fragments have failed as this can spread the mercury powders or vapours when you next use your vacuum. If you do vacuum, empty the bag straight away afterwards heeding the advice from above.

Food and drink cartons

What do I do with food/drink cartons?

Cartons are a composite packaging material – in other words they are not made from paper alone but comprise of about 75 per cent paper, 20 per cent plastic (polyethylene) and 5 per cent aluminium foil (for long-life products). But that doesn’t mean they can’t be recycled, they can.

Top tips for recycling cartons

Some empty food and drink cartons such as those manufactured by Tetra Pak, one of the world’s leading food processing and packaging providers, go in your paper and card bin at home. These are:

• Drink cartons containing fruit juices and milk (including alternative milk products). Leave the plastic tops on cartons and straws in drink cartons as these will be removed and recycled too. Food cartons, such as soup containers are also welcome additions to your paper and card bin. Once empty, wash and squash your cartons.

However, some cartons are not so welcome. These include laminated plastic food/drink pouches; for example, baby food, cat food and coffee pouches which should go into your general waste bin.

Recycling is evolving all the time and some products once deemed unrecyclable are now accepted. Please check the packaging before deciding which bin to place it in.

Did you know?

The UK has only one carton recycling plant. It’s at Stainland, near Halifax. It opened in 2013 and handles about 40 per cent of the cartons manufactured in the UK each year.

Recycled cartons are used to create a wide range of new products, such as cardboard boxes, paper bags, office paper and even extra strong tissue.

Food and drink pouches

Pouches such as those used for drinks, coffee, pet food and baby food can’t be recycled in your bins at home. These are difficult to recycle as they are made of both metal and plastic.

Some shops and supermarkets provide disposal point for food packaging.

If there isn’t a recycling point near you, put these in your general waste bin.

Food cans and drink cans

Empty food cans and drink cans can be recycled in your mixed recycling bin at home.

You don’t need to remove the labels, just give them a quick rinse.

Fridges and freezers

You can take fridges and freezers to a recycling centre. You can now donate fridges that are in good visual condition, with no items missing, to one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew Market selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

Choose to reuse

If your large electrical item, such as washing machine, is still working and in a reusable condition, your local reuse organisation may be able to refurbish it and give it a new lease of life and a new home.

Often shops will collect your unwanted electricals when they deliver your new one – especially larger items like TVs, fridges and freezers (some retailers may charge to collect electrical items).

You can arrange a collection with your local council. Some councils may charge for this service.

Furniture (not upholstered)

You can now donate furniture at one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today. Please note upholstered furniture needs to have a fire safety tag.

You can also donate your furniture directly to a furniture reuse organisation or charity.  Some offer a free collection service.

If your furniture is not reusable you can still take it to a recycling centre for disposal. Your local council may have a collection service for bulky items.

Food nets and packaging

Plastic nets from fruit and vegetables go in your general waste bin. You can also put them in the non-recyclable waste container at a recycling centre.

Check your local supermarkets for a plastic bag recycling point. Some accept other sorts of plastic packaging too.

Furniture (upholstered)

You can now donate furniture at one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here. Please note upholstered furniture needs to have a fire safety tag.

You can also donate your furniture directly to a furniture reuse organisation or charity.  Some offer a free collection service.

If your furniture is not reusable you can still take it to a recycling centre for disposal. Your local council may have a collection service for bulky items.

Why do you collect upholstered furniture separately?

Due to new regulations brought in by the Environment Agency, we must collect upholstered furniture separately. This includes:

• sofas
• sofa beds
• armchairs
• recliner chairs (electrical or mechanical)
• kitchen and dining room chairs
• garden furniture
• stools and foot stools
• office chairs that are fire resistant to domestic standards
• futons
• bean bags, floor and sofa cushions
• any other upholstered items that can reasonably be described as a form of seating used by households, and to which relevant fire regulations apply this might include child car seats, highchairs, and benches

This type of furniture can contain chemicals which if released into the atmosphere can be harmful. Under the regulations, it must be handled and disposed of separately in an Energy from Waste plant.

For more information Manage waste upholstered domestic seating containing POPs – GOV.UK

Garden waste

What happens to food and garden waste?

All local councils in Greater Manchester have bins for collecting food and garden waste and some provide waste food caddies too.

Once collected, your food and garden waste is delivered to what’s called In-Vessel Composting facilities (IVC) in the UK.

In-Vessel composting is a true example of turning waste into a resource, utilising green waste to deliver a rich and organic compost product.

An IVC is like a home compost bin, but on a massive scale. The IVC system harnesses the natural composting process to recycle your food and garden waste into compost in just six weeks.

The compost produced is used as a soil improver on agricultural and horticultural land, among other uses.

Bin colours might differ, but the aim is the same

Different councils use different coloured bins for food and garden waste, either green, brown, or pink if you live in Salford.

If you’re unsure which bin to use, here’s a breakdown:

• Green – Bolton, Manchester, Oldham, Stockport, Trafford.
• Brown – Bury, Rochdale, Tameside.

Visit the My area section of this website to find out what you can and can’t put in your food and garden waste bin in your local area. There are also details of all the recycling centres where you live.

What can I put in my food and garden waste?

There might be slight variations where you live, but as a general rule of thumb your food and garden waste bin if for:

• Fruit and vegetable peelings
• Bread and cakes
• Tea bags and coffee grounds
• Scrapings from your plate
• Eggs and dairy products for example cheese
• Meat including bones
• Fish
• Cut flowers
• Garden waste
• Twigs and sticks no thicker than your wrist

No soil please

Soil is not accepted at the composting plant where the garden and food waste is treated. If you have soil to get rid of, take it to your nearest tip or recycling centre.

Most households are given free compostable food bags to collect their food scraps in. These bags are made from starch material and are 100% compostable, dissolving away quickly in the food waste.

A word of warning, however. If you’re buying your own bags from a shop or supermarket do not buy biodegradable plastic bags as they breakdown into little bits of plastic and are not compostable. You need to ensure your bags are 100% compostable – look out for the seedling logo.

Love Food Hate Waste

While turning our food and garden waste into compost is a great idea, cutting back on the food we waste is even better.

The Love Food Hate Waste campaign is supported by many local councils and encourages everyone to do their bit to save food from going in the bin – protecting our beautiful planet at the same time too.

Discover everything the Love Food Hate Waste campaign has to offer, visit its website.

Gas bottles

You can take gas bottles to a recycling centre.

Gas bottles can be refilled for further use or can be returned to the supplier.

Please do not put gas bottles in any of your bins at home as they may explode if they are crushed.

Gas cylinders/cartridges

You can take gas cylinders or cartridges to a recycling centre.

Please do not put gas bottles in any of your bins at home as they may explode if they are crushed.

Gas bottles can be refilled for further use or can be returned to the supplier.

General waste (non-recyclable waste)

The general waste (non-recyclable waste) produced in Greater Manchester is sent by rail to an energy recovery plant (combined heat and power plant) in Runcorn where it is used to generate electricity and steam that is used in the operation of the neighbouring plant.

Your general waste does not go to landfill, it is used to make electricity. in fact we currently divert over 99.5% of the 1millions tonnes of waste we handle per year away from landfill to reuse, recycling, composting and energy recovery.

All these things can go in your general waste bin:

• Soft plastic packaging (bread bags, crisp packet, cling film)
• Plastic bags
• Polystyrene
• Food and drink pouches
• Plant pots
• Pet waste
• Cotton wool and make up pads
• Nappies and sanitary products
• Tissues and used paper towels
• Wet wipes
• Wallpaper

Do not put the following items in your general waste bin:

• Batteries
• Clothes and textiles
• Electrical items

You can take general waste (non-recyclable waste) to a recycling centre

Gift wrap (no glitter or foil)

Plain gift wrapping paper can be recycled in your paper and card bin.

You can only recycle wrapping paper entirely made out of paper. Some wrapping paper that is made out of foil, plastic or contains glitter can’t be recycled. Put this type of paper in your general waste bin.

Glass bottles and jars

You can recycle glass bottles and jars (all colours) in your mixed recycling bin at home.

Please remove all lids from your bottles and jars and give them a rinse before recycling. Put the lids in your general waste bin.

Grass cuttings

Grass cuttings can be recycled at home in your food and garden bin.

Other garden waste that can be recycled at home includes:

• Flowers and plants
• Leaves
• Hedge clippings
• Twigs and small branches
• Weeds (no Japanese Knotweed or Himalayan Balsam)

You can also recycle garden waste at a recycling centre.

You can also compost your garden waste in a home compost bin. To find out more visit Let’s Compost Now.

Greetings cards and wrapping paper (no glitter or foil)

You can recycle greetings cards and paper wrapping paper in your paper and card bin at home. You can only recycle greetings cards and wrapping paper if they’re entirely made out of paper.

Some are made out of foil, plastic and glitter. None of these can be recycled and microplastics such as glitter can’t be separated from the paper fibres during the recycling process. Tear off any glittery parts or non-paper decorations and put them in your general waste bin. Make sure you also remove any bows or ribbons before recycling your wrapping paper.

Not sure if your wrapping paper is made of paper?  Try to scrunch up the paper into a ball. If it stays scrunched, it can be recycled.

Gypsum

You can take household gypsum to a waste transfer facility listed below.

If you have hired someone to remove the gypsum

If you have hired someone to remove the gypsum for you, it can’t be disposed of at any of our sites because this is classed as business waste. The tradesperson or builder should dispose the gypsum for you.

If you have removed gypsum from your own home

Take it to one of the waste transfer facilities listed below by using the entrance where council and high-sided vehicles go.

Important information before you visit

When you visit, you must:

Wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

For health and safety reasons, PPE must be worn when recycling or disposing of your household waste at the waste transfer facilities.

You must bring and wear your own.

If you do not wear the correct PPE, you will not be able to dispose of your waste and recycling.

You must wear:

• • • Hard hat
    • Safety glasses
    • High visibility jacket or vest
    • Safety gloves
    • Safety boots or shoes (steel-capped)

Provide a proof of address

Please take your recent council tax bill, annual water bill or utility bill (gas, electric or landline telephone) relating to the property where the waste is from. You can bring a printed copy or show it on your phone. Please note mobile telephone bills are not accepted.

Provide a hire vehicle document

If you are using a hire vehicle please take your hire agreement documents with you.

Waste transfer facilities

Glass

Crockery glass or window glass (flat glass) can’t be recycled in your mixed recycling bin.

This is because they are made out of a toughened glass containing chemicals that can’t be recycled with your glass bottles and jars. These type of glass does not melt at the same temperature as bottles and jars. If it enters the glass recycling process, it can result in new containers being rejected.

Crockery glass can be disposed of at your local recycling centre or in your general waste bin.

Please do not put crockery glass into glass recycling banks. They are for bottles and jars only.

Hard plastics

Hard plastics such as broken garden furniture, broken toys and hard plastic storage containers can be taken to the recycling centre.

Hardcore and rubble

You can take hardcore and rubble to a recycling centre.

You are limited to the amount of rubble you can take in one visit. The limit is five (900mm x 600mm) rubble sacks per visit. Residents of Greater Manchester are able to dispose of rubble if they have carried the work out at home by themselves.

Hazardous waste

Hazardous waste is any type of waste that can harm human health or the environment, or is difficult to handle.
Each of the items on the lists below are classed as hazardous waste.

You can take the following hazardous items from your home to a recycling centre:

• TV and computer monitors
• Fridges and freezers
• Fluorescent light tubes
• Engine oil
• Lead acid (automotive) batteries

You must separate out any hazardous waste from your general waste before taking it to a recycling centre. Ask a member of staff for advice when you arrive at the recycling centre.

Asbestos is not accepted at any of our recycling centres.

Your local council may collect hazardous waste, contact your council directly.

Specialists are needed to remove and dispose of:

• Invasive weeds and plants
• Infectious clinical waste

Hearing aids

Hearing aids that use batteries or are rechargeable can be recycled at a recycling centre.

Choose to reuse

Hearing aids are often collected for charity. Collection points be found at:

• Doctors surgeries
• Hospital audiology departments
• Private hearing specialists
• Charity shops like Help the Aged and Age Concern
• Organisations like The Lions Clubs

Donated hearing aids sometimes can be repaired and refurbished.

Do not put items with batteries in any of your bins at home as this may cause fires.

Hedge clippings

Hedge clippings can be recycled at home in your food and garden bin.

Other garden waste that can be recycled at home includes:

• Flowers and plants
• Leaves
• Grass cuttings
• Twigs and small branches
• Weeds (no Japanese Knotweed or Himalayan Balsam)

You can also recycle garden waste at a recycling centre.

You can also compost your garden waste in a home compost bin. To find out more visit Let’s compost now.

Hedge trimmings

Broken or unwanted electric hedge trimmers can be recycled at a recycling centre.

You can now donate electric hedge trimmers (not petrol-powered) that are in good visual condition, with no items missing, to one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew Market selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

Petrol powered hedge trimmers can also be recycled in the scrap metal container. Please make sure the petrol tank is completely empty.

Household chemicals

Household chemicals can be taken to a recycling centre.

Hazardous household chemicals can cause damage to health or the environment. Please follow guidance provided on the packaging on how to dispose of it safely.

Inhalers

Please take empty or old inhalers back to your local pharmacy for disposal.

Please do not put these in your general waste or recycling bins.

Ink cartridges and toners

You can recycle printer cartridges at a recycling centre.

You can also return used cartridges to the shop you purchased it from or mail the cartridges back to the manufacturer.

Choose to reuse

Most ink or printer cartridges can be refilled with a store-bought refill kit.

Invasive weeds

Do not put invasive weeds in your food and garden bin and do not take it to a recycling centre. The in vessel composting process will not kill or prevent the spreading of invasive weeds such as Japanese Knotweed or Himalayan Balsam.

Invasive weeds are classed as hazardous waste and removal of these should be done under the guidance provided by the Environment Agency.

Irons

You can take irons to a recycling centre and put them in the small electrical appliances container.

Do not put electrical items in any of your bins at home.

If you are replacing an electrical item, some retailers will take your old electrical item back. Visit recycle your electricals for more information.

You can now donate irons that are in good visual condition, with no items missing to one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew Market selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

Japanese Knotweed

Do not put Japanese Knotweed in your food and garden bin and do not take it to your recycling centre. The in vessel composting process will not kill or prevent the spreading of invasive weeds such as Japanese Knotweed or Himalayan Balsam.

Japanese Knotweed is classed as hazardous waste and removal of this should be done under the guidance provided by the Environment Agency.

Jewellery

Jewellery and watches are accepted by many charity shops.

There are online organisations like Recycling For Good Causes that will take jewellery and watches in any condition. They are used for resale or are recycled to raise funds for national charities and local groups such as Scouts and Brownies.

Junk mail

Junk mail can be recycled in your paper and card bin.

Junk mail items includes

• Newspapers and magazines
• Telephone directories & catalogues
• Envelopes
• Takeaway menus and leaflets

Please remove all plastic wrapping and put it in your general waste bin.

Sign up to the Mail Preference Service to reduce your junk mail.

Kettles

Electrical items can be recycled at a recycling centre. Please put them in the small electrical appliances container

Do not put electrical items in any of your bins at home.

If you are replacing an electrical item, some retailers will collect your old electrical item when they deliver your new one.

Keys (metal)

Keys can be recycled at a recycling centre.

Kitchen foil and foil trays

What do I do with foil and foil trays?

A report by a midlands city council showed that of all the aluminium foil being thrown away by its residents, only 20 per cent of it was making its way into the recycling. The rest was going straight in the bin with other rubbish destined for landfill.

Foil is made of aluminium, used for foil and drinks cans, but also in electronics, including smartphones, kitchen appliances, and even aeroplanes. In fact, the report discovered that the foil thrown away by residents of that particular city each year was enough to build three commercial aeroplanes. Let’s not make the same mistake in Greater Manchester!

Clean, please!

Many kinds of foil can be recycled, such as kitchen foil, takeaway containers, pie trays, chocolate wrapping (including coins) and coloured foil.

Clean aluminium foil and foil trays can be recycled in your mixed recycling bin at home.

Do the scrunch test

This does not include foil wrapped crisp packets or pet food pouches. These items can look like aluminium foil but are actually made from metallised plastic film. 

Some food brands have partnered with TerraCycle to recycle crisp packets and food pouches. Check for a recycling drop off point near you. If there isn’t a recycling point near you, put these in your general waste bin.

To find out if an item is foil or metallised plastic film, do the scrunch test. Simply scrunch the item in your hand – if it stays ‘scrunched’ it is foil and can be recycled. If it springs back it is probably metallised plastic film.

Aluminium foil is endlessly recyclable and can be reformed into thousands of different items without the need for any new material. Making products from recycled aluminium uses only five per cent of the energy it takes to make new foil from raw materials. Let’s make the most of it.

Kitchen roll

Used kitchen roll go in your general waste bin.

The cardboard tube from kitchen and toilet rolls go in your paper and card bin.

Kitchen utensils

What do I do with kitchen utensils?

If your unwanted kitchen utensils, pots and pans are in good condition, save them and donate them to a charity shop, to a community centre or freecycle them. (However, please check a charity shop is willing to accept kitchen knives as they are subject to age-related restrictions.)

The safest way to dispose of kitchen knives is to take them to the scrap metal container at your local recycling centre. Put unwanted plastic cutlery in your general waste bin.

Give your old pots, pans and utensils a ‘Renew’ lease of life

You can donate unwanted kitchen utensils at 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester that help stock our three Renew shops and our online Renew Market selling pre-loved household items at affordable prices 

The aim of the shops and online portal is to reduce waste, reuse unwanted items and increase recycling rates. Many of the items donated by residents would have otherwise gone to waste. 

Here’s where you will find a Renew shop:

• Woodhouse Lane recycling centre, Altrincham, WA14 5TB
• Arkwright Street, Oldham, OL9 9LZ (the entrance is next to the recycling centre)
• Boysnope Wharf recycling centre, Liverpool Road, Eccles, M30 7RH

So far, residents have raised more than £1million for local good causes by donating their unwanted household items and buying second hand instead of new through the Renew project.

All the money raised by the shops will go to support local communities through two Greater Manchester initiatives. Each year money raised through sales made in the Renew shops will be donated as follows:

• £100,000 to the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity (link opens in new tab)
• £220,000 to the Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund (link opens in new tab)

What about non-metal cookware?

Donate these in the same way as metal utensils such as pots and pans. However, don’t put old Pyrex dishes with glass destined for recycling. 

Pyrex is a type of treated glass that will not melt at the same temperature as glass bottles and jars during the recycling process. If mixed with container glass, it would make the resulting material unusable. Unfortunately, there are few recycling options at this time for non-container glass.

Knitting needles

You can now donate knitting needles to one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

If they are broken, put them in your general waste bin.

Keg (beer)

Beer kegs can be taken to your local recycling centre.

Lamps

You can take broken lamps to a recycling centre and put them in the small electrical appliance container. Please remove all light bulbs.

Do not put electrical items in your general waste bin.

You can now donate lamps that are in good visual condition, with no items missing, at one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

Choose to reuse

If your electrical items are still working and in a reusable condition, your local reuse organisation may be able to refurbish or fix it.

Laptops

Laptops can be recycled at a recycling centre.

Do not put electrical or battery powered items in any of your bins at home.

Choose to reuse

Before you throw away your tech, it’s worth searching online for repair shops to see if it can be fixed.

If your electrical item is still working and in a reusable condition, your local reuse organisation may be able to refurbish or fix it – giving it a new lease of life and a new home.

If your laptop is in good condition, you can donate it. Try Donate a PC or Computers for Charities – just make sure to clear your hard drive before donating.

Please remove any personal data from your laptop before you recycle or donate it. For advice on how to remove your data from your computer, laptop or tablet, read this useful article from the National Cyber Security Centre.

Large electrical items

Any electrical items large or small can be recycled at a recycling centre.

You can now donate some large electric items that are in good visual condition, with no items missing, at one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price –find out more here today.

If you are replacing an electrical item, some retailers will collect your old electrical item when they deliver your new one.

Do not put electrical or battery powered items in any of your bins at home.

Lateral flow testing kits

To safely dispose of the test kit, place all of the items from the test including the plastic packaging into a bag and then place in your general waste bin. This applies whether the test result is positive or negative.

None of the plastic items or plastic packaging should be put into your recycling bin.

Lawnmowers

You can take electric lawnmowers to a recycling centre.

You can now donate some electric lawnmowers (not petrol-powered) that are in good visual condition, with no items missing, to one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew Market selling pre-love household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

Petrol lawnmowers can be recycled with the scrap metal at your local recycling centre. Please make sure the petrol tank is completely empty.

Leaves

Leaves can be recycled at home in your food and garden bin.

Other garden waste that can be recycled at home includes:

• Flowers and plants
• Grass cuttings
• Hedge clippings
• Twigs and small branches
• Weeds (no Japanese Knotweed or Himalayan Balsam)

You can also recycle garden waste at your local recycling centre.

You can also compost your garden waste in a home compost bin. To find out more visit Let’s Compost Now.

Leftovers from your plate

Leftovers from your plate go in your food and garden bin.

Using a kitchen food caddy? Only use compostable food bags with the seedling logo and code EN13432. Do not use paper, plastic or biodegradable bags.

Compostable food bags are available from some councils and most supermarkets.

Food waste can’t be recycled at any of our recycling centres. This is because they are not licensed to accept food waste.

For more hints and tips to reduce your food waste visit: Buy Keep Eat Repeat.

Lids (glass bottles and jars)

Please put lids in your general waste bin.

Please remove all lids from glass bottles and jars before putting them in your mixed recycling bin.

The lids from glass bottles and jars can’t be recycled with the rest of your recycling, as some are made of a combination of metal and plastic.

Lids and tops (plastic)

Loose bottle tops fall off the bottles during the separating process and end up in the glass containers which can ruin the glass recycling. If you can easily remove a bottle top we ask that all plastic tops are taken off the and placed in the general waste bin.  If the bottle top is attached, make sure it is securely fastened before recycling it.

Lids from clean tubs such as butter tubs, ice cream tubs etc can be kept on and recycled in your mixed recycling bin. 

Choose to reuse

Some schools, community centres collect lids for arts and crafts projects.

Light bulbs

What do I do with light bulbs?

Old style light bulbs, sometimes called ‘incandescent’, should be disposed of in normal household waste. They cannot be recycled as with regular glass, as the fine wires in glass processing are very difficult to separate out and the cost to recycle these items is prohibitive.

Energy efficient light bulbs save you money and help the environment by using less electricity. At the same time, you are also reducing the quantity of waste, because they don’t need to be replaced as often. And they can be recycled.

How to recycle energy-saving bulbs

Low energy light bulbs, sometimes called compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), can be recycled at your local household waste recycling centres and some stores, although check before heading out. They contain small amounts of mercury, but this is completely safe unlike fluorescent tubes (see below).

Shedding light on more bulbs

Halogen light bulbs should be disposed of in normal household waste. They cannot be recycled with regular glass as the fine wires in them are very difficult to separate out. 

Individual LEDs can be disposed of in household waste.

The most important thing is NOT to put fluorescent tubes into your general waste or recycling bin as the mercury content means they are designated as hazardous waste.

Domestic users should take their fluorescent tubes to their local household recycling centre. Many supermarkets offer recycling facilities but not necessarily for fluorescent tubes. Check before you head out.

Lithium-ion batteries

If you need to dispose of a damaged or end of life battery, Do NOT put these in any of your bins at home. These batteries can cause fires in bin lorries and recycling and waste centres.
To dispose of your batteries safely please visit your nearest recycling centre.

If you are replacing an electrical item, some retailers will collect your old electrical item when they deliver your new one, or you can return some electrical items to the retailer you originally purchased it from.

Choose to reuse

Non-working items in a reasonable condition can be donated at your local HWRC by putting it in them Renew donations container.

Magazines and catalogues

Magazines and catalogues can be recycled in your paper and card recycling bin (remove all plastic wrapping) this includes:

• Magazines and catalogues
• Newspapers
• Books
• Envelopes
• Junk mail such as takeaway menus

Choose to reuse

Share your magazines with your friends and family so they get used more than once before being recycled.

Mattresses

You can take your used mattresses to one of our 20 recycling centres, most of them have a mattress recycling container, please ask an operative for further advice if you are unsure.

If you don’t have a vehicle to transport your mattress, your local council may offer a collection service for bulky items my area

Choose to reuse 

You can donate your mattress to some charities if it’s in a reusable condition.

Mattresses are notoriously difficult to recycle, as they are created using a range of materials including metal coils, cotton and wool fibres, springs, foam and other textiles, with little thought on how to recycle and reuse the product in the future. TFR Group has created a unique system to simplify mattress recycling, breakdown mattress materials into 19 different component parts, including steel, cotton, polyester, and foam. They have established this mattress recycling facility at our Salford Road site in Bolton and created 25 new jobs.

Media (Books, CDs and DVDs)

You can now donate books, CDs and DVDs in good condition to one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops, selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

You can take reusable second hand books, CDs and DVDs to a local charity shop. You can also take reusable CDs, DVDs, console games, blu-rays in their original cases and books to a recycling centre – put them in the media bank.

Please put damaged books in your paper and card bin at home.

Any damaged or incomplete discs, CD/DVD copies, cassette tapes that no longer work can go in your general waste bin or the general waste container at the recycling centre.

Medicines and tablets

Medicines and tablets are classed as hazardous waste so can’t go in your bins at home. If you have any left over medicines you should check with your local pharmacy as they will normally take them back for disposal.

The empty plastic packaging goes in your general waste bin.

The empty glass or plastic bottles go in your mixed recycling bin.

The cardboard boxes go in your paper and card recycling bin.

Metal tins and boxes

Large metal tins like sweet and biscuit tins can’t be recycled in your mixed recycling bin at home. This is because they are too large to be properly sorted in the materials recovery facility.
Reuse them for storage or take them to a recycling centre and put them in the scrap metal container.

Metal tubes

Metal tubes go in your general waste bin.

This includes:

• Tomato and garlic puree tubes
• Sauce tubes
• Personal care and beauty tubes

Microwaves

Microwaves can be recycled at a recycling centre.

You can now donate microwaves that are in good visual condition, with no items missing, at one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew Market selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

Alternatively, you could give it to a charity shop or furniture reuse organisation that accepts electrical items. Many offer collection services.

Please do not put electrical items in any of your bins at home.

Milk bottles

You can recycle plastic and glass milk bottles in your mixed recycling bin.

Please remove all lids from plastic bottles before putting them in your mixed recycling bin. Plastic lids can’t be recycled with the rest of the recycling as they are made of a different type of plastic.

Mirrors

You can take broken mirrors to a recycling centre for disposal. Please do not put mirrors in any of your recycling bins.

You can now donate mirrors in good condition with no damage to one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

Mobile phones

What do I do with mobile phones?

There are 40 million unused gadgets in our homes, according to a survey by the Royal Society of Chemistry, with almost half of us hoarding up to five unused devices.

You can pass them on to friends and family, and mobile phones can be recycled at your local household recycling centre.

What else can you do?

The main outlets for disposing of old mobile phones are the shops that sell them, but there are other organisations and charities that accept them for refurbishment and recycling. 

Charities will accept mobile phones if they are working or not. They can raise valuable funds by passing them on to recycling companies that  process old mobiles..

Up to 80 per cent of a phone is recyclable, so don’t send it to landfill or leave it in the drawer – recycle it!

But it’s important to ensure that your personal data is removed from your old mobile before you pass it on, send it for reselling or send it for recycling.

Bridging the digital divide

Mobile phone donation comparison sites will show you which recyclers are offering the best prices for your old phone. Alternatively, there are sites that buy old mobile phones and then professionally data cleanse them before repairing any defects and then refurbishing them for a second lease of life.

An online search will reveal a multitude of sites, charities and organisations accepting old mobile phones for recycling.

Musical instruments

Musical instruments come in such a variety of shapes, sizes and materials that they can be hard to recycle. If they can’t be repaired, take them to a recycling centre for disposal.

You can now donate musical instruments that are in good working order at one of our 18 centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

You could also:

• Donate it to a charity shop, local community or youth music programme
• Pass it on for free on websites
• Sell it online to make some extra cash

Metal cutlery

You can recycle metal cutlery including knifes in the metal container at your local recycling centre.

Do not put metal cutlery in your mixed recycling bin at home

Some charity shops may accept cutlery in good condition that doesn’t pose a safety risk

Nappies and sanitary products

Disposable nappies and sanitary products can’t be recycled, please put them in your general waste bin where they are used to make electricity.

Please do not put nappies and sanitary products in your recycling bins.

There are a number of reusable options available for both sanitary products and cloth nappies.

Needles and syringes

Dispose of needle-sticks and syringes as per supplier’s instructions, usually by sealing in a container.

Please check with your local council for safe disposal schemes.

Please do not put them in any of your bins at home or take them to any of our recycling centres.

Newspapers

All newspapers can be recycled in your paper and card bin.

This includes:

• Magazines and catalogues
• Books
• Envelopes and mail
• Junk mail

Please remove any plastic wrapping first.

Nitrous oxide canisters (laughing gas)

You can take Nitrous oxide (laughing gas) canisters to a recycling centre.

Please do not put gas canisters in any of your bins at home as they may explode if they are crushed.

For more information about Nitrous Oxide please visit Talk to Frank.

Ovens

You can recycle your used oven at a recycling centre.

You can also arrange a bulky waste collection with your local council. Some councils charge for this service.

You can now donate electric ovens that are in good visual condition, with no items missing, to one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew Market selling pre-love household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

Often, shops will collect your unwanted electrical or gas appliances when they deliver your new one (please note that some retailers may charge to collect electrical items).

Paint and paint cans

What do I do with paint cans?

Although it’s safe to use paint in our homes, it’s important to remember it can be damaging to the environment if it isn’t disposed of correctly. Do NOT put paint cans and tins in your mixed recycling bin and paint must not be poured down the drain.

The first thing to consider if you’ve got plenty of paint left is to ask family, friends or neighbours if they want it. Alternatively, you could Freecycle or Freegle it.

Paint the town red, or any colour 

There are also a number of community paint schemes that accept donations of leftover paint. One of the biggest is the Community RePaint scheme sponsored by Dulux, which lists places nationwide where paint can be donated. It is then provided in part and full containers of affordable, leftover paint to individuals, groups and organisations.

You will find links to schemes in Bolton, Rochdale, Moss Side and Wythenshawe in Manchester on the Community RePaint site here. 

Brush up on responsible disposal

If your paint is very old and unsuitable for re-use, or you can’t find someone locally who can use it, you need to make sure the paint is hardened before you dispose of it. As we’ve already cautioned, paint cannot be placed in your household mixed recycling bin and must not be poured down the drain where it can cause damage and blockages.

If you have a small amount of paint left, brush it on to scrap paper or cardboard and leave it to dry. Once dry, the paper or card can be placed in your household bin. If there is a larger amount of paint in the can (more than a few centimetres deep), add some dry soil, sand or sawdust and leave it to harden.

Take your paint cans to your nearest household waste recycling centre where plastic paint cans are disposed of responsibly and metal paint cans are sent for recycling.

Any waste produced by tradespeople or builders you hire to carry out improvements, repair or alterations to your home is classed as business waste and can’t be disposed of at any of our recycling centres. Always ask a tradesperson to include waste disposal in their quote.

Paper and shredded paper

Most types of paper can be recycled in your paper and card bin. This includes:

• Paper and shredded paper
• Magazines and catalogues
• Newspapers
• Books
• Envelopes and mail
• Junk mail
• Greetings cards and wrapping paper
• Receipts

Paper with foil, glitter or plastic coating can’t be recycled and should go in your general waste bin.

Pet bedding

You can put pet bedding from domestic pets, such as rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters for example in your food and garden recycling bin at home. The following types are allowed:

• Hay
• Sawdust
• Straw
• Wood shavings
• Chipped wood

Pet food

You can recycle pet food at home in your food and garden bin.

Please note that food waste can’t be recycled at any of the 20 Recycling Centres across Greater Manchester. This is because the Recycling Centres are not licensed to accept segregated food waste.

You will most likely have a kitchen caddy to collect your food waste in. Make sure the caddy has a compostable liner inside. Do not use newspaper, plastic or biodegradable bags in your kitchen caddy, as they inhibit the composting process.

Only use compostable liners with the seedling logo and reference code EN13432 to make sure they are compostable. Compostable liners are either available from your local council or most supermarkets.

Other food waste that can be recycled at home includes:

• Raw or cooked meat and fish, including bones
• Raw or cooked fruit and vegetables
• Leftovers from your plate
• Rice, pasta and beans
• Bread, cakes and pastries
• Dairy including egg shells
• Teabags and coffee grounds

Pet waste

Pet waste such as cat litter and dog poo should be bagged and put in your general waste bin.

Do not put pet waste in your food and garden bin at home.

Petrol

How to safely recycle petrol

Got some leftover petrol you need to get rid of? It’s really important to know that petrol is toxic, highly polluting, and extremely flammable, so it can’t just be poured down the drain, put in a skip, or mixed with your regular waste.

Doing so can cause dangerous chemical reactions, make proper disposal impossible, and seriously harm the environment by contaminating soil and water. It can also release harmful fumes, posing health risks.

Before you recycle

First, consider if you can still use your petrol. If it’s been stored properly for up to six months, you might be able to use it up by adding it to your vehicle’s fuel tank. Smaller or slightly older amounts could also power less sensitive engines like those in lawnmowers, strimmers, or generators – but check the manufacturer’s guidelines for your equipment first.

Bringing petrol to our Household Waste Recycling Centre

If you can’t use it, the safest and most responsible way to dispose of waste petrol is to bring it to your local Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) Household Waste Recycling Centre.

We ensure it’s handled correctly and prevents harmful environmental damage.

When you bring petrol to the centre, please follow these important steps:

• Use the right container: Petrol must be transported in a robust, sealed container that’s approved for fuel, like a metal jerry can or a high-density polyethylene (HDPE) carrier.

• Inform staff on arrival: When you get to the centre, always tell a member of staff that you have petrol. They will direct you to the designated collection container specifically for hazardous liquids, making sure it’s disposed of safely and correctly.

• Leave the container behind: Please be aware that you won’t get your container back. It needs to be left with the petrol for safe and specialist disposal.

Photographs

What do I do with photographs?

Old photographs and negatives go in your general waste bin at home. They can’t be recycled in your paper and card bin because most photo paper has a thin coating of plastic to control water absorption and speed up drying. 

However, some modern-day photos are made without chemical processes, which makes it safe to put them in the recycle bin. But to be sure, if your photo paper doesn’t rip apart cleanly like a page of a magazine, it is polluted with photographic materials and NOT safe for recycling.

But before you dispose of your old photos in the bin (whichever bin that might be), consider what else you could do with them.

Do your photos have historical value?

Perhaps one of the best uses for old photographs is considering their historical value to others. Schools, historical societies, other organisations, or even your local library, might appreciate pictures that tell stories about the war or other local historical events, allowing memories to live on. Old photos of where you live could have value too.

Getting crafty with it

Photographs are quite often seen as the result of a creative process, so you could apply some creative thinking to your old photos and use them for art and craft. A quick online search will provide plenty of ideas of how old photos can be used in this way, ranging from decorative collages to postcards. 

One final thought before you dispose of, or cut up, your old photos. Are they worth digitising and saving for posterity in that way?

Plastic bags

Check your local supermarkets for a plastic bag recycling point. Some accept other sorts of plastic packaging too.

If you can’t reuse or recycle them, you can put in your general waste bin. You can also put them in the non-recyclable waste container at a recycling centre.

Find out what happens to your plastic here.

Plastic film

Plastic film goes in your general waste bin. This includes things like, cling film, film off ready meals and plastic wrapping. You can also put them in the non-recyclable waste container at a recycling centre.

Check your local supermarkets for a plastic bag recycling point. Some accept other sorts of plastic packaging too.

Plastic packaging

Some supermarkets also have plastic carrier bag recycling points which also accept things like, bread bags, bubble wrap and frozen food bags.

You can also put soft plastic packaging in your general waste bin or put them in the non-recyclable waste container at a recycling centre.

Please do not put soft plastic packaging in any of your recycling bins.

Find out what happens to your plastic here.

Plastic pots, tubs and trays

Plastic toothpaste tubes

Plastic toothpaste tubes go in your general waste bin. This includes other tubes such as creams and lotions.

Plastics

Plastic bottles and plastic pots tubs and trays go in your mixed recycling bin. This includes:

• Cleaning product bottles
• Trigger spray bottles
• Shampoo and shower gel bottles
• Drinks and milk bottles
• Plastic pots (e.g. yoghurt, soup, cosmetics etc)
• Plastic tubs (e.g. margarine, laundry powder, chocolates etc)
• Plastic trays including black plastic trays (e.g. raw and cooked meat, fruit and veg punnets etc)

Some local supermarkets have a plastic bag recycling point that also accepts other sorts of plastic packaging too.

All other plastics go in your general waste bin. such as crisp packets, plastic bags, soft plastics, pet food pouches, nappies, polystyrene and wet wipes.

Hard plastics such as broken garden furniture, broken toys and hard plastic storage containers can be taken to the recycling centre.

Pillows

Some charities or animal shelters take donated pillows. Visit Dogs Trust or Manchester and Cheshire Dogs Home. You could also contact your local RSPCA or PDSA.

You can also put them in the non-recyclable waste container at a recycling centre.

Pizza boxes

What do I do with pizza boxes?

Empty takeaway pizza boxes can be recycled in your paper and card bin at home as they’re made from cardboard. Just make sure there’s no leftover pizza still in the box and not too much grease!

If the cardboard is too greasy, it can cause problems in the recycling process. Recycling plants have to reject tonnes of cardboard every year, sending it to landfill or to be incinerated instead.

All is not lost!

Once you’ve emptied your pizza box of any leftovers (which should go in your food waste bin), take a good look at the amount of grease left and decide. 

But even if the bottom of the box is pretty greasy (even after you’ve wiped it out with kitchen towel or a napkin), there’s a good chance the lid is fine, so make the most of the opportunity to recycle that bit. Half a box is better than nothing!

One final thought. Even if the cardboard is too greasy for recycling, you could still rip it up and add the pieces to a compost heap – cardboard is 100% biodegradable.

Why is too much grease a problem?

The recycling process for paper and cardboard uses cold water, which is ineffective when it comes to tackling grease. You can read more about recycling card and paper in our blog.

What about supermarket pizza boxes?

Pizza boxes containing shop bought pizzas are a completely different proposition from their takeaway equivalents.

That’s because the pizza inside is generally wrapped in a plastic cover, which means the cardboard box is grease-free, so totally recyclable. If there is a plastic ‘window’ on the box, removing that before putting the box in the recycling will help the process farther down the line. Every little helps, as one supermarket likes to say.

Plasterboard

You can take plaster and plasterboard to a recycling centre.

If you have removed plasterboard from your own home you can take plasterboard to one of the recycling centres listed below.

No Trade Waste:

• Arkwright Street (Oldham)
• Bayley Street (Tameside)
• Cemetery Road (Bury)
• Chichester Street (Rochdale)
• Springvale (Rochdale)
• Hurstwood Court (Bolton)
• Salford Road (Bolton)
• Bredbury Parkway (Stockport)
• Adswood (Stockport)
• Boysnope Wharf (Salford)
• Lumns Lane (Salford)
• Longley Lane (Manchester)

If you are using your own van, pick-up truck, twin axle trailer or hire van, you will need a van permit

If you have hired someone to remove the plasterboard for you, it can’t be disposed of at any of our sites because this is classed as business waste. The tradesperson or builder should dispose of the plasterboard for you.

Polystyrene

Please put polystyrene in your general waste bin.

This includes:

• Polystyrene takeaway trays
• Polystyrene cups
• Polystyrene plates
• Polystyrene foam chips packaging
• Polystyrene moulded packing
• Styrofoam

You can also put polystyrene in the non-recyclable waste container at a recycling centre

Pots, pans and saucepans

Pots, pans and saucepans can be taken to a recycling centre. You can now donate pots and pans at 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-love household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

Alternatively, you could:

• Take them to a charity shop or local reuse organisations
• Give them away for free on websites
• Sell them online

Please do not put pots, pans and saucepans in any of your recycling bins.

Pottery

Do not put pottery or ceramics in your general waste or recycling bins at home.

If the ceramics are broken, or in poor condition they can be disposed of at your local Household Waste Recycling Centre.

If they are in good condition consider donating it to a local charity, or via our Renew Donation containers at any Recycling Centre.

Print cartridges

You can recycle printer cartridges at a recycling centre.

You can also return used cartridges to the shop you purchased it from or mail the cartridges back to the manufacturer.

Most ink or printer cartridges can be refilled with a store-bought refill kit.

Printers

Plastic roll-on and stick deodorants

Recycle your empty plastic roll-on and stick deodorants in your mixed recycling bin at home.

Please remove the plastic lids and put them in your general waste bin.

Plastic plant pots

Plastic plant pots should go into your general waste bin, or be taken to your local recycling centre. They cannot be recylced at home.

Quilts

Some charities or animal shelters take donated quilts. Visit Dogs Trust or Manchester and Cheshire Dogs Home. You could also contact your local RSPCA or PDSA.

You can also put them in the non-recyclable waste container at a recycling centre.

Radios

You can now donate radio’s in a reusable condition to 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-love household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

If your radio is broken, you can take it to a recycling centre and put in in the small electrical appliances container.

Do not put electrical or battery powered items in any of your bins at home.

Raw or cooked fruit and vegetables

Both raw and cooked fruit and vegetables can be recycled in your food and garden bin .

Food waste can’t be recycled at any of the recycling centres. This is because the recycling centres are not licensed to accept food waste.

if you use a kitchen food caddy, only use compostable liners with the seedling logo and reference code EN13432 to make sure they are compostable.

Compostable liners are available from some councils and most supermarkets.

Food waste that can be recycled at home includes:

• Raw or cooked meat and fish, including bones
• Leftovers from your plate
• Rice, pasta and beans
• Bread, cakes and pastries
• Dairy including egg shells
• Teabags and coffee grounds

Raw or cooked meat and fish, including bones

Raw or cooked meat and fish, including bones, can be recycled in your food and garden bin.

Food waste can’t be recycled at any recycling centres. This is because the recycling centres are not licensed to accept food waste.

If you use a kitchen food caddy, only use compostable liners with the seedling logo and reference code EN13432 to make sure they are compostable.

Compostable liners are available from some councils and most supermarkets.

Food waste that can be recycled at home includes:

• Raw or cooked fruit and vegetables
• Leftovers from your plate
• Rice, pasta and beans
• Bread, cakes and pastries
• Dairy including egg shells
• Teabags and coffee grounds

Rubble and Hardcore

You can take rubble and hardcore to a recycling centre. You are limited to the amount of rubble you can take in one visit. The limit is five (900mm x 600mm) rubble sacks per visit. If you are carrying out large DIY projects that produce a lot of rubble, we advise you hire a skip.

There is a restriction on the amount of rubble you can take to a recycling centre because rubble is one of the main types of waste that traders are disposing of illegally at the recycling centres.

Rubble and hardcore includes:

• Bricks
• Ceramics
• Clay
• Concrete
• Paving slabs
• Rubble
• Sand
• Stones
• Tiles
• Soil

Do not put rubble or soil in any of your bins at home.

If you are using using your own van, pick-up truck, twin axle trailer or hiring a van, you will need to apply for a van permit.

Any waste produced by tradespeople or builders you hired to carry out improvements, repair or alterations to your home is classed as business waste and can’t be disposed of at any of our recycling centres. Always ask a tradesperson to include waste disposal in their quote.

Rugs

You can take rugs to a recycling centre.

If you have a rug that is in good condition you can donate this item to one of 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-love household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

Safety razor blades

What do I do with safety razor blades?

Even the bluntest razor blade is a hazard, so all blades need to be disposed of safely.

The good news is that blades from a safety razor (they’re the ones with a single, thin, double edged metal blade) can be recycled in the scrap metal container at a recycling centre, or you can put them in your general waste bin.

But disposable razors are very different. Because they made up of plastic, metal and rubber, they CANNOT be recycled. Cartridge and disposable razors go in your general waste bin.

The simplest – and safest – way to recycle razor blades is to store them in a tin. If you can’t buy a purpose made one, use a normal tin can with a lid and recycle the whole lot.

Why razor blades are good for recycling

Razor blades are usually made of stainless steel, which is very recyclable. They can be melted down again with other metals to form alloy ingots to be made into something new.

You can recycle old blades at your local recycling centre if it takes scrap metal. Just throw them in the scrap metal container and that’s job done.

Another way to recycle your used razor blades is with TerraCycle, which has made it its mission to recycle all the difficult items that could end up in landfill.

TerraCycle has teamed up with some big brands to bring their recycling schemes across the country, recycling things such as crisps and nuts packets, pens, and other hard plastics that can’t go in general recycling. 

Sat navs

You can take sat navs to a recycling centre and put them in the small electrical appliances container.

Do not put electrical or battery powered items in any of your bins at home.

If your electrical item is still working and in a reusable condition, your local reuse organisation may be able to refurbish it.

Scrap metal

Recycling scrap metal

Have you got scrap metal hanging around at home that you need to get rid of? It could be an old radiator, curtain rail, bucket or cutlery. You cannot put these in your wheelie bin but we will gladly accept it at any of our R4GM recycling centres.

Recycling scrap metal is incredibly beneficial for many reasons, impacting the environment, economy, and creating jobs. When we recycle, we drastically cut down on destructive mining. This saves forests, protects animal homes, and stops soil from washing away.

Also, a huge energy saver, recycling of scrap metal means we can rely less on fossil fuels. Recycling aluminium uses a massive 95% less energy than making it new, and steel recycling saves up to 74%.

Business waste

Any waste produced by tradespeople or builders you hired to carry out improvements, repairs or alterations to your home is classed as business waste. This can’t be disposed of at any of our recycling centres, so you should always ask a tradesperson to include waste disposal in their quote.

Bringing scrap metal to our Household Waste Recycling Centre

Before you leave home, sort your scrap metal from your regular items so it easier when you get to our recycling centre. Common items accepted include old bikes, metal bed frames and other metal household items.

You should follow these steps for easy scrap metal recycling:

Transport it safely: Ensure your scrap metal is secure in your vehicle so it doesn’t move around or cause damage to your interiors during transit.

Find the designated area: Once you arrive at your chosen R4GM centre, look for the signage that indicates where scrap metal should be deposited. If you’re unsure, or have particularly large or heavy items, ask a friendly member of staff to help. They are there to help direct you to the correct bay or container.

Sewing machines and accessories

You can now donate sewing machines alongside the accessories to 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-love household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

If your sewing machine is still working and in a reusable condition, your local reuse organisation may be able to refurbish it.

Before throwing your sewing machine away it’s also worth searching online for repair shops to see if it can be fixed.

Do not put electrical or battery powered items in any of your bins at home.

Shampoo and shower gel bottles

Shampoo and shower gel bottles go in your mixed recycling bin. This includes bottles such as:

• Cleaning product bottles
• Trigger spray bottles
• Drinks and milk bottles

Remove all lids from plastic bottles before putting them in your mixed recycling bin.

Find out what happens to your plastic bottles here

Sharps

You need to dispose of sharps by following the supplier’s instructions.

You can get a sharps bins on prescription (FP10 prescription form) and it can be returned to your doctor to dispose of when it’s full.

Please do not put sharps in any of your bins at home.

Shoes

Shoes

You can donate shoes in pairs and good condition to a charity shop.

Dry and cleaned shoes in any condition can be donated in the textile bin at local recycling centres

Please bag them for disposal.

Shredded paper

Shredded paper goes in your paper and card bin.

Small electrical items

Any electrical items large or small can be recycled at a recycling centre.

Do not put electrical or battery powered items in any of your bins at home.

If you are replacing an electrical item, some retailers will collect your old electrical item when they deliver your new one.

Sofas / Settees

What do I do with sofas and three-piece suites?

The most common solutions for unwanted sofas, three-piece suites and other furniture is to donate them to charity, freecycle them or dispose of them responsibly by taking the furniture to your local recycling centre,

or you can check whether your local council provide a bulky collection service. 

Legislation changed in 2023 concerning the waste disposal of upholstered domestic furniture.

The change was instigated by the Environment Agency and decrees that domestic furniture can’t be disposed of via landfill – it must be incinerated, instead. This is because some of the chemicals used in the seating can have a harmful effect on the environment if not disposed of correctly.

What sort of furniture is included in the landfill ban?

• Sofas, sofa beds and sofa cushions
• Footstools
• Armchairs/chairs
• Floor cushions
• Bean bags
• Office chairs
• Futons

All furniture covered by leather, synthetic leather and foam is also included.

Give your sofas and three-piece suites a ‘Renew’ lease of life

You can donate unwanted upholstered furniture at 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester that help to stock our three Renew shops and our online Renew Market selling pre-loved household items at affordable prices.

The aim of the shops and online portal is to reduce waste, reuse unwanted items and increase recycling rates. Many of the items donated by residents would have otherwise gone to waste. 

Here’s where you will find a Renew shop:

• Woodhouse Lane recycling centre, Altrincham, WA14 5TB
• Arkwright Street, Oldham, OL9 9LZ (the entrance is next to the recycling centre)
• Boysnope Wharf recycling centre, Liverpool Road, Eccles, M30 7RH

So far, residents have raised more than £1million for local good causes by donating their unwanted household items and buying second hand instead of new through the Renew project.

All the money raised by the shops will go to support local communities through two Greater Manchester initiatives. Each year money raised through sales made in the Renew shops will be donated as follows:

• £100,000 to the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity (link opens in new tab)
• £220,000 to the Recycle for Greater Manchester Community Fund (link opens in new tab)

Charity shops

The changes in legislation shouldn’t affect donations to charity shops. Upholstered furniture can still be donated as long as it’s in good enough condition to be sold on. Charity shops, including our Renew shops and online portal, will only accept upholstered domestic furniture that meets fire retardant standards, so check before contacting them.

Soil

You can take garden soil to a recycling centre. Please transport it in robust sacks. You are limited to the amount you can take in one visit. The limit is five (900mm x 600mm) rubble sacks per visit.

Soil can’t go in your food and garden bin at home as it will affect the quality of the compost produced. This is because soil is a mineral and may also contain other potentially toxic elements like heavy metals.

Any garden waste produced by tradespeople or gardeners you hired to carry out improvements or maintenance to your garden is classed as business waste and can’t be disposed of at any of our recycling centres. Always ask a tradesperson to include waste disposal in their quote.

If you are using using your own van, pick-up truck, twin axle trailer or you are hiring a van, you will need a van permit.

Stamps

Many charities benefit from stamp donations. Contact your local charity to see if they would like to take them. Charities sell stamps to dealers, usually per kilo, and use the money to fund projects.

Stoma bags

Stoma bags go in your general waste bin or clinical waste bin.

You can also put them in the non-recyclable waste container at a recycling centre.

When emptying a stoma bag, pour the faeces and urine down the toilet. The best way to dispose of a stoma bag is to rinse it after emptying and wrap it in a plastic bag.

Some councils provide a home collection service for clinical waste – check with your local council.

Storage heaters

You can take storage heaters to a recycling centre.

Please note: before taking storage heaters to the recycling centre, you need to check whether it has an asbestos brick inside. This can be done by researching the product on the internet. If it contains asbestos, please advise a member of staff at the recycling centre so it can be segregated.

If the storage heater does not contain asbestos, it can be recycled in the small electrical container.

If the storage heater does contain an asbestos brick, it can be taken to a waste transfer facility.

Straws

Straws go in your general waste bin.

Buy a straw you can wash and reuse instead of single use straws.

Sun beds

You can take sun beds to a recycling centre.

Please note: your sun bed must be dismantled before arriving on site. The fluorescent tubes must be removed from the frame prior to arriving at site. Fluorescent tubes go in a separate container and the frame can be put in the large electricals container for recycling.

Spare / broken car parts

Please do not put spare / broken car parts in your bins at home. 

Spare / broken car parts can be recycled at your local Household Waste Recycling Centre.

You can find information about how to scrap a vehicle here: https://www.gov.uk/scrapped-and-written-off-vehicles

TV and monitors

You can now donate TVs and monitors that are in good visual condition, with no items missing to 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew Market selling pre-love household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

You can recycle TVs (including smart TVs) and monitors at a recycling centre. Do not put electrical items in your bins at home.

If your TV or monitor is still working and in a reusable condition, your local reuse organisation may be able to refurbish it. Some charities will collect unwanted electrical items for free.

Often shops will collect your unwanted electricals when they deliver your new one – especially larger items like TV’s, fridges and freezers (please note that some retailers may charge to collect electrical items).

Tablets

Any electrical items large or small can be recycled at a recycling centre.

Do not put electrical or battery powered items in any of your bins at home.

Before you throw away your tech, it’s worth searching online for repair shops to see if it can be fixed.

If your electrical item is still working and in a reusable condition, your local reuse organisation may be able to refurbish or fix it – giving it a new lease of life and a new home.

For advice on how to remove your data from your computer, laptop or tablet, read this useful article from the National Cyber Security Centre.

Teabags and coffee grounds

Teabags and coffee grounds, including loose tea leaves go in your food and garden bin. Coffee filters go in your general waste bin.

Please note that food waste can’t be recycled at any of the recycling centres across Greater Manchester. This is because the recycling centres are not licensed to accept food waste.

If you use a kitchen food caddy, only use compostable liners with the seedling logo with reference code EN13432 to make sure they are compostable.

Compostable liners are available from some councils and most supermarkets.

Food waste that can be recycled at home includes:

• Raw or cooked meat and fish, including bones
• Raw or cooked fruit and vegetables
• Leftovers from your plate
• Rice, pasta and beans
• Bread, cakes and pastries
• Dairy including egg shells

Tetra Pak

Empty food and drink cartons (Tetra Pak) go in your paper and card bin at home.

Textiles

You can donate textiles in a good condition to a charity shop.

You can take bagged clothes and textiles in any condition, including items not suitable for reuse i.e. ripped or stained to your local recycling centre and put them in the textile bin.

Please bag them for disposal.

Thermometers

Thermometers and other products that contain mercury can be recycled at your local recycling centre. Please inform a member of staff so they can put the item in a safe and secure area.

Tights

You can put torn or worn tights in your general waste bin. Alternatively you can take them to the textile bank at your local recycling centre.

Tiles (floor and wall)

You can take tiles from DIY projects from home to a recycling centre as long as you carried out the work yourself. Tiles go in the hardcore and rubble container.

You are limited to the amount of rubble you can take in one visit. The limit is five (900mm x 600mm) rubble sacks per visit.

Any waste produced by tradespeople or builders you hired to carry out improvements, repair or alterations to your home is classed as business waste and can’t be disposed of at any of our recycling centres. Always ask a tradesperson to include waste disposal in their quote.

Please do not put tiles in any of your bins at home.

Timber and wood

You can take timber and wood to a recycling centre.

Any waste produced by tradespeople or builders you hired to carry out improvements, repairs or alterations to your home is classed as business waste and can’t be disposed of at any of our recycling centres. Always ask a tradesperson to include waste disposal in their quote.

Tissues

Tissues go in your general waste bin.

Please do not put any tissues in your paper and card bin.

Tools

You can now donate unwanted tools at one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

Some charities will take old tools for refurbishment. Tools for Self Reliance refurbish hand tools (except gardening tools) and send them to developing countries. You can deliver tools or they can be collected if necessary.

Broken tools can be taken to your local recycling centre.

Towels

Some pet charities or animal shelters welcome donations of towels, contact them first to check. Visit Dogs Trust and Manchester and Cheshire Dogs Home or contact your local RSPCA or PDSA.

Towels can be put in the non recyclable waste at the recycling centre.

Toys and games

You can now donate your unwanted toys that are in good safe condition to one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our Renew shops, selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

You can also donate toys and games to charity shops.

You can trade or sell computer and console games at some stores.

Plastic toys can’t be recycled in your mixed recycling bin. Broken toys can be taken to your local recycling centre.

Trigger spray bottles

Trigger spray bottles go in your mixed recycling bin. You can also recycle other plastic bottles such as, cleaning product bottles, shampoo, shower gel bottles, drink and milk bottles.

Remove all lids from plastic bottles before putting them in your mixed recycling bin.

You can learn more about what happens to your plastic bottles here.

Turf (natural)

You can take natural turf to a recycling centre. Please transport it in robust sacks. You are limited to the amount you can take in one visit. The limit is five (900mm x 600mm) rubble sacks per visit.

Turf/soil can’t go in your food and garden bin at home as it will affect the quality of the compost produced. This is because soil is a mineral and may also contain other potentially toxic elements like heavy metals.

Any garden waste produced by tradespeople or gardeners you hired to carry out improvements or maintenance to your garden is classed as business waste and can’t be disposed of at any of our recycling centres. Always ask a tradesperson to include waste disposal in their quote.

Twigs and small branches

Twigs and small branches can be recycled at home in your food and garden bin as long as they aren’t thicker than your wrist.

Other garden waste that can be recycled at home includes:

• Flowers and plants
• Leaves
• Grass cuttings
• Hedge clippings
• Weeds (no Japanese Knotweed or Himalayan Balsam)

You can also compost your garden waste in a home compost bin. To find out more visit Let’s compost now.

Tyres

Tyres can be recycled at a recycling centre.

Tyres are shredded and granulated at our partner site in Bury. They are turned into a crumb which is used in equestrian matting, playgrounds and sometimes for drainage. During the shredding process, some wire is removed and recycled.

If you have tyres replaced by a garage, they are responsible for disposing of the tyres correctly.

USB Stick / external hard-drive

Any electrical items large or small can be recycled at a recycling centre.

Do not put electrical or battery powered items in any of your bins at home.

Before you throw away your tech, it’s worth searching online for repair shops to see if it can be fixed.

If your electrical item is still working and in a reusable condition, your local reuse organisation may be able to refurbish or fix it – giving it a new lease of life and a new home.

Make sure to clear your hard drive or flash drive before donating. For advice on how to remove your data from your computer, laptop or tablet, read this useful article from the National Cyber Security Centre.

Underwear

You can take unwanted underwear, including knickers, pants, bras and socks to the textile recycling container at your local recycling centre.

Bravissimo

With the Bravissimo Bra Recycling Scheme, you can easily donate your old bras at their shop in Manchester. By recycling used bras with Bravissimo, you help support Coppafeel’s amazing work!

Vinyl records

You can now donate any vinyl records that are in good condition at 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our new Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – find out more here today.

You can’t recycle vinyl records in your mixed recycle bin.

Broken or damaged vinyl records can be put in your general waste bin or taken to a recycling centre.

Vapes / E-cigarettes

Safe disposal of vaping devices

Although vaping may appear to be a cleaner option than smoking, it’s crucial to properly dispose of used vape pens, pods, and disposable e-cigarettes.

Vapes have batteries and electronic parts that can harm the environment, so throwing them in your regular recycling bin is dangerous.

Fortunately, you can take your used vaping devices to any Recycle for Greater Manchester (R4GM) Household Waste Recycling Centre.

Before recycling

If your device still works and is in good condition, but you’re just not using it now, consider donating it or giving it to someone (safely and legally) who might use it.

Otherwise, it’s best to bring it to R4GM for safe recycling, as we can accept:

• Disposable vapes

• Rechargeable vapes

• Vape pods and cartridges

Don’t throw a vape out with household waste

Whatever you do, never throw your vape or e-cigarette in your general waste bin or any of your household recycling bins.

Vapes contain lithium batteries, which can easily spark fires in bin lorries or at waste facilities if crushed or damaged.

Even the ones labelled “disposable” aren’t in the regular sense. They still need to be handled carefully.

Bringing vapes to our Household Waste Recycling Centre

We will ensure all vapes are properly handled to prevent environmental damage.

When you bring a vape along to one of our centres, you should follow these steps:

• Turn the device/s off: Make sure the device is powered down completely.

• Removal of batteries: If your vape has a removable battery, take it out and put it in the battery bin at the recycling centre.

Don’t try to take it apart: Some devices are sealed units. If yours is like this, with the battery contained, just bring the whole thing in.

Vegetable oil

You can take used vegetable oil to a recycling centre.

Put the cooled cooking oil in an empty disposable sealed container and take it to a recycling centre. When you arrive, please ask a member of staff to direct you to the designated container.
Alternatively you can put your cooled cooking oil into a plastic bottle. Make sure the lid is on tight and put it in your general waste bin.

Do not pour cooking oil down the sink.

Video cassettes

What do I do with video cassettes?

You can put VHS tapes in your general waste bin or take them to a recycling centre for disposal.

The outer cases of VHS, Betamax and audio cassette tapes are made of plastic, and theoretically at least, that means they’re recyclable if you’re prepared to take the time and trouble to remove the tape.

The inner tape is not recyclable because it’s coated in toxic metals that could leach in landfill, potentially contaminating the surrounding soil and any nearby water course.

Unwanted donations could prove costly

Most charity shops don’t accept video cassettes because they are only likely to end up in the rubbish. And as charity shops have to pay business rates for refuse disposal you will actually be costing them money by donating them.

Instead, you could offer them on your local Freecycle, Gumtree or local Facebook selling page and see if anyone wants them.

Is there any demand at all for old video cassettes?

Well, now you ask, the answer is: might be! If you have a video of something that has never been released on DVD you might still be able to sell it. 

This is more likely if you have videos on a niche interest, but you may even have a film that’s not widely available. Check online to see if it’s available on DVD and it might confirm if your video will likely to be in demand.

And just as vinyl records have made a comeback, there are some video (and music) cassette devotees holding on to theirs in the hope that one day their time will come!

Vehicles

Vehicles such as cars and vans cannot be scrapped at your local recycling centre.

You can find information about how to scrap your vehicle here: https://www.gov.uk/scrapped-and-written-off-vehicles

Watches

Some charities and online organisations like Recycling for Good Causes will accept jewellery and watches (including broken) via post. They are resold or recycled to raise funds for national charities and local groups such as Scouts and Brownies.

Water filters

Some brands offer a recycling scheme.

If they don’t have a recycling scheme, please put water filters in your general waste bin.

Weeds (no Japanese Knotweed or Himalayan Balsam)

Weeds such as dandelions, nettles, sheep’s sorrel and other non-invasive weeds can go in your food and garden bin at home. You can also take them to a recycling centre with your garden waste.

You can’t put invasive weeds in your food and garden bin or take them to your local recycling centre. The in vessel composting process will not kill or prevent the spreading of invasive weeds such as Japanese Knotweed or Himalayan Balsam.

Invasive weeds are classed as ‘hazardous waste’ and removal of these should be done under the guidance provided by the Environment Agency.

Wet wipes

Please put wipes in your general waste bin.

Wet wipes such as:

• Baby wipes
• Cosmetic wipes
• Bathroom cleaning wipes
• Toilet wipes

Please do not put them in any recycling bin or flush them down the toilet.

White goods

You can now donate white goods that are in good visual condition, with no items missing, to one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our Renew Market selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – click here to find out more today.

White good such as fridges, freezers and washing machines can be taken to a recycling centre, or check to see if your council offers a bulky waste collection for electrical items.

Often shops will collect your unwanted electricals when they deliver your new one – especially larger items like TVs, fridges and freezers (some retailers may charge to collect electrical items).

Wine bottles

Glass wine bottles can be recycled in your mixed recycling bin at home.

Rinse out the bottles and remove lids/corks which go in your general waste bin.

Wool

Donate wool to charity shops, schools or community groups.

Wallpaper

Wallpaper can’t be recycled in your paper and card bin. Please put any new or used wallpaper in your general waste bin.

You can donate leftover rolls of wallpaper to some charity shops.

Any waste produced by tradespeople or builders you hired to carry out improvements, repair or alterations to your home is classed as business waste and can’t be disposed of at any of our recycling centres. Always ask a tradesperson to include waste disposal in their quote.

Washing machines and dryers

You can now donate washing machines and dryers that are in good visual condition, with no items missing to 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our Renew Market selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – to find out more click here.

Often shops will collect your unwanted electricals when they deliver your new one – especially larger items like TVs, fridges and freezers (some retailers may charge to collect electrical items).

Washing machines and dryers can be taken to a recycling centre. Some councils also offer a bulky waste collection for electrical items.

Windows

• Put the glass in the rubble container
• Put wood in the wood container
• Put plastic in the general waste container

Any windows removed by tradespeople you hired to carry out improvements or maintenance to your home is classed as business waste and can’t be disposed of at any of our recycling centres. Always ask a tradesperson to include waste disposal in their quote.

X-mas trees

You can take your real Christmas trees to a recycling centre. Remove all decorations and remove the wooden block from the base of the tree as this is too big to be composted. It can be placed in the wood container.

Some councils will collect your Christmas trees and some also have designated Christmas tree recycling points.

If you have an artificial tree, and it is in good working condition you can donate it at one of our 18 recycling centres across Greater Manchester to help stock our Renew shops selling pre-loved household items at an affordable price – click here to find out more today.
You can also take it to your local recycling centre and put it in the non-recyclable container.

Yoghurt pots

Zips