Share this page
On this site
Recycling tips and useful links
There are many things that you can recycle, take a look at the guide on this page and see what more you might be able do to reuse, reduce or recycle your waste.
Find out how to reduce, reuse and recycle your waste, where your nearest recycling point is and how to start up a compost bin at home.
Reduce - making aerosols uses a lot of energy and the gases they produce are harmful to the environment. Where possible, buy pump sprays instead.
Recycle - put your used aerosols in the recycling banks around Nottingham. To find your nearest recycling bank, please go to Recycle More and put in your postcode.
Reduce - buy a wind up watch or a solar powered calculator.
Reuse - use rechargeable batteries.
Recycle - batteries can be taken to Household Waste and Recycling Centres . Go to www.countybatteryservices.co.uk for more information. Any residents with a grey-lidded bin can also recycle these from the kerbside. Phone 0115 915 2000 for a bag and an information leaflet.
CDs and DVDs
Reuse - you can hang them in the garden to scare birds away, cut up and stick to a ball to make a disco ball, donate to charity shops or use as a coaster.
Recycle - You can take them to Household Waste and Recycling Centres .
Recycle - Residents on the brown bin scheme can put cardboard in the grey-lidded bin. For more information on what goes in each bin, please go to the Bin collections page. Some local recycling sites can take cardboard go to http://www.recycle-more.co.uk/ for more details.
Reduce - avoid using carrier bags by taking your own when you go shopping or buying a bag for life and reusing it.
Reuse - carrier bags can be scrunched up instead of bubble wrap or used for lunches, freezing food, carrying shopping and as bin liners.
Recycle - some supermarkets have collection points for plastic bags.
Reduce - try to reduce you waste at Christmas by buying a UK-grown potted tree or an artificial tree.
Reuse - cards can be used as present tags for next Christmas.
Recycle - trees can go in the brown bin as garden waste or they can be taken to a Household Waste and Recycling Centres . Cards can go into the grey-lidded bin for residents on the brown bin scheme. If not you can find your nearest recycling site that takes cardboard here www.recycle-more.co.uk. Wrapping paper can be put in the brown bin with grey lid but foil lined paper must go in the green bin. If it rips - it's paper!
Recycle - even old equipment can be recycled. Please take all computer equipment to a Redfield Road Household Waste and Recycling Centre
Reduce - use wind up or solar powered appliances.
Reuse - repair and fix broken items. Donate any working items to Family First. Please call 0800 013 0497.
Recycle - The WEEE (Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment)Directive regulations state that the safe disposal of many electronic items is the responsibility of the producers. Many shops offer to take your old appliances - ask when buying. If your retailer won't take your appliance, take them to Redfield Road Recycling Site. Please look at the Household Waste and Recycling Centres page for more details.
Reuse - stick on reusable labels.
Recycle - envelopes can be recycled at home. Residents on the brown bin recycling scheme can put them on in the grey-lidded bin. For more information on what goes in each bin, please go to the Bin collections page.
Fluorescent light tubes
Recycle - fluorescent light tubes can be taken to our Household Waste and Recycling Centres. See the manufacturer's instructions for advice on safe disposal.
Food and drink cans
Recycle - residents on the brown bin scheme can put their metal cans in the grey-lidded bin. For more information on what goes in each bin, please go to the Bin collections page. Other residents can take them to their local recycling site. Find out more at www.recycle-more.co.uk
Reduce - try to minimise your food waste by using leftovers in other meals. Most fruit and vegetables can be kept for weeks in the right conditions.
Reuse - try to minimise your food waste by using leftovers in other meals.
Recycle - food waste can be composted at home, for more information go to Home Composting Scheme.
Recycle - Age Concern collect notes and coins of any currency and old European currency that is no longer valid. Foreign currency can be taken to any Age Concern or Help the Aged shop or to any branch of International Currency Exchange (ICE). To find your nearest Age Concern shop please go to Age Concern. Free collections can also be arranged for amounts of 8kg or more. Should you wish to collect foreign currency on behalf of Age Concern, please contact them for a collection tin.
Reuse - sell or donate old unwanted furniture. Contact Family First for information on 0800 013 0497. Go to www.re-formfurniture.co.uk for information about fixing broken furniture.
Reuse - you can reuse glass jars buy washing them out.
Recycle - you can take glass to your local recycling site. To find your nearest site go to www.recycle-more.co.uk. All resident with a grey lid recycling bin can now put glass bottles and jars into the bin as well.
Green waste or garden waste
Recycle - you can compost your garden waste at home. For more information go to the Home Composting Scheme page. You can also take garden waste toHousehold Waste and Recycling Centres . Residents on the brown bin scheme can put garden waste in the brown lid bin for collection. For more information on what goes in each bin, please go to the Bin collections page.
Donate to charity - Age Concern and Help the Aged receive between ten pence and £2 for every ink cartridge they receive from the public. If you have any old ink cartridges you would like to donate to Age Concern or Help the Aged then please contact them directly. Please check that your cartridge is one that the charities accept by looking at List of accepted toners and cartridges for Age Concern and Help the Aged [50kb].
Recycle - There are many companies and charities that collect printer cartridges. One is Scope, and they can be contacted on 0207 619 7239 or by using this link www.scope.org.uk/recycling. You can also dispose of them with Office Green by clicking www.officegreen.co.uk.
Electrical retailers also provide free stamped addressed envelopes for you to send used cartridges to them.
Reduce - you can stop junk mail by going to www.mps-online.org.uk. Avoid signing up for unneeded catalogues and mailing lists. Any junk mail can be recycled in the grey-lidded bin. For more information on what goes in each bin, please go to the Bin collections page.
If the company sending you junk mail provides a stamped addressed envelope, then you could write to them to ask they remove your details from their database.
Reduce - If a light bulb needs replacing, use an energy efficient bulb instead. Traditional bulbs waste a lot of their energy by turning it into heat. Each energy saving bulb can reduce your electricity bill by around £7 a year. They also last, on average, up to 12 times longer than ordinary light bulbs.
Recycle - All type of light bulbs including Halogen, fluorescent light bulbs and energy saving light bulbs can be taken to your local Redfield Road Household Waste and Recycling Centre for recycling. Or you can find an alternative recycling point by searching the Recolight website http://www.recolight.co.uk/
Reuse - donate them to charity or take them back to the retailer.
Recycle - Age Concern and Help the Aged receive between £3 and £5 for each mobile phone they recycle. They can be taken in to any Age Concern or Help the Aged shop. To find your nearest one, please go to Age Concern. Alternatively, you can send them by freepost to FREEPOST, SHP Solutions, Lancaster. Don't forget to write Age Concern and Help the Aged on a note and pop it into the envelope.
Tesco also run a recycling scheme and for every recycled phone, £2.50 is donated to Alzheimer's Dementia Care and Research. Ask at your nearest Tesco store for further details. You can also now take your mobile phones to our Household Waste and Recycling Centres .
Eight million nappies are thrown away every day in the UK and each child uses a total of 5,850 nappies in his or her lifetime weighing nearly a tonne!
Reusable nappies - nappies have come a long way since the old terry towelling one. Go to www.goreal.org.uk for advice and support on real nappies. Please contact the Recycling Team if you would like more information or advice on using real nappies. If you are thinking of using reusable nappies please contact us to find out about our cash back scheme. Either email firstname.lastname@example.org or phone 0115 915 2000.
Reduce - put a note on your door saying that you don't want a free newspaper.
Reuse - newspaper can be used for all kinds of things such as lining pets cages, protecting floors from paint and arts and crafts. They also make great barrier mulch to suppress weeds.
Recycle - nearly all residents in the city will have a collection that can take newspapers for recycling. If you are on the brown bin scheme you can put newspaper in the grey-lidded bin. If you don't have a grey lidded bin you may be part of our fortnightly blue bag paper recycling scheme. For more information on what goes in each bin, please go to the Recycle it right! page.
Recycle - Householders can take their car oil to their local Redfield Road Household Waste and Recycling Centre.
Reduce - try to avoid buying over-packaged goods.
Reuse - bags, glass jars and plastic tubes can all be used as storage containers.
Recycle - paper, cardboard and plastic trays can go in the grey-lidded bin. See individual products for the recycle logo. For more information on what goes in each bin, please go to the Bin collections page.
Reduce - refill containers or buy products in glass containers.
Recycle - residents on the brown bin scheme can put plastic bottles in their grey-lidded bin. For more information on what goes in each bin, please go to the Bin collections page. For more information about plastic recycling go to www.recoup.org or www.bpf.co.uk
Recycle - rubble can be taken to your local Redfield Road Household Waste and Recycling Centre.
Reuse - take them to Boots or other spectacle retailers for use in the third world. For more information on Vision Aid Overseas go to www.vao.org.uk.
Reduce - This material is not accepted in the grey lidded bin so try and buy the product in a plastic tub, plastic bottle or glass bottle as these can go in the recycling bin
Recycle - There are a number of Carton recycling points across the City: Asda - Hyson Green, Sainsburys - Castle Marina, Clifton Leisure centre, Woodthorpe Grange - Sherwood, Bargain Bazzaar - Sneinton, Co-op Trowell Road Wollaton, Tesco - Top Valley
Reduce - buying clothes from charity shops and jumble sales can reduce the new clothes you buy.
Reuse - take unwanted textiles (clothes, bedding, curtains and towels) to a charity shop so they can be used by other people.
Recycle - textiles can be taken to many recycling points around Nottingham. To find your nearest recycling point, please go to the Your local recycling sites page
Recycle - If your umbrella is broken, you can take the the metal skeleton to a Redfield Road Household Waste and Recycling Centre. - remember to remove the fabric and the handle first.
Recycle - unwanted videos can be taken Redfield road household waste recycling centre. The paper from the sleeve can go in the grey lidded bin.
For more information on what you can put in the grey lidded bin, please go to the Recycle it right! page.
Reuse - many retailers now stock products made out of recycled wood, check the product label before buying.
Recycle - you can take wood and timber to a Redfield Road Household Waste and Recycling Centre.
Reduce - When was the last time you used your Yellow Pages? You can cancel your delivery of the Yellow Pages by calling 0800 671 444.
Recycle - You can put your old yellow pages in the grey lidded bin.