Use our A-Z to find out where you can recycle individual items.
| Material | Where to recycle |
|---|---|
| Animal waste (dog and cat poo) | Rubbish bin or bag |
| Biodegradable bedding from small animals (hamsters, guinea pigs and rabbits) | Garden waste bin or recycling centre |
Place these in a small clear bag (tied) at the top of your green recycling box. Place car batteries next to your green recycling box. You can also take batteries to a recycling centre.
If you are disposing a of lithium-ion battery from a phone, laptop, vape, or power tool please ensure that you tape over the terminals. If the battery has a built-in button and display to indicate charge, then tape over the terminals and recycle with your small electricals.
| Material | Where to recycle |
|---|---|
| Books in good re-usable condition | You can donate books to charity shops, community book exchanges or sell them online |
| Books in poor condition (cannot be re-used) | Remove the hard cover and spine, then place pages in paper banks at our recycling centres. The hard cover and spine go in your rubbish bin or bag, or rubbish waste at a recycling centre |
| Material | Where to recycle |
|---|---|
| Asbestos (cement bonded asbestos only - maximum of 3 unbroken sheets, drainpipe/guttering (max size 6ft x 3ft) double wrapped and sealed. You must tell us in advance if you are bringing this material to our recycling centres. You can do this on the appointment booking form to visit our Midsomer Norton and Bath recycling centres. For Keynsham, you can book online or you must call us 24 hours in advance to book your visit on 01225 39 40 41 | Recycling centre |
| Plasterboard (plaster and gypsum materials only - remove all stud work and tiles - limit of two 50 litre bags per visit, maximum of four visits in a 4 week period) | Recycling centre |
| Wood and timber | Recycling centre |
| Rubble and soil (bricks, concrete, ceramics, loose soil, but no turf or plastic. Taps, handles, toilet seats, and other non-ceramic items should be removed from sinks and toilets. Limit of two 50 litre bags, or one bulky item per visit, maximum of four visits in a 4 week period) | Recycling centre |
Information about business waste including how to order a collection can be found on our business waste page.
| Material | Where to recycle |
|---|---|
| Whole tyres (maximum of four at a time) | Recycling centre |
| Engine oil (in sealed engine oil containers) | Recycling centre and green recycling box |
| Oil filters (drain and wrap in plastic bags to avoid leaks) | Green recycling box |
| Material | Where to recycle |
|---|---|
| Cardboard (Cut large pieces of cardboard to 45cm square to fit in blue recycling bag) | Blue recycling bag or recycling centre |
| Greetings cards | Blue recycling bag or recycling centre |
| Cardboard cartons (food and drinks containers) | Blue recycling bag or recycling centre |
Gas bottles and house and garden chemicals go to your nearest recycling centre. Please speak to a member of staff when you arrive at the recycling centre.
| Material | Where to recycle |
|---|---|
| Clothing including underwear (clean, dry and good reusable condition and placed in a carrier bag) | Recycling centre and green recycling box (or donate to charity) |
| Shoes in pairs (clean, dry and good reusable condition and placed in a carrier bag) | Recycling centre and green recycling box (or donate to charity) |
| Hats, scarves and gloves (clean, dry and good reusable condition and placed in a carrier bag) | Recycling centre and green recycling box (or donate to charity) |
| Handbags and belts (clean, dry and good reusable condition and placed in a carrier bag) | Recycling centre and green recycling box (or donate to charity) |
| Bed linen including pillow cases, duvet covers and sheets (clean, dry and good reusable condition and placed in a carrier bag) | Recycling centre and green recycling box (or donate to charity) |
| Blankets (clean, dry and good reusable condition and placed in a carrier bag) | Recycling centre and green recycling box (or donate to charity) |
| Towels (clean, dry and good reusable condition and placed in a carrier bag) | Recycling centre and green recycling box |
| Quilts, duvets, pillows, cushions, rugs, curtains | We can't recycle them, but you may find other options on the Recycle Now website. |
| Wet, soiled, stained, smelly or damaged items | Rubbish bin or you might find other options on the Recycle Now website. |
| Decorating clothes | Rubbish bin or you might find other options on the Recycle Now website. |
| Uniform or workwear | We can't recycle them, but you may find other options on the Recycle Now website. |
| Fabrics and rags | We can't recycle them, but you may find other options on the Recycle Now website. |
| Material | Where to recycle |
|---|---|
| Small electrical items which fit into a tied carrier bag (hairdryers or mobile phones (including batteries and chargers) | Recycling centre and green recycling box |
| Large electrical items which don't fit into a carrier bag (fridges, microwaves and televisions) | Order a large waste item collection or take to your nearest recycling centre (or donate to charity) |
| Material | Where to recycle |
|---|---|
| Meat and fish | Kitchen caddy or food bin or recycling centre |
| Fruit and vegetables | Kitchen caddy or food bin or recycling centre |
| Dairy | Kitchen caddy or food bin or recycling centre |
| Egg shells | Kitchen caddy or food bin or recycling centre |
| Bread, cakes and pastries | Kitchen caddy or food bin or recycling centre |
| Rice, pasta and beans | Kitchen caddy or food bin or recycling centre |
| Uneaten or leftover food | Kitchen caddy or food bin or recycling centre |
| Teabags and coffee grounds | Kitchen caddy or food bin or recycling centre |
| Cooking oil | You can take up to one full bottle of used cooking oil to your nearest recycling centre. If you can't get to a recycling centre, you can soak small amounts of old cooking oil in newspaper or kitchen roll (used to wrap your food waste) and add to your food caddy or food bin. |
| Material | Where to recycle |
|---|---|
| Flowers and plants | Garden waste bin or recycling centre |
| Grass cuttings | Garden waste bin or recycling centre |
| Branches | Garden waste bin or recycling centre |
| Leaves | Garden waste bin or recycling centre |
| Bark | Garden waste bin or recycling centre |
| Hedge trimmings | Garden waste bin or recycling centre |
| Biodegradable bedding from small animals (hamsters, guinea pigs and rabbits) | Garden waste bin or recycling centre |
Please do not dispose of gas canisters in your household waste or recycling, as they are a major risk for vehicle and facility fires. Take them to your nearest recycling centre and speak to a member of staff.
| Material | Where to recycle |
|---|---|
| Rinsed glass bottles and jars (you can leave labels and lids on, but no Pyrex, tumblers or window panes) | Recycling centre and green recycling box |
| Broken glass (must be wrapped securely to prevent injury) | Rubbish bin or bag, or rubbish waste at recycling centre |
| Window glass | Recycling centre |
| Drinks glass (must be wrapped securely to prevent injury) | Rubbish bin or bag, or rubbish waste at recycling centre |
| Fluorescent tubes and low energy light bulbs (kept separate and unbroken) | Tubes up to 8ft long are accepted at Keynsham and Midsomer Norton recycling centres. Only up to 6ft long tubes are accepted at Bath recycling centre |
| Incandescent bulbs | Rubbish bin only |
Information about hazardous waste can be found on GOV.UK's website.
| Material | Where to recycle |
|---|---|
| Bric-a-brac (ornaments, lampshades, crockery, cutlery, pictures, toys and games in good condition for re-use) | Recycling centre (or donate to charity) |
| CDs and DVDs (in good condition for resale) | Keynsham recycling centre only (or donate to charity) |
| Fence panel | Order a large waste item collection or take to your nearest recycling centre |
| Fridge freezers | Order a large waste item collection or take to your nearest recycling centre |
| Internal doors | Order a large waste item collection or take to your nearest recycling centre |
| Printer ink cartridges (leave in original packaging where possible, or use the packaging from the new cartridge) | Recycling centre or place in a tied carrier bag on top of your green recycling box |
| Rubbish (you may be asked to show us what's inside your rubbish bag, to make sure we're recycling as much as possible) | Recycling centre |
| Single wardrobes | Order a large waste item collection or take to your nearest recycling centre (or donate to charity) |
| Upholstered seating furniture (sofas, sofa beds, armchairs, kitchen and dining room chairs, stools and foot stools, home office chairs, futons, bean bags, floor and sofa cushions - this includes any part made of or containing leather, synthetic leather, other fabric or foam) | If the item is unsuitable for charity donation for re-use, you can order a large waste item collection or take to your nearest recycling centre |
Unopened, unused and out of date medicines can be returned to pharmacies for safe disposal. Do not flush medicines down the toilet.
| Material | Where to recycle |
|---|---|
| Bicycles (good condition with large wheels and upright handlebars) | Recycling centre |
| Cans and aerosols | Green recycling box or recycling centre |
| Scrap metal | Recycling centre |
| Metal packaging and foil (no plastic or paper backed foil such as crisp packets) | Green recycling box or recycling centre |
Disposable nappies go in your rubbish bin or bag. However, see our special offer on re-usable nappy packs or visit our Facebook page for more information on re-usable nappies.
You can take the paint to your nearest recycling centre
Emulsion water-based paint
We cannot take tins with liquid emulsion in them. Please leave the lid off to dry it out, or add sand to the tin, prior to bringing them to us for disposal.
Gloss and solvent-based paint (including paint thinner, stripper, toxic paints and White spirit)
Containers in original container with full or partially full liquid contents inside and placed in the Hazardous Waste area.
| Material | Where to recycle |
|---|---|
| Newspapers and magazines | Green recycling box or recycling centre |
| Catalogues, directories and Yellow Pages | Green recycling box or recycling centre |
| Junk mail | Green recycling box or recycling centre |
| Small amounts of shredded paper (no more than two carrier bags at a time) | Green recycling box or recycling centre |
| Brown paper | Blue recycling bag or recycling centre |
|
White paper and white envelopes Warning We don't accept wrapping paper for recycling
Why we no longer collect wrapping paperUnfortunately we cannot accept any wrapping paper for recycling, the reason for this is that whilst our paper has always been recycled in the UK, large amounts of paper from the UK has historically been exported abroad and over recent years as the demand for recycling in the UK has increased, so has the required level of quality of the material that we send to the paper mills. Wrapping paper, particularly at Christmas is normally contaminated with glitter, tape, bows or tags where people do not or can’t remove them all prior to recycling, in addition a lot of wrapping paper is also made from low grade paper whereas the paper mills prefer higher quality paper. If we send loads for recycling that contains too much wrapping paper, they could reject the whole load so none of it is recycled, which is why we have said not to recycle any wrapping paper to reduce the risk of this happening. |
Green recycling box or recycling centre |
| Material | Where to recycle |
|---|---|
| Plastic packaging - rinsed and squashed solid plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays used to contain food and drink | Green recycling box or recycling centre |
| Black plastic and polystyrene | Rubbish bin or bag, or rubbish waste at recycling centre |
| Plastic bags and film - plastic film, bubblewrap, crisp and sweet wrappers, bread bags, carrier bags, salad, pasta and rice bags, toilet roll wrapping, and cereal liners | We can’t currently collect flexible plastic packaging like plastic bags and film for recycling. Reuse plastic carrier bags or take them to a local supermarket for recycling. Plastic bag and film collection points can be found at the following supermarkets: Sainsburys (Odd Down, Green Park Station, and Midsomer Norton), Morrisons (London Road), Tesco (Keynsham and Midsomer Norton), Waitrose (The Podium, Bath and Keynsham) |
Unbroken spectacles can go in your green recycling box, or you can take them to one of our recycling centres.
Remove the battery from rechargeable vapes and recycle with other batteries. The rest should be recycled with small electricals.
Please remember, batteries and small electricals must be presented in separate clear loosely tied bags on top of your green box for collection with your recycling.
Never dispose of vapes in your household waste bins, as they are a major risk for vehicle and facility fires.
You can also take vapes to your nearest recycling centre. Some retailers and major supermarkets also offer recycling points.
Unfortunately, we cannot recycle wrapping paper. Wrapping paper often contains non-paper additives such as plastic, foil or glitter which then spoils the waste stream. The paper mills will not accept it.
Please consider sustainable alternatives like fabric wrap, fully recyclable brown paper, newspaper or reusable gift bags.