The Complete A-Z Waste and Recycling Guide

Not all waste and recycling facilities can accept hazardous waste. Contact you local councils recycling facilities to find out if they take, if not they may be able to recommend reliable alternatives. You can check on the UK Government website to find your nearest hazardous waste plant.

You can dispose of personal protective equipment in your general waste. As a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, PPE usage has increased in homes and the workplace. Uncontaminated PPE goes in general waste, but if you have the virus, it needs to be bagged separately and stored for 72 hours. For PPE disposal in the workplace, see our COVID-19 PPE page.

You can take DIY waste to recycling centres including garden waste, hardcore and rubble, scrap metal and wood/timber. When dealing with larger amounts of DIY waste, hiring a skip might be a better option in many cases. Professional skip hire ensures waste legislation and laws don't get broken.

Domestic and household waste throughout the UK is collected by your local council, and you will have specific bins for different waste types. Commonly you will have a general waste bin for non-recyclable waste, a mixed recycling bin and a food and garden waste bin. Certain areas also may have a fourth bin.

Plastic bottles and glass drinks bottles are widely collected in recycling collections throughout the UK. You can also drop off drinks bottles at bottle banks at your council's local recycling facility, or they are often in supermarket car parks. Please empty and rinse bottles beforehand.

Some recycling centres accept DVD's for recycling, check with your local centre beforehand. Ideally, working discs should be passed on to someone else that can use them. You can donate them to charity shops, or there are plenty of online services out there, you could even use online marketplaces such as eBay.