What Can be Recycled?

You can take the following items to Household Waste Recycling Centres:

• Batteries (domestic)
• Books
• Cans
• Car batteries*
• Car tyres (small charge applies)*
• Cardboard
• Engine filters
• Freezers*
• Fridges*
• Garden waste
• Glass bottles and jars
• LPG cylinders*
• Paper
• Plastic bottles
• Scrap metal
• Soil
• Textiles
• Used engine oil*
• White goods
• Wood

*There is a limit on these items - please phone 08453 708090

Certain hazardous materials can only be accepted in small quantities and at certain sites, so please call 01296 382307 to check before starting your journey. Permits are not required for householders in cars and 4x4s with small hobby trailers (up to 1.2m x 0.9m), bringing general and recyclable waste and DIY material.  Householders in larger vehicles or on foot will require a permit. Permits are free and available by calling 01296 387828 or visit their website at www.buckscc.gov.uk/wastepermit .

To find your nearest  Household Waste Recycling Centres here .

Recycling Batteries Around 600 million UK household batteries are sent to landfill unnecessarily every year. That’s around 22,000 tonnes of waste, or the equivalent of 110 jumbo jets!

Batteries are classed as hazardous waste and must NOT be disposed of in your general refuse. Batteries are the single largest source of mercury in household rubbish, and other potentially toxic materials such as cadmium, lead, lithium nickel and zinc. When in landfill they start to rot and these chemicals begin to leak into the ground potentially causing soil and water pollution.

At the moment about 3% of batteries are recycled in the UK, but there are targets to increase this to 45% by 2016.

From the 1st February 2010 any retailers selling over 32kg of batteries a year, will provide free in-store recycling points for waste batteries, including batteries not bought at that outlet. A list of South Bucks outlets providing recycling points are listed below. The type of batteries included in the take back scheme include all standard size batteries, button cells, mobile phone batteries and laptop batteries.

Both wet cell (car batteries) and dry cell (domestic batteries) can also be recycled at your local Household Waste Recycling Centre in Beaconsfield, Burnham and Langley.


How can you help as a consumer?

Reduce

• To save energy use the electricity mains where possible.
• Use appliances that can powered via renewable resources, including solar powered and mobile phone wind –up chargers.

Reuse

• Use rechargeable batteries and a charger, rechargeable batteries can last for up to several hundred charging cycles.

Recycle

• Any domestic batteries and old car batteries can currently be taken to any of the Household Waste and Recycling Centre in the district (Beaconsfield, Langley and Burnham)
• All retailers who sell more than 32kg of domestic batteries a year must provide free in-store recycling points for waste batteries from 1st February 2010. Please see below for a list of retailers in the district who will accept used batteries for recycling:

Retailers providing in-store recycling points
Sainsburys, Beaconsfield
Waitrose, Beaconsfield

Marks and Spencers Beaconsfield
Boots, Beaconsfield

Sainsburys Local, Farnham Common
Tesco Express, Farnham Common

Sainsburys, Taplow

Co-op, Iver

Boots, Gerrards Cross

There may be other retailers providing recycling points for batteries. Ask in store for more information.

Mobile Phones
Mobile phones can not currently be recycled by Bucks County Council and we would encourage residents not to place them in the dustbin if at all possible. Have a look at the national 'Recycle Now' campaign for tips on how best to recycle your mobile phone and other electrical goods  'Recycle Now'.  (Opens New Window)

There are many charities that offer a recycling scheme including  'Help the Aged'  and the  British Red . (Opens New Window)

The Recycling Guide (Opens New Window) also provides guidance on how to recycle  mobile phones  (Opens New Window) and other materials, including batteries.